Smitty:  Yeah, that’s cool, very cool.  The new record, it’s called HeadBoppin.

S: Yes.

Smitty: Speaking of communication with the fans, what’s the overall vibe on the record? What’s the expression that you’re trying to deliver with this record overall?

S:  It’s a party record. It’s just a feel good happy album. There’s no real down elements on the record. There’s possibly one tempo which is a little bit slower than the others, but apart from that it’s a high energy, fun record.  When you put this CD in your CD player, I want it to get your head boppin’ and you’ve just got this huge smile on your face for 45 minutes, that’s it.

Smitty:  Yes, and what’s the first single?

S:  The first single is called “Look What’s Happened” and it’s a little bit of a spin from my first album that I had out, it was called See What Happens. So this is just a little bit of a spin from that, really, so “Look What’s Happened” is the new single and I think it’s gone to radio this week and I think it’s doing quite well.

Smitty:  Yeah, man, absolutely. With this record, you’ve got some great musicians on here. Talk about the experience of having them make such a nice contribution to this CD.

S:  Well, in a big way Rick was a huge contributor. He played on the album and actually produced the sound for me, and I had Jeff Lorber, who was a huge influence for me growing up listening to his stuff. And to have him playing on the record is just unbelievable. Jeff ‘s featured on a track called “Good Evans.” He does a most incredible piano intro.  It just takes your breath away. Ricky Lawson does the whole album on drums and he’s amazing. He was so professional. You just realize why these guys are at the top of the ladder, they’re just so good. Freddie Washington just had the most amazing groove. And then there’s a few guys that are friends of mine from London that originally played on the tracks and had no idea that one day they would be on the album, but we’ve kept their parts because they were good. We had Russ Bolton, who plays for Al Jarreau. He did the guitar work.  He did a fantastic job. Chris Standring is guesting on one track, on Stevie Wonder’s “Tuesday Heartbreak.” And  Lenny Castro!

Smitty:  Ho-ho-ho, yeah! I’m a fan!

S:  Exactly.  I mean, what an amazing musician. He came in and just nailed it. Also, Ricky Peterson, who I’m a huge fan of.  I’ve got all of Ricky’s solo albums. Ricky played the Hammond B3 on there and just did a terrific job. The whole experience for me was just a huge smile on my face from beginning to end.

Smitty:  I can just imagine. You know what I love about this record, and I know you wanted to keep that high energy and the great grooves and the great melodies, and you selected the right cats for this project to accomplish that because all of these guys represent that.

S:  That’s the thing that Rick brought to the album and these people are heroes of mine.  They’re people that are around fifty to a hundred percent of my record collection, and they’re friends of his (both laughing). I’ve got to credit Rick for that, really. He said to me; “Now, have you got any ideas of who you want to use?” I just didn’t know how far we could take this, and when he started mentioning people like Ricky Lawson and Freddie Washington, I was like “Oh my goodness,” I was gobsmacked. So I just thought, well, I’m not going to interrupt him.  I’m just going to let him keep talking. (Both laughing.)  He was saying all the right things as far as I was concerned, and it really is a credit to Rick for pulling those guys in.

Smitty:  Yeah, Rick, he’s a great horn player himself.

S:  Absolutely. We had a great afternoon where we had a little bit of a lull in the recording so we got out some of the old bebop books and playing our records and we did some trading, some old school jazz and it was great fun and, man, he really can play.

Smitty:  Oh yeah.

S:  He really has got some serious chops.

Smitty:  Yeah. And he could do some great straight ahead tunes.

S: Yeah, that’s what we were doing.  We were just doing some old standards, straight ahead bebop stuff. And he really is an amazing guy.

Smitty: Yes indeed. So, now, the record drops when?

S: June 6th.

Smitty:  June 6th, wow. Well, this is a great and highly anticipated record because we know your signature for great grooves and high energy and we know you like to blow that horn, so we’re certainly looking forward to this great new record and everything it represents and just looking at the caliber of artists that you have along with your great horn playing and Rick’s horn playing. This is sure to be a hit.

S:  Well, there are no guarantees, but I think that we really have put together an album that’s going to stand out. I think it’s got everything on there that I wanted to achieve and I’m very, very proud of it, and hopefully people are going to listen to it and appreciate the amount of hard work that’s gone into this. It isn’t easy, there’s a lot of work and a lot of time that’s gone into doing these things and we’ve got the right combination and I think it’s going to do well.

Smitty:  Yes indeed. We’re certainly looking forward to it, my friend, and you are to be congratulated for a great new project, and congratulations on your new record deal and having a great time with the music.