This CD is the third in a series of Jazz Guitar Duo recordings that I have made on the Brown Cats Productions label. The first was with Portland, Oregon based John Stowell and is called “Cross Roads” (BC9503). The second was with my Argentinian friend now living in Madrid, Spain, Gullermo Bazzola and is called “Una Pequena Alegria” (BC 9508). Even though the format for all three CDs involves just two guitars, they are never the less quite different, due in many ways to the individuality of each player and the repertoire chosen to record. All the CDs were recorded “live” in the studio and did not include overdubs. We recorded as though we were playing a concert. I first met Ulf Bandgren in Ithaca, New York, when he accompanied Hilde Brekke on one of her many visits from The University of Gothenburg to do advanced study in nutrition at Cornell University. During that visit and subsequent others, Ulf and I performed together as a duo and with various other sized groups. He invited me to Gothenburg where he teaches jazz guitar, to play concerts, even organizing a big band concert of my music with the students from the University. We also did a little tour of six concerts and traveled “into Norway” for a short visit. The photo on the cover by Barbara Katz-Brown, was taken at Frognerparken, Oslo, Norway, and the sculptures were all part of the Vigeland installation. Gustav Vigeland lived between 1869 and 1943 and all of the pieces in the park were installed there between 1920 and 1943. It’s a must see when visiting Oslo! The Music 1. You Stepped Out of A Dream is a standard tune by Gus Kahn and Nacio Herb Brown that every jazz musician knows. We used it as a vehicle to “loosen up” at the beginning of the recording session by playing it as a samba. 2. Voce Vai Ver (You Will See) by Antonio Carlos Jobim is another one of those lesser known Brazilian bossa novas that deserves a wider hearing. In my opinion, “Tom” Jobim never wrote a bad tune in his life, and this is an example of another of his great compositions. 3. Con Alma – This Be-Bop standard by Dizzy Gillespie, has been a favorite of mine since the 1960’s when Dizzy first recorded it. It has a beautifully simple and singable melody, with a harmonic progression that is logical yet challenging for its time and still is today. 4. In To Norway is one of Ulf’s original tunes based upon the harmonic progression of the standard tune, “Out of Nowhere.” During one of my European tours with Ulf, we traveled for a day and a night to Oslo, Norway, and I was better able to understand that beautiful country. 5. Angel Eyes by Matt Dennis is a ballad that was first introduced to me by the Barney Kessel recording called “The Poll Winners Ride Again” in the late 1950’s with Ray Brown on bass and Shelly Manne on drums. This arrangement is very closely related to Barney’s version and is meant as a tribute to him. It was actually taught to me by my late guitar teacher from Long Island named Ray Gogarty when I was in high school. 6. Have You Met Miss Jones is another standard but this time it is by Rodgers and Hart. This tune is harmonically interesting and fun to play, and is a commonly chosen song at jam sessions. 7. So Danco Samba by Jobim is one of his most popular compositions along with “The Girl From Ipanema,” “Triste,” and “Corcovado.” This arrangement in 3 keys, was patterned after one of the earliest versions released in the mid-1960s by Sergio Mendes and Brazil ’66. In fact, that group was the inspiration for the formation of “Que Pasa”, a group I led during the late ‘60’s and mid 70’s. The group had two female singers and and four rhythm section players exactly as Sergio had at that time. 8. Five Roses is another original tune by Ulf. It is written in 5/4 time and is based upon the chord changes to the standard by Henry Mancini called “The Days of Wine and Roses”. This tune is something familiar to play on, but with a twist to the rhythmic feel. 9. Just Friends by John Klenner is another well-known standard and was one of the first tunes Ulf and I played together when we first met. 10. Black Eyes, an early tune by Wayne Shorter, was brought to the session by Ulf. It immediately felt comfortable to play and has a novel chord progression that one would expect from Wayne’s writing. 11. Nascimento is by Detroit pianist Barry Harris. In the mid 1980’s, I had the privilege to perform with The Barry Harris Quartet (which included also the American bassist, Chuck Israels), at the Café Central in Madrid, Spain for a week. I learned the tune then on the bandstand very quickly, since he ended every set with it during the entire week. 12. Spring Ahead is also by a Detroit musician but this tune is by the marvelous trumpet player, Walter White. Walter and I became great friends during the ten years or so that he had lived in Ithaca, N.Y. We have toured Europe together and recorded an album together with four Spanish musicians ( Alberto Conde-piano; Roberto Somoza-saxophones; Kin Garcia- bass; Miguel Cabana-drums) called “Atlantic Bridge”. Ulf and I felt this samba would be a good closer for the album.