ABOUT THE ALBUM This is an easy-listening jazz album. The quintet consists of guitar, vibes, keys, upright bass and percussion. Nothing about it is invasive, obrtusive or offensive. Nothing avant garde or outside about it. Just good music. (Total time: 50:26) This music is very much in the West Coast Cool Jazz mode, i.e., a minimalist, less frenetic, calmer style than the East Coast hard bop, more heavily arranged, and more often compositionally based. My formative years were the fifties, listening to just about everyone who recorded on the Pacific Jazz and Contemporary labels. Guys I was influenced by were the ones I thought got it right -- Ben Webster and Lester Young (tenor), Paul Desmond (alto sax), Jimmy Giuffre (clarinet), Red Mitchell (bass), Shelly Manne (drums), Billy Bauer (guitar), Chet Baker (trumpet), Gerry Mulligan (bari sax), Pete Jolly (piano), Don Elliott (mellophone), Lennie Tristano (piano) and Cal Tjader (vibes), to name just a few of the many. ABOUT THE ARTIST Bob Burford is a self-taught finger-style jazz guitarist who grew up with a guitar in the house. He was surrounded by uncles on both sides of the family who played Texas Swing and Hillbilly (that was before the term \"Country & Western\" was coined). He started playing in clubs at the age of 15 in the resort area of southwestern Michigan in the early 1950s. At age 17 he began working with show bands playing rhythm and blues and jazz. Later, he studied privately with renowned guitarist Charlie Byrd who, with tenor saxophonist Stan Getz, introduced bossa nova to North America with their “Jazz Samba” album in the early 1960s. Byrd introduced him to John Marlow at American University in Washington, D.C., with whom he studied classical guitar. From there he went to Las Vegas where he worked for Al Ramsey who contracted a stable of musicians who backed all of the casino headliners. Ramsey later became director of entertainment at Caesar’s Palace. Burford\'s claim to fame comes more from who he did not work with rather than who he has worked with. He got the call from Ramsey\'s office to work the Sinatra show but he missed that date because his answering service failed to give him the message until 26 hours later. He is most proud of his two-year association with legendary guitarist George Barnes (Chet Atkins\' favorite guitarist) at Concord Jazz in California. That collaboration produced what came to be known as “the Concord Sound.” Burford is semi-retired now but still owns a private investigative agency in Nashville where he is actively involved in the music scene. ABOUT THE PHOTOS - The jewel case photo was taken about 30-some years ago with two of the finest musicians I\'ve ever had the pleasure of working with. And they\'re just really great people, too. The bassist is Lou Awodey and the vibes player is Ron Pickett. The photo on the CD is of legendary guitarist Cal Collins on the left and me on the right with my back to the camera. ABOUT THE TUNES 1. SONAR - 2. DANCA DAS ONDAS (DANCE OF THE WAVES) - 3. DON\'CHA GO WAY MAD - Jimmy Mundy, Illinois Jacquet (1962) - (instrumental version was originally titled \"Black Velvet\"). Music by Jimmy Mundy (orchestra leader, worked with Basie and Goodman, Earl \"Fatha\" Hines, among others) and Illinois Jacquet (tenor sax, Lionel Hampton, Cab Calloway, Count Basie) 4. WHO\'S AFRAID OF SERGEI PROKOFIEV - Prokofiev probably didn\'t have this in mind when he wrote it. Given some of the things he did, though, I think he just might approve. 5. BOOTY BOOGIE BLUES - 6. TENDERLY - Music by Walter Gross, lyrics by Jack Lawrence 7. SHEAR JOY - The is a new rhythm and tune based on Clifford Brown\'s jazz standard, \"Joy Spring.\" The chordal structure remains unchanged. It\'s done in a Shearingesque unison style with vibes, keys and guitar. 8. BLUES IN A BOX - I didn\'t write this. I \"lifted\" it. I was playing a show, waiting backstage to go on while the house band played a couple of tunes. This head is an arranged line the horn section played in the middle of \"Route 66\". 9. BODY AND SOUL - Classic Paul Whiteman tune. 10. BOSSA D\'ZENTNER - I didn\'t write this tune. I heard it about 40 years ago when I was doing a thing with Si Zentner at the Tropicana in Vegas. I know of no way to track it down other than to hope someone hears it, recognizes it, and writes me. 11. COCHICHANDO - Alfredo da Rocha Vianna, Jr. - It translates to \"Whispering\" 12. SUMMERTIME - Another George and Ira Gershwin classic from \"Porgy and Bess\" (1935)