My first solo recording was released in 2010 and was recorded over a period of six years, as I recall. I would prepare a recital every couple years and then record some of that repertoire. It was all recorded in Auer Hall at Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music with student audio engineers working under the guidance of Konrad Strauss. My IU colleague, Carl Lenthe produced the sessions. Dr. Elizabeth Pfaffle produced the Pryor track. The most frustrating part of the process was listening to and choosing the “takes.” The release of the final product took much longer than it should have, owing to my not wanting to listen to myself. I procrastinated like a boss! Although the production of Pura Vida was a lengthy (and at times painful) process, I am ultimately proud of the final product. The title is an homage to my dear friends, the Trombones de Costa Rica. I met pianists Kimberly Russ and Sarah Watkins at the Alessi Seminar in 1999 and am so grateful to them for agreeing to participate in this recording.

I have admired Jean-Michel Defaye’s music for decades. I performed his Deux Danses on my junior recital in 1983 (and many times since). I have also enjoyed performing his trombone quartet and his “in the manner of…” tribute pieces included here are mini-masterpieces. Not wanting the process to drag out, like Pura Vida, I recorded this in five days in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, with my good friend Jon Whitaker producing the sessions. Luckily, I did not have to listen and choose the takes. Jon did that and through his thorough note taking during the sessions, the assembly was quite streamlined. I always enjoy working with pianist Kay Kim, whom I met when I began teaching at Northwestern University in 2007. Later, when Kay was a post-doc faculty member at the Jacobs School of Music, we played a recital together and the wheels began to turn for a recording. This was recorded in May of 2016

Following the relative ease of the Defaye recording, I decided to do another the following year. Unfortunately, a case of golfer’s elbow prohibited me from being able to follow through. Making a recording in a few days means long hours of holding the instrument and I knew it would likely be torture, so I postponed for a year. When Jon and Kay and I arrived to the recording venue, it was all very familiar. There is no particular theme to this recording, other than pieces that I enjoy playing and have played many times over the years. There is a blog post describing the naming of tis recording. This was recorded in May of 2018