This recording happened unexpectedly. Spontaneity is certainly not unprecedented for a jazz record, but a spontaneous recording session is a little more rare and accordingly, the outcome is even less predictable. Joey DeFrancesco, already a recognized organist at 25, was passing through Dallas, and when he heard Marchel Ivery was in the studio, he offered to stop by. The result of that meeting is a lively, natural, and emotional recording--one that could only be rendered by putting great musicians together in a room and asking them to play whatever comes to mind.

Of course, another important element that made this session work is the admiration that Ivery and DeFrancesco have for one another. Even though the two had played together on a few occasions, this recording represents the first time they had played together at any length and it is the first time Ivery had played with DeFrancesco on organ. It also marks the reunion of Ivery with guitarist Clint Strong, whom Herb Ellis rated "excellent" in a recent JazzTimes interview. Clint, still in his teens, played next to Ivery and pianist Red Garland at the 6051 Club in the late seventies. Like the Recovery Room, the 6051 Club was a jazz hangout that has long since closed, but has never been replaced. The drummer on this date, Andrew Griffith, like Strong, hails from the well-known jazz program at the University of North Texas, but has probably received his most formative education sharing the bandstand with Ivery on many occasions.

The ever-present element which also plays a part in this record is that of time. The selection of tunes reflects this, consisting of a repertoire of songs that most of the musicians were familiar with, and a few that were worked out on the spot. Honestly, we had very little time to get enough material on tape to produce an entire album, and although the meeting was somewhat casual, everyone knew there was work to be done--fewer breaks were taken and when there were pauses, they were brief. In spite of this, the music never waned. Perhaps the players were simply rising to the challenge like the professionals they are. On the other hand, maybe they discovered how much they enjoyed playing together.

At the end of the day, Ivery kicked off "Star Eyes", which does not appear here because I realized too late that we had run out of tape. There was no point in stopping them to try to find another reel. They were having too much fun.

-Mark Elliott