When I reminisce on where my head was at when I made the decision to become a musician, I laugh at how I had no idea as a teenager of what a life in music would actually involve. Seventeen years of “professional music making” later, I frequently look into the future and think, “I wonder what I’ll be doing next year”? The year 2005 marked a shift where I started answering that question by making a stronger commitment to trust and go for the various ideas emerging from my mind. I began to devote more energy collaborating with musicians in more varied settings rather than focusing exclusively on my band. That effort yielded a hugely rewarding period of creative growth, during which I’ve drawn inspiration from the ideas presented to me by others, along with those from my own imagination.

It was somewhere during this period that my close friend, guitarist Tim Posgate, strongly urged me to make a solo piano recording. At the time he was responsible for booking a new jazz venue in Toronto, “The Red Guitar”. Tim said, “Why don’t you do a gig next time you’re here visiting family?” I accepted his offer despite the fact I felt unprepared, as I hadn’t done many solo concerts in the past several years. Two weeks before the gig, I developed severe lower back pain and feared greatly that I’d never walk, ski or cycle again, although for some reason assumed I’d still play the piano. With an ice pack permanently strapped to my back and my veins pumped full of painkillers, I made the trip to Toronto and performed the gig.

A few months later, I met Song Lines Recordings owner Tony Reif during an artist-in- residence stint at the University of British Columbia. He introduced himself and simply said, “I’d like to make a solo piano recording with you.” Six months passed, a trip to Australia and a few more solo gigs later and I was back in Vancouver to begin recording.

I decided to mostly perform the music of other composers for this recording because generally the bulk of my recorded output has been of original music. I didn’t want to make a standards CD but I knew I wanted to explore the art of the song through material familiar to a broad audience. I began by mining the folk music of my childhood in search of songs with meaningful, strong melodic anatomy. For the most part, my search led me to songs with a significantly less complex harmonic language than much of the music I typically perform. Like many pianists, I’m often tempted to re-harmonize every nook and cranny of a song. There is however a discipline in keeping it simple and playing the song while still looking for personal and creative ways to express any given musical passage. My intent was to respect the spirit of the composer’s intent for their melody, while exploring my own relationship to the song, without regard to style. I sincerely hope I’ve given each of you a unique and renewed friendship with some old acquaintances.