Bob Lobner and I have been friends for some 30 years. In that time we have played music together and watched each other go through life.  I have watched Bob grow as a songwriter and as a performer.  But in the last couple of years I noticed Bob's writing has really started to come through as his songs have became more melodious and his lyrics have taken on some interesting new meanings. Bob's music seems to be more balanced and has a flow that is easy to get in to.
For many years I have talked to Bob about doing a recording project to show off his music. Late last year we formed a plan. I had told Bob that I was planning on buying a new Alesis HD24 hard disk recorder.  I could bring it to his home, located on 80 acres in the foot hills near George Town California to record. I began driving up to Bob's house weekly to record him.  Normally I'd drive up on Wednesday afternoons and set up. We'd record the rest of the day until we needed to take a break.  Then Bob would cook dinner for us.  We'd have a beer or two and go back to recording until we needed to knock off for the night. Early next morning after coffee, we take up where we left off the night before.  Bob's house is so remote that one morning as we were recording, we watched seven deer grazing just beyond his picture window.
It makes me feel good to help my friend to realize his dream. I have shared his joy as we worked together through the project. I am counting on Bob, to want to begin another project as soon as this CD is finished. It's been fun.

The Doug Pauly Trio

September 2004

Doug Pauly and I first met when he was hired to play rhythm guitar on Sister Swing’s second album that was to be titled “Going Nowhere Fast”. I quickly saw that Doug had a good musical understanding of how to find a part that fit the song.  That is to say that he played as though he wasn’t exercising his ego. Since Doug is a regular guitar teacher at The Guitar Workshop, I asked if I could take some lessons from him. He agreed.  Doug has been a professional guitarist for the past 25 years. In the studio he demonstrates skill and knowledge. Doug’s sense of humor is legendary around Sacramento. He is a jokester and has a smile on his face most of the time. Like most players he’s very critical of his playing and wants to get it right.  From my vantage point, He does! He has chops and an amazing ability to play a wide variety of musical styles. He is an excellent reader and works with a number of groups and plays solo guitar as well.  Doug has a large roster of students and his teaching business continues to flourish.  Having completed their CD project titled "Radiowaves", Doug and the group will now concentrate on more live performances to showcase both the group and the CD.                                                                                           

Rob Lautz Vibes and composer, has been performing for over thirty years. He has been featured at numerous festivals including the San Jose Jazz Festival, the Hallcrest Vineyard Jazz Festival, the Monterey Jazz Festival, and The Sacramento Jazz Jubilee. Rob holds a Bachelor's Degree in Composition from Berkley College of Music.  The vibraphone is a keyboard mallet instrument similar to a xylophone. The bars are made out of an aluminum alloy and are struck with rubber mallets covered with yarn. The sound created has a mellow, bell-like quality. Some practitioners of the vibraphone include, Gary Burton,  Lionel Hampton, and Milt Jackson.   The vibes also have a motorized vibrato system that makes the notes sustain and adds interest to any line or chord.  Rob is a very serious musician.  You can see it on his face while he plays. In between songs his demeanor takes a 180-degree turn as he makes wise cracks to Doug and Jerry or the audience when they are out playing gigs. Rob does many of the arrangements for the group. His sense of timing is evident in his musical runs. There are not very many vibe players around, so what Rob brings to the group is a unique sound and his ability to play jazz with a very pleasing tone.  When it comes down to it, tone is what catches your ear in the first place.   Rob is well matched to his instrument.

Jerry Pineda is the bass player in the group.  I don’t have very much background on Jerry except that I know he has played and taught bass in this area for many years. I had heard of his playing ability long before we met. He plays with several bands and keeps busy in the local music scene. The thing that caught my attention about his playing, is that he can grab a groove and hold on to it for a very long time. Many bass players get bored playing the same line and feel that they need to move on to another line to keep up the interest. Jerry on the other hand will explore all of the nooks and crannies in a bass line and doesn’t stray far from the original line. He has developed a good vibrato and his sense of funk is easily felt. His grooves are deep and wide. With only three players, he needs to establish his part and maintain it until it’s his turn to solo. Jerry does this as well as anybody that I have recorded in my studio. His chops are honed, his sense of humor is always present and the combination of all his talents produce bass lines that are “Pure Gold” to use his own words.

In conclusion I have to say that I have really enjoyed the time that I have spent with these talented musicians. I love their sense of taste and ability put an interesting spin on any of the music that they choose to play.      When you can do your job and have fun in the process,  there is nothing better. These guys do it regularly.
 
 

December 2003  

The Sisters had just finished Stocking Stuffers, and immediately returned to the studio to begin their fourth album project entitled "Southern Fried".  This CD is a departure for the flamboyant trio in that it features two original songs penned by pianist Bonny Otto. The album has a distinctly "Southern Flavor".  Both "Southern Fried" and "Look Out She's Gonna Blow", are songs that speak to the richness of New Orleans style food.  The ladies developed a real liking for the southern taste while on a short fact finding trip to the famous city in 2002. They returned changed forever.  It seems that their audience's like the music from this CD as well. They have been selling many CD's while performing  at jazz festivals up and down the west coast and in Canada for the last couple of years and consistently get invited back the following year. Not willing to sit on their combined laurels,  the Sisters are planning their fifth project entitled "Riff Raff and Ruffles". 
It is sure to continue the quality that the Sisters always put into every CD project.
The first four albums are examples of The Sisters tenacity to chronicle their music.  I am sure that what will follow  will be met with enthusiasm by their adoring fans.

Sister Swing is no stranger to the studio. They have been recording at Pudding Stone Recording Studio for more than ten years. So when they decided in 2002 to record their third CD entitled "Stocking Stuffers" the Christmas album, they came to Bruce.  Valerie Marston, has produced all of the projects and is the lead singer of the group.  They started pre-production by having the musicians come into the studio and record some rough tracks to decide which songs would be on the album. Then, they scheduled a rhythm section recording session consisting of Bonnie Otto on keyboards, Lenny Pollachi on upright bass and Jack Stanfill on drums. The Sisters recorded some scratch vocals to keep the musicians on track. The rhythm tracks were recorded in three separate sessions. Then it was time for the horns. The horn section consisted of Kurt Pearsall on trumpet,  Kristy Reed on saxes and flute and Brad Hammet and Ron Cunha on trombone. Otis Mourning was brought in to play solos. The horns also took three sessions to be recorded.  It was time for the Sisters to do their stuff. They worked extremely hard to attain the quality of both harmony and blend that has become their trademark. They were very happy to be the first to use the new tube microphone. It captured their sound beautifully much to their satisfaction. We spent many a session getting those vocals right. The sisters were under the gun to get the CD’s reproduced in time for the Christmas CD release party and concert.  Bruce who works as their soundman makes sure that the Sisters are well mixed and blended when ever they perform.    You can hear some examples of the songs from Stocking Stuffers on the   "Hear music page".  For more information about Sister Swing visit their web page at  www.sisterswing.com.