On the day we recorded this album, Juan and I had been friends for 21 years and 11 days.
Bob Reynolds, tenor sax (left)
Juan Rollan, tenor sax (right)
Hamilton Price, bass
Kyle Crane, drums
The story of Déjà Vu
On the day we recorded this album, Juan and I had been friends for 21 years and 11 days.
We met in 1993 as sophomores transferring to Douglas Anderson School of the Arts in Jacksonville, Florida. I first noticed Juan’s saxophone case on the bus to school. We bumped into each other in home room, and finally met in first jazz band later that day. It was a case of “OK, you’re new. I’m new. We’re both serious about the same thing. Let’s be friends.”
That kicked off 3 years of carpool listening sessions and weekend jam sessions in Juan’s living room. We’d play-along to Aebersolds while Juan’s parents watched from the couch.
We discovered ii-V-Is together. Attended our first jam sessions together. Made all-state jazz band together.
Anxious to begin our recording careers, we even booked studio time and cut our first record to the backing band of Aebersold Vol. 6: Charlie Parker.
We went our separate ways for college, and while we always stayed in touch, we saw less of each other each year.
Somehow, 15 years passed without us playing together.
Until January, 2014, when Juan visited me in Los Angeles. We pulled out the playalongs and jammed like we’d done 20 years ago. It was as if no time had passed. We still could finish each other’s ideas and sync up like we played together consistently. I knew we should document this for real.
I lured Juan back for another visit, booked a Hollywood studio, and recruited two of my favorite players in town. The plan was to go in with little structure. Just record some tunes we used to play. But I had an agenda. I wanted to capture conversation, not competition.
There’s a rich legacy in jazz of two-tenor recordings. One kind is the “cutting contest”, where the material tends to be fast and challenging and each player tries to outdo the other. I was more interested in the “two men talking” kind. My model was Coleman Hawkins Encounters Ben Webster.
Using that old “Hollywood sound” as a reference, we set up in one room so we could see and hear each other.
One reason new jazz recordings don’t sound like old ones is modern studios isolate players to allow for editing later. But if you’re not going to edit, why isolate? I wanted a sound you only get when each player’s instrument bleeds onto all the microphones. I wanted that big room reverb.
I also wanted to capture what came instinctively. So we stuck to first takes and no overdubs. “Right” would be what happened on the first pass.
And the material? What can I say? Juan and I share an affinity for a broad range of music.
The standards were a perfect vehicle to transport us back to familiar territory, but I ended up writing a few tunes just days before the session and even arranged one of my favorite Police songs.
We recorded all of it in one day, but the end result yielded two unique statements. Think of it like two sides of an album (not that “Side B” is leftovers, simply a different aesthetic.)
I think you’ll understand why when you listen.
To us, all this music exists in the same space. It’s all approached with the same diligence and enthusiasm for creating in the moment. From the swing tunes to the Sting tune, one thing was obvious: this feels familiar, like we’ve been here before.
—Bob Reynolds, Los Angeles, December 2014
Release Date: April 21, 2015
1 THERE IS NO GREATER LOVE
(Isham Jones) 6:53
2 STOMPIN’ AT THE SAVOY
(Benny Goodman, Chick Webb, Edgar Sampson) 7:06
3 OUT OF NOWHERE
(Edward Heyman, Johnny Green) 5:41
4 INVITATION
(Bronislau Kaper) 7:00
5 LIVING ROOM BLUES
(Bob Reynolds) 6:32
6 THERE WILL NEVER BE ANOTHER YOU (SOUNDCHECK)
(Harry Warren, Mack Gordon) 3:14
7 TOM
(Bob Reynolds) 4:54
8 UNLUCKY
(Bob Reynolds) 4:13
9 EVERY BREATH YOU TAKE
(Sting) 4:18
Recorded September 2nd, 2014 by Chris Steffen at Sage & Sound, Hollywood, CA
Mixed by Juan Pablo Alcaro
Mastered by Nathan James at The Vault
Studio photos and videos by Mattie Brickman
Album cover & graphic design by Bob Reynolds
5, 7 & 8 composed by Bob Reynolds (Mufala Music, ASCAP)
