The personnel of Mike Barris & Friends for this live recording consisted of yours truly on rhythm guitar and vocals; Vinnie Corrao, lead guitar; Tom Bender, trumpet and vocal; and Louis Manzelle, clarinet.
A beautiful duet between trumpeter Tom Bender and guitarist Vinnie Corrao.
That's yours truly on the vocals. Vinnie Corrao's guitar solo is particularly fine in this one.
Vinnie the craftsman shines again in this solo guitar showcase, making every note count.
This show was recorded acoustically in an old church in Atlantic Highlands, NJ. Microphones were set up for each musician but as Lou Manzelle started his clarinet solo, it took me a while to realize that he wasn't using his microphone. Perhaps that's one reason Lou's tone is so clean and pure.
Jennifer Jordan (then Wright) works the audience to a pitch in this 2008 performance of "After You've Gone" at the Woman's Club of Red Bank, where I have led tributes to blues and jazz greats biannually since 2006 under the banner of the Jersey Shore Jazz & Blues Foundation. For this concert, the lead guitarist was Jerry Topinka and the trumpeter was Tom Bender. I was on rhythm guitar, as usual.
This band, which featured me on lead and rhythm acoustic guitar, Bob Gainey on percussion and bongos, and numerous upright-bass players including Mike Lampe, who appears on this session, was an effort to meld my then-growing interest in bluegrass and country music with my core love of jazz and blues.