Good morning! About nine-thirty in the a.m. on this beautiful Tuesday. When I worked for the State, our manager would come in on a day like this and say, "It's a beautiful day out there!" He later admitted to me that he was trying to convince himself. I know the feeling..
Music news. I am actually working on yet another album. PIerre Boulez called form in music an "accumulation of material". Not sure if I agree with that remark, but it sorta works in this context. My CDs are often just an "accumulation of material". When I've built up enough stuff, my mind starts putting it together into some sort of package. This one is more in the fusion/smooth/eclectic genre.( I'm really tired of the word genre, though it is funny to hear Alex Trebek pronounce it.)
This new one will also feature more keyboard solos, as I'm starting to get more keyboard chops from all this messing around. When I first started making recordings(way back in 1984), my best facility was on the keyboard and the bass. I was playing mainly bass gigs back then. I had a lot of facility on the guitar, but no control. Couldn't play a double-time figure to save my life. There are a couple such early recordings on my new CD Near-Miracle on 33rd Street, where the 'time' on guitar is kinda all over the place. But I'm proud of the tunes.
When I first retired, back in 2013, I immersed myself in gigs. 6-10 every month. Exactly what a musician should do the minute they leave the World of Work. And there was a nice variety of gigs to be had: worked with the Dan Rivero Trio until its end in 2016, subbed with Jukehouse two years running, played the Dana Thomas House 2 years running, the Alamo 2 years in a row, and an assortment of other things.
But I guess things just run their course. Jukehouse's guitarist retired, so he was able to make all their gigs. Dana Thomas House brought in someone else, and I never heard back from the Alamo. The Dan Rivero Trio broke up in I think 2016, as did the Sam Crain Trio. These past couple years I've been in Sideman Mode, playing local gigs someone else has booked. That's okay for a while, but you eventually get the itch to do your own program, call your own shots. So I declared myself a free man last Summer. Even got a new trio. We were supposed to play Robbie's in May of this year, and then November.
At the moment, I'm enjoying the hell out of working from home. I do miss the other musicians though, and some of the folks who'd come to hear us. One of those folks, who has always been supportive of my efforts, got a shout on my new CD. He'll be getting his copy on the house. That's the policy here at samcrain.com. If you get a shout in the liner notes, the CD is free of charge. Everybody else can pay the exorbitant rate of $10..
Okay, I think I've covered the major news stories here. Thanks as ever for stopping in and reading. Happy Tuesday to you! For now, I'm outa here. More later. 
PS Today's pic was taken at Robbie's, date unknown. Dan Rivero, Wayne Carter and me.
The enclosed tune is from my CD Tele-ology, which is all jazz(and some eclectic pieces)played on a Fender Telecaster guitar. Jazz with twang....