Conversations Vol. 1

I. The Project A Fine Line is the jazz duo of Bill Vitek and Dan Gagliardi. From the Thousand Islands to the Adirondack Park, and lots of small towns in between, they've been playing music together for a decade in New York's quot;North Country.quot; They released their first CD, quot;A Fine Linequot; in 2005. While continuing to work as a duo, Dan and Bill have played with many fine musicians along the way, most recently with drummer Mike Magilligan, a newcomer to the North Country. Mike's musical approach and inventive rhythms are a perfect complement to the duo's style of intermixing ensemble playing and solos, with lots of open space. When the topic of the next CD came up, it was clear that Mike would be part of it, and we could call it quot;Conversations,quot; the first, they hope, of many Fine Line conversations with musicians who share their respect for, and approach to, the music. II. The Recording When the time came to begin recording a new CD, the band decided it wanted to re-create it's monthly gig at the Parkview Café in Canton, New York. A live audience, after all, is part of the musical conversation. But Bill wanted to record the session on his newly acquired-and in vintage condition-1946 Steinway Model S grand piano, a gift from his mom, aunt, and two childhood friends. In the tradition of Rudy Van Gelder-the famous jazz recording engineer who got his start in his parent's Hackensack, New Jersey home-the band persuaded friend Allan Cox to record the sessions in Bill's (small) living room. Live recording sessions on two different days in April and June of 2014, with no isolation, with street noise, and afternoon sessions without an audience, and evening sessions with an audience. (You'll hear clapping on some tunes, but not on others.) And just to add to the challenge, Dan had to switch instruments on the second recording session. What the recording lacks in professional sound studio technology is made up, we believe, by the good energy in the room on those days. III. The Music Like A Fine Line's first CD, the music for quot;Conversationsquot; is drawn exclusively from the Great American Songbook. These timeless melodies and inventive harmonies provide musicians and listeners alike with just the right mix of familiarity and improvisational surprise. The trio chose songs they have played together often. The arrangements that made it to the CD developed during the recording sessions, and in some cases were played that way for the very first time. The two versions of Cole Porter's quot;All of You,quot; for example, reflect the trio's willingness to experiment with a tune while trying to remain true to the form. IV. Musicians with Day Jobs All three musicians on this recording have careers that keep them busy during the day. Mike is a librarian at the Canton campus of the State University of New York (SUNY). Dan is a mathematics professor, also at SUNY Canton. Bill is a philosophy professor at Clarkson University in Potsdam, New York. But each has had a professional musical life. Dan studied classical and jazz bass at Manhattan School of Music's Preparatory Division,and at the Eastman School of Music with James B. Vandermark. After Eastman, he studied with classical bassist Homer Mensch and jazz with Mike Richmond. He has played with Tom Harrell, Bruce Barth, and Steve Hobbs, to name a few. Bill studied piano with Ray Bozenski and Frank Stagnitta. In the 80's he worked with a number of jazz groups in New York's Capital District region, and arranged and produced three