The Title Time Was seemed to be apropos, since so many of these songs are of a reflective nature; i.e, "September Song", "This is All I Ask", "Gone With The Wind", "Serenade In Blue", and "I Should Care".
The fact that all but one of these songs were written at least 40 years ago also reflects a "Time Was" feeling for me. Even the relatively new song, the beautiful "Lady Day" written by my good friend Jack Prather, pays tribute to a great artist, Billie Holiday, whose fame certainly endures but whose body of work was created during the same era that most of these wonderful songs were written.
Even the happier and romantic songs such as "It Might As Well Be Spring", "My Funny Valentine", "I've Got The World On A String", "Day By Day", "Speak Low", "My Favorite Things", and "How Deep Is The Ocean" are indicative of a time when, in my opinion, most of the great songs were written. I was fortunate in that respect to be growing up right after World War II and, being from a musical family, there were records being played constantly (Glenn Miller, Harry James, Tommy Dorsey, Stan Kenton, Frank Sinatra, Broadway albums and Classical albums) so that much of the music I now perform was learned virtually by osmosis.
How blessed I've been to be born into a family of musicians and music-lovers, and that extends to my in-laws and now my children. Over the years of performing it has been my big pleasure to work with and be friends with some of the finest musicians you could ever hear anywhere in the world. I'm hoping that through this series of recordings that Dan St. Marseille is having me do, for his Resurgent Music Co., I can fulfill my fantasy of recording as many of these lovely standards as possible.
Many thanks are in order:
• To these fine musicians whose inventiveness and creativity made the session a joy (hardly any music reading was done): Brian O'Rourke, Benjamin May, Denny Dennis, and Dan St. Marseille.
• To engineer Jim Mooney at Sage and Sound for his fine technical skills and his musicality.
• To the mastering engineer, Marcello Soliven -- great job!
• To Sandra and Kevin - thanks for your ears and helpful comments.
• To my fans and new listeners alike -- please know that my heart and soul went into this and I hope you are moved and / or entertained by this project. We sure had fun doing it.
• Thank you, Dan St. Marseille.
Love,
Dewey 9-30-97
P.S. - I guess the pictures say it all -- "Time Was!"
