This record has been many years in the making and I have many people to thank. These songs would still be ideas filed on my computer were it not for their support and encouragement. The one person in the world who knew how easy it would have been, and how often I was tempted, to just let it go is my wife, Martha. As I said in the song, she is truly God smiling at me.

Of course, all of my kids and grandkids have been wonderful, albeit likely curious as to what exactly has been going on in the old man's brain. They are my advisory board and their input is evident all throughout the record - subject matter, lyric reviews, and my daughters sing on it, as well. Beautifully, if I say so myself.

Another person, without whom this record would still be a figment of my imagination, is Luke DeJaynes. It is so rare for a musician to find another that thinks and feels - and performs - exactly the way they do. He is a very skilled musician and producer, but he brought more than that. Luke gave so much for this record because he simply loved the music we were making together. I can hear it. And I hope you can too.

I have Luke to thank for introducing another very special player to the record - the late, and very great Jorge Casas. Jorge was a founding member and bandleader of the Miami Sound Machine, and a close friend of Luke's. Martha and I met Jorge when he came into Luke's Nashville studio for the session and to say I was a bit starstruck is putting it mildly. But Jorge was a humble, wonderful man and I will treasure our day working together forever. I am so honored to have his work on the record. 

Luke likes to say that we have his 3 favorite bass players in the world on the record - Jorge, Luke's brother Mark, and his good friend Ramiro Vasquez. One of the objectives Luke and I had from the onset was to make a record with great energy. The way all of these men played bass is a major reason I believe that goal was met. And I thank them for that.

Another thing I wanted in the record was great guitar playing. I grew up under the influence of the legendary guitarists of the 70s and 80s and even though I play keyboards, I wanted a more guitar centric record. I'm thrilled with their work, and if you like to pull out the air guitar - I think there might be some solos to play along with!

It started with my old friend and bandmate, Steve Dee. This record wasn't even a dream yet when I sent him "Better Late Than Never". His work on the song is the reason I thought maybe we'd keep going! And I think you'll agree with me that not only is Luke a great drummer, he's a pretty hot guitarist. And then we were joined by Adam Hawley. It's an interesting story how the #1 contemporary jazz guitarist in the industry came to play on my record, and I'll tell you all about it in my blog. A common trait of all great jazz players is that they elevate every song they play on. And I'm thrilled that Adam elevated 4 of the songs on the record.

I wanted sax on "The Dream" and naturally Luke knew who to ask - Chris West. If you ever watched the TV show "Nashville" you likely saw Chris a few times. That session ended with Chris playing on 4 songs. I think he's the real deal and I hope you enjoy his playing as much as I do.

Last, but certainly not least, are my two daughters - Kate Klefstad and Kayla Jones. We've sung together for all of their lives and I'm very proud of their contributions to Dad's record. I think it's pretty cool to hear them on the same song (The Dream) as A-list players like Jorge Casas, Adam Hawley, and Chris West. Yep, I'm the proud papa....what can I say?

As you can likely tell, I'm very proud of the musicians and the musicianship on the record. I pinch myself everyday to think of these people playing my songs and bringing them to life. It may be cliche, but it really is a dream come true for me. We loved making the record. And we hope you enjoy it. Thank you for listening.