A few years ago, good friends Jason Countryman and Steve Slater sat down for a cup of coffee. Conversation turned to music, as it usually did for these professional musicians, but more specifically the conversation was about jazz and writing original jazz tunes. Steve and Jason had had many conversations about music, but this one had a direction, purpose and an outcome. This conversation was going to result in something. Something neither of them had ever done before. After the coffee was gone and the words had been exchanged, they had a band name, Park St. Trio, and they had a plan... Write original jazz music for people who like good melodies and songs, make an album.
Next step, finding other players. Jason had gone to school with Nick Underwood, so it wasn't too hard to reach out to him, discuss the plan and sign him up. The vibraphone player, Stan Muncy, also went to school at Cal State Hayward, with Nick and Jason. Stan had graduated and spent his time auditioning for symphonies as a classical percussionist. There was a question about whether or not Stan would have the time to play in an original jazz group. But one phone call was all it took. Turns out Stan was looking for something else to occupy his mind and help his music skills along. So the band was formed, Steve Slater, Jason Countryman, Stan Muncy and Nick Underwood. Sure it's 4 people, not 3. I guess that's just jazz for you.
The songs came together super quick. Steve had written about 10 songs and Jason nearly matched that. The rehearsals began with playing through each tune, then asking which ones were the best for their first album. The title track, "Goodnight, Daylight", is a lullaby written for Steve's son. He felt very strongly that this should be the title of the album and everyone agreed. The art work design was done by Steve as well. The picture is of Park St. in Alameda, in 1910. He felt that the music had a classic, old time feel to it. The black and white picture of classic Park St. was a perfect match for the tunes.
They recorded the album in Fremont CA, at Little Red Wagon Studio's. The actual recording was interesting as well. Most albums these days are recorded digitally into a computer, but the guys in Park St. Trio wanted a more traditional sound, so they recorded to 2" tape. This meant, no over dubs, no "fixing" notes, no redo's. The plan was, 3 takes per song, pick the best one. So that's exactly what they did. 11 songs recorded 3 times each, all in one day. The mastering was then done at Headless Buddha Studio's in Oakland, CA.
The outcome speaks for itself. Classic tunes, recorded using a classic method, giving this album the classic feel that defines Park St. Trio. Currently the album is out on iTunes, Amazon MP3, as well as the bands favorite, Bandcamp.com. Park St. Trio plays all over the Bay Area and California.