Product Description1. Open Door (11:27)2. Empathy Steve Grover (8:38)3. Art Advocate Steve Grover (6:42)4. Rain (4:58)5. Emma Steve Grover (6:20)6. Flowers (7:05)7. In the Dark (6:39)8. The Seventh String Steve Grover (8:21) Tony Gaboury, guitarSteve Grover, drumsAaron Goldberg, pianoChris Van Voorst Van Beest, bassRob Stillman, saxophone
All compositions © 1999 Tony Gaboury, except those noted
Liner Notes from Empathy: I first met Tony Gaboury in 1977 at a session I had put together with pianist Mark Perry at a small recording studio. Tony came along with the bass player I had invited. We played for a few hours- standards and jazz tunes- and I asked for his phone number so that we might play again. I dont think he said one word all evening. We have ended up playing together in various situations over the next twenty-some-odd-years. Tony is someone I have come to know quite well, and I can now say that I have come to know a very articulate, intelligent man with well thought out opinions about lots of things, including music and definitely including baseball. Not only have I come to know the ex-baseball player, the proud father of daughter Emma, and the excellent amateur tennis player, I have also come to know a continually evolving, creative musician who might be the most important jazz guitarist that nobody knows about. Tony, like myself, has spent most of his life in the state of Maine, a very beautiful place that is not, unfortunately, the center of jazz (except for maybe a period from 90-93, when the Café No was open). And although many excellent- and a few innovative- jazz musicians have hailed from Maine, not many have stayed to pursue their music. Tony learned jazz as a young man from lessons with guitarist Tony Boffa, and from transcribing the recordings of all the jazz guitar greats, most significantly Pat Martino. Later came guitar influences from Lenny Breau to John Abercrombie.
