From the Producer… 　　I feel very blessed to have known Boots Randolph for twenty-five years. I first met him when my father, the late comedian Ralph Smith, was recording a comedy album at Boots’ legendary Printer’s Alley nightclub in 1980. I remember being blown away by Boots and his band. An opportunity to “sub” on Boots’ band one night led to him offering me the job full-time, and I have no intention of ever leaving! I have had the pleasure of producing several records on Boots through the last ten years, and this latest offering is something truly special for all of us involved in the making of it. Through the years, Boots has always had a “concept” in mind when he began a new project. Boots and I had talked many late nights driving back to Nashville about a new project – we just never seemed to come up with a concept that we were as enthused about after a good night’s sleep. One day driving to Boots’ home to talk about recording, it hit me. Boots is 78 years old, he has cut nearly fifty albums, he is playing as well as he has ever played – who needs a concept? Let’s just record a group of Boots’ favorite songs, songs he had never recorded previously. Well, there’s a concept for you. 　　We discussed a few titles, and made plans to get together at the studio on a Saturday to “see if anything would happen.” Well, did it ever. The first session opened a floodgate, and we soon had sixteen songs that we really wanted to record – and that’s what we did. Boots is fond of calling great standards “evergreens,” and that is a wonderful description of the titles represented here. It seems like the last few years have produced a glut of artists recording the great standards, so what could we bring to the table that would be new and unique? The answer is in the artist himself. On every song in this collection, you will hear a master musician deliver the melody in a way that only Boots can, and you will hear the most adventurous solos that Boots has recorded to date. His legion of fans will get a huge dose of Boot’s horn on this project, with no apologies. We tackled some very difficult music, both harmonically and technically. 　　I have to admit, I spend most of my time playing Boots’ music with a smile on my face. I know that working with him is the highest honor I could have as a player. He always brings his “A game,” as Tiger Woods says. He is a true example of being a pro musician. We can’t wait to start the next record! 　　-Tim Smith 　　Boots Randolph passed away July 3, 2007.