Jelly Bean Baby

Peter Nande
Jelly Bean Baby
California Sessions Vol. II
Straight Shooter SHOT 002

Hey now, James Harman back again… this time shoutin’ about Jelly Bean Baby: California Sessions Vol. II, the new album Nathan James and I just finished producing over here at Sacred Cat Studios in Oceanside, California! This is our second one for our Danish buddy, Big Boy Pete, or Peter Nande, as his parents insist on calling him, the first one being Big Boy Boogie: California Sessions Vol. I from 2006.

This new story is similar to the last one – again we spent two straight weeks singin’, playin’, eatin’, drinkin’, laughin’ and tellin’ stories, and came up with another cool, fresh album for our pal Pete. We think you’ll find it to be a lot of fun, but still with that dangerous edge that only low-down, juke-joint blues can bring to the festivities.

Creating this recording was like being at a party with a bunch of old friends. We had everything in place from the last time, so it went down easy once we got started. This time we chose to use Marty Dodson, longtime drummer with Mark Hummel’s Blues Survivor, and he was a force to be reckoned with. We added a swingin’ horn section consisting of Jonny Vaiu and Tony Matoian, and organist Neil Wauchope, who brought along a tone smoother than a tall taste of Kentucky sippin’ whiskey.

Jelly Bean Baby is a 54-minute helping of blues stirred into a program of great dance grooves. I’ll assume you know that when I say dance grooves, I’m not talkin’ no stinkin’ disco or hip-hop, but just some sho-Nuff, hip-shaking’, jug-Bustin’ throwdown songs, all performed by our house groove-squad, plus Pete’s #1 guitar man, “Good Rockin’ Ronni” Busack-Boysen. I’m talking about cool, American rhythm & blues, spiced with a taste of Africa and the islands… but perfect for a low-down juke-joint as well. We hope you’ll enjoy listening to it as much as we enjoyed making it for you.

Thank you, baby!

James Harman0