A Croquet Kind of Day

This terrific set of smooth jazz tunes is the perfect soundtrack for a leisurely drive down the sunny Pacific Coast Highway. A band of San Francisco’s finest musicians led by David Austin are allowed to stretch out while backing the straight-ahead vocals of Candy Forest.

Back Story

A Croquet Kind of Day was recorded in Studio A at The Plant Recording Company in Sausalito in 1989. My dream band was led by pianist/arranger David Austin with Ruth Davies on acoustic bass, Ray Loeckle on reeds and flute and Jim Zimmerman on drums and percussion. Joyce Cooling joined us on guitar for April Showers. Songwriter Carroll Coates played the piano on his tune, It Was Easy. I played piano on It’s Not Easy Being Green.

We were engineered and mixed by the legendary Fred Catero, who worked with Barbra Streisand, The Pointer Sisters and Herbie Hancock, among many others. The piano was a New York Steinway B, graciously provided by Sherman & Clay.

The ambience in Studio A with its inlaid rosewood walls was so beautiful and warm and, of course, the sea breezes off the Bay provided great energy. It was a total joy to work in there with such an amazing group of artists. Regrettably, The Plant is now long gone but fortunately my sessions for A Croquet Kind of Day survived and were recently re-mastered and digitized and ready for you to enjoy!