I headed to Houston on June 2nd to rehearse and record with Houston-based guitarist, Charles Davis. I met Charles at Roberta Donnay and Eddy Bee's home in Mill Valley, CA., while he was working on a jazz/blues songwriting and recording project with Roberta. When I heard the tone and articulation of his playing, I was inspired. In the following months, I contacted Charles to see if he'd be up for a collaboration of pop and jazz standards featuring just guitar and voice. He said yes and the experimentation began. I am always amazed at those players who can not only read/play music from a written page but can also "leave" the box. After a few song trials, I realized that Charles was the player I had been looking for and "Bare Essentials" was born. The music selections are comprised of songs I've always admired and loved. included are our arrangements of such songs as: The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face, Love Song, The Look of Love, (You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman, Wichita Lineman, and more. The tempo is generally a slow, sensual groove with Charles embellishing away! The gorgeous CD cover photography is provided by my brother, Thomas Schworer. The inspired graphic work is provided by my best friend (since high school!), Robin Murphy. I edited this project with my partner and stunning musician and composer in his own right, Ray Cooper, who will also mix and master the CD at our Passion Star Music studio. Thanks to Eddy Bee for my lovely profile picture and pictures from a recent house concert and to Sharon Green for my "star" head shot! I had a fantastic experience recording sessions at SugarHill Recording Studios - (SugarHill Recording Studios is the "Abbey Road of the South". Believed to be the oldest continuously operating recording facility in the US, SugarHill has played host to a great many recording artists and their hits in its 69 year history). A special thank you to Andy Bradley who was our recording engineer at SugarHill and took such good care of Charles and I! Many of the vocal tracks were also recorded in San Rafael, CA at Laughing Tiger Studios with my partner, Ray Cooper, engineering which created a special intimacy. Thank you for your interest in my project. Blessings, Lisa Star