When three friends get together, conversation, camaraderie, and cosmic communication can occur in the most special of cases. That unpredictable magic erupts every time keyboardist Jeff Babko, bassist Tim Lefebvre and drummer Mark Guiliana converge for a “hang,” or in this event, a musical evening of discovery.

These three GRAMMY-nominated artists also comprise Guiliana’s Beat Music L.A. ensemble. Individually, their credits span from David Bowie’s album Blackstar and Donny McCaslin’s band, to TV appearances on Jimmy Kimmel Live and motion picture soundtracks, including the number one hit “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” from Pixar’s Encanto.

“To the casual listener and avid music participant alike, the music heard here reflects the magic that happens in a ‘real time’ moment with very little prejudice, expectation or direction,” Babko writes in the liner notes. “The music composed for Clam City is distilled to the most basic of notated data and the dream of what it can be when cast under the spell of my pals’ brilliant ears, hands, brains and souls.”

Side A:
1. The Church of Bill Hilton
2. New Wave Theatre
3. New Jersey Ballad
4. This West

Putting the vinyl on the record player, and with the spirit of camaraderie being crucial to a greater collective of shared ideas, laughter, and to be sure, music, the album opens on the suburbia Gospel of The Church of Bill Hilton and the contemporary exploration found within New Wave Theatre and then we a genuine warmth that weaves lovingly through New Jersey Ballad and the dutifully melodic folk melodies woven within This West.

Side B:
5. Boo Boo’s Birthday
6. Fugue Robotique
7. Chongo’s Song
8. New Jersey Ballad – Return to Jerz

Flipping the vibrantly effective vinyl LP over, we next get Thelonious Monk’s Boo Boo’s Birthday and my own personal favorite here, the Kraftwerk Berlin pulse-hued Fugue Robotique, which are in turn backed seamlessly by the patient ballad Chongo’s Song (named after Babko’s wife), coming to a close on the joyfulness found in abundance of New Jersey Ballad – Return to Jerz.

Babko and the trio thank Sam First Records for “catching and releasing” the sounds in a “safe and inspiring space for us to share these real time moments with those that want to join us on the ride.”

Sam First Records is the in-house label for the Westside Los Angeles jazz club, Sam First. A product of the club owner Paul Solomon and musician/artistic director David Robaire, the label is keeping the spirit of jazz moving forward in the 21st century.

Utilizing state-of-the-art equipment (24 channels of Grace and AEA preamps running through a Lynx Aurora A/D converter), there is a strong effort to bring pristine recording aesthetics to a live club setting. Their setup also includes AEA ribbon mics with DPA, Mojave and Soyuz condenser mics.

The first release in this “live” series was pianist Justin Kauflin, a musical pioneer who is celebrated by jazz royalty including Quincy Jones.

Jeff Babko / Tim Lefebvre / Mark Guiliana - CLAM CITY [Official Promo]