All proceeds from this album are donated to "A Leg To Stand On".
ALTSO is a nonprofit organization providing free orthopedic care to children with limb disabilities in the developing world.

One thing that can be said about The Bitter End Sunday All Star Jam is that it is magic.

For over 50 years Paul Colby's Bitter End has hosted some of the most important, groundbreaking music and artists in New York City. It's legendary. It's also an honor to be part of the family.

Since I began running the Sunday Night Jam Session, I knew it would be inevitable that we'd be compared to our predecessors to who ran it. A bit intimidating. Then you realize they probably felt the same way too. After a few years, it dawned on me the depth of talent and performances were very special, perhaps too special to be missed. It was no longer about comparing, it was documenting and eras and a proverbial lineage.

Typically I start out telling people how the jam runs, make a few jokes to put the younger players at ease and then remind everyone, they're seeing most of these people play together for the first time and for some, possibly the only time. To cut them some slack and also that they very well might witness some magic. Then I realized after listening to recordings of several nights that there is indeed magic, and a lot of it. This is how the inspiration for this CD came to be.

Perhaps the most difficult part was trying to figure out what tracks to use. There was so much good material to choose from that it was nearly impossible to "whittle" it down to this list. What we ended up with is a playlist that represents a cross section of the diversity you can expect when you sit elbow to elbow in those tiny little tables right on top of the performers in the club.

Without the heart and soul, dreams and vision of each of the musicians who come out to play, the jam would not exist. With out the magic of the music, this CD would not exist. My only regret is that you can't fit everything you want on one CD and that perhaps there were those performances that weren't recorded but should have been. But the vibrations of sound live still in the hearts and minds of the performers and the walls of the Bitter End.

Thank you for your support of live music and we hope to see you again soon!

Peace,
Mark Greenberg


We'd like to thank all of the people involved in making this jam so special:

The Bitter End, Kenny Gorka, Paul Colby, Paul Rizzo, Dan Cazio, David Fields, Brett Bass, Frank Gravis, Marc Shulman, Benny Landa, Tony Tino, Luba Dvorak, Ben Stivers, Pete Levin, Ryoji Hata, Cynthia DiBartolo, David Phelps, Brian Charette, Vinny Alfano, Pat Winters-Liotta, Zildjian, Yamaha & The Bitter End Staff.