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Blood Sweat And Tears, Chicago, and Nile Rogers and Chic. In fact, when he
and Doug Dehays, who plays saxophone on the album, were on tour with
Nile in London they recorded some of their horn parts for “Yes, I Do!” in
a hotel room after management gave them permission! This album was
my first time working with Doug and trombone and tuba player, Randy
Andos. It was Steve who brought them both onto the project.

As far as special guests go, Vinnie Raniolo played guitar on my Jazz album
“Easy Living.” I had sung with him when he and Frank Vignola came to
play at The Saco River Theatre. I knew I wanted a swinging rhythm guitar
and Vinnie is the best. I met CJ Chenier when he played at the theater, as
well. He asked me to sit in with him on piano, and I was thrilled. I played a
song, then got up to leave, and he motioned for me to sit down. I ended up
playing the rest of the show with him, which was exhilarating! I play with CJ
and his band whenever they come to town. CJ has made special appearances
on my last three albums, and I am always honored. Cindy Cashdollar was
another musician who played at the theater when she was on tour. She is
incredibly nice and a blazingly great pedal steel player.

LL: How did you experience and weather through the global pandemic?

JP: As I mentioned, I recorded “Sun Come And Shine” during the pandemic,
so was kept quite busy with that, but not performing live for
twenty-two months was just
awful. I did, however, get a lot
of work done on our house.
Dana and I live in a three-
story Victorian that we
bought for $10 in Portland in
1995, cut in 8 pieces, moved 20 miles
out to Buxton where we live, and put back together. Not being able
to work on anything other than the album gave us time to put lots of
beautiful finishing touches on various rooms that we hadn’t had time to
do before. Unlike my parents, though, I plan to stay and enjoy this finished
house!

LL: What can your fans look forward to coming up for you?

JP: As we speak, my team is booking concerts for the spring and summer,
as well as planning another tour to The EU in February of 2025. When I
have all of the dates set, I’ll make sure to put them on my website
(jenniferportermusic.com) so everyone can be in the know! I’ve also been
getting the itch to write some more new music, so I’ll need to make time
and space for that. On the acting front, I’ll be performing in Agatha
Christie’s “A Murder Is Announced” and Noel Coward’s “Private Lives”
at The Saco River Theatre this spring and summer.

Thank you so much for reaching out, Lawrence! It’s been a true pleasure!
~ © Lawrence Lebo 2024

Lawrence Lebo is an award winning, critically acclaimed Blues recording artist living in Northeast
Ohio, USA. She can be found on the web at www.lawrencelebo.com .