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such as flute, saxophone, harmonica, clarinet and violin. The final instrument we recorded was
guitar, which Paul Nelson himself generously agreed to perform. His contribution was the icing on
the cake!

LL: Please tell us about the musicians who performed on “Consider This”.

PT: I am so happy with the musicians who played on “Consider This.” I have played on and off with
my friends Jan Jungden and Justin Blackburn since the early 2000s. Jan is fabulous on keyboards,
synthesizer and flute. She plays the Keytar which is a keyboard/synthesizer, set up so it can be
played with a strap like a guitar. She is fearless with it and
not afraid to experiment with different synthesizer sounds.
As for her flute playing, she is phenomenal and a great

improvisor. If you listen to the last track “Since You’ve
Been Around,” she played accordion. She was a big part in
the intricate layering of sound on this recording. Justin
Blackburn is outstanding on drums and percussion with a
very good sense of timing. He plays with a well-known
east-coast band called “Eight To The Bar”. As far as I’m
concerned, he could easily be playing with national acts.
Mark Annulli has been my bass player since 2016 and he is
willing to try anything!

These three musicians were the backbone of the recording
with me. Adding Mick Seretny on harmonica, Bruce Abbott
on clarinet, Crispin Cioe on saxophone and Edilio Bermudez
on the violin (which was a dream that I’ve had for years)
were perfect choices for this recording. I met Crispin
during our first visit to Jamaica. His credits include being a
founder of New York’s Uptown Horns and he’s played with

Jan Jungden such greats as James Brown, Ray Charles and the Rolling
Stones among others. It was an honour to have him play
with us.

LL: What about guitars and amps? What are you playing these days?

PT: When I started playing at the Tic Toc, I was playing an acoustic Alvarez guitar. I got advice
from my jam buddies about moving up to electric and of course, I got a Stratocaster which I play to
this day. I like to play slide, so I raised the strings on an older Danelectro and I play that as well.
Over the years I’ve bought various guitars, keyboards, and many percussion instruments as well,

but the first three guitars I mentioned are my mainstays. I used a Princeton Chorus amp for many
years and then upgraded to a Fender Deluxe for more crunch when I play slide. I tried out a Blues
Junior for ease of transport, but it didn’t have the power of the Deluxe. I also tried different amps
and pedals to get alternate tunings on my guitar so I could quickly move to an open D or G tuning,
but I always returned to the authentic sound of my Fender amp with guitars in regular or open
tunings. My songwriting is based on playing rhythm guitar or piano and while it’s nice to have
bells and whistles for tone and effects, for me it comes down to the structure and melody of the
song. If you have that down, all the rest can be added. I guess I’m old-fashioned that way, having
admired the old-school blues players who do their thing with just a simple guitar in hand.