Dream Dancing

Dream Dancing documents the trio’s effortless rapport as they explore well-loved standards and a moving Bertoncini original, “For Chet” (an homage to the guitarist’s one-time employer, Chet Baker).

It was Sturm who facilitated the first meeting of Stylianou and Bertoncini, in roughly 2008. “When I first met Gene we played ‘My One and Only Love,’ it was the very next thing after ‘hello,’” the singer recalls. “That moment changed my life. I didn’t yet know about Gene accompanying my vocal heroes like Nancy Wilson, or recording with Wayne Shorter, or playing with Benny Goodman. I just knew I was in the middle of something special. I knew that day I had found a generous master to learn from, a kindred spirit in melody, someone I now call family.”

“He is so at home with these tunes,” says Sturm. “Gene trained as an architect in college, so he really is an architect of these arrangements — and the complete freedom that happens in the moment, allowing us to come together in this new way every single time. It’s a freedom that’s only possible after Gene has done all this homework and poured his heart into it.”

“Every time we play it’s different,” Stylianou remarks. “Ike and Gene have this incredible bond and we all have a very playful way of doing music. We lean into that. The album title Dream Dancing feels right because we find ourselves listening and being spontaneous to such a degree that we end up taking turns ‘leading and following’ in the dance.”