When I met bassist, George Koller, I knew I’d found remarkable chemistry. He is one of the finest musicians I have ever heard. From the first time we’d played, there was the understanding that we could go places that neither one of us had gone before.

We created this recording as a duo, with a few well-chosen friends sitting in along the way. There’s no piano, no guitar, any chords are the result of our sense of play and joy in the music we’ve written and chosen. I used to tell people, that creating a CD was a lot like birthing a child, but without the stretch marks. This is my beautiful, first born.

Julie Michels & Kevin Barrett: Live at Statler’s

My second baby! It recorded on a beautiful, sunny afternoon in October at Statler’s Lounge, in Toronto with my friend Kevin Barrett - he’s a great arranger. We’d been playing there, weekly, when the owners approached us to make a CD. With the benefit of some terrific engineering, we created a live CD that sounds good!