Why we called our new CD “Can’t Find My Way Home

On a recent trip to Bucharest Romania, I met the amazing photographer Roza Zah. Usually, I hate photos of myself but after a performance at Radio Hall in Bucharest, this guy came up to me and said he took some. I had no interest but said ‘Oh, great, I want to see them’. When he showed them to me, I was totally impressed. For the first time I saw a photo of myself where I didn’t cringe. I asked him to send me the photos. I told him I wanted to send him money and asked for his address. But, he didn’t have one. Roza told me he was homeless. I was stunned and speechless. How could a photographer this good be homeless! I just stood there in shock. Finally I asked if he carried his camera around with him and was it safe. He said he didn’t own a camera. He just borrowed it. I felt the tears well up in my eyes but held them back.

When we were recording Can’t Find My Way Home, we talked about making this song the title of the CD. I found myself thinking of Roza and how appropriate it would be. I’m not sure who came up with the final idea but I knew then that we had to get a photo from Roza for the cover. Kevin and Paul agreed.

When we went through Roza’s photos and found the caterpillar, we had goose bumps. The photo totally fit for the cover. And for the first time, I was involved in a CD with so much meaning. Most of the jazz CD’s I’ve done were simply about playing tunes. This CD was about our lives, about Roza’s life and about a generation of people in search of their way home. This is our music. It’s our songbook and our standards. It’s the music we want to play.

Roza, we dedicate our CD to you.

Tony