Can you imagine opening an email and finding it's from someone you didn't know personally, but greatly admired for years? That happened to me one day last October. Thanks to the legendary DJ Jonathan Schwartz, who had been playing, tracks from my CDs; on his XM radio show, Bob Florence heard my voice and found me through the miracle of the world wide web! My kids laugh at how "internet challenged" I am.- but since then, I sure do love my computer.
   Shortly after getting in touch with me, Bob and I decided we wanted to work together. He made all the arrangements to record at Firehouse Studio in Pasadena and I flew to the west coast in early December of 2006. From our first meeting, we knew we were in sync, personally as well as musically. Although Bob is so well respected as a jazz composer and arranger, his sensivity to the lyrics is what truly amazed me, as evidenced in the dynamics and colors of his accompaniment.
   I've been a New York studio singer for over 40 years and this recording session was unlike anything I had ever done - hardly any rehearsal, not one sheet of music and no overdubs. In the studio, we had a small but very appreciative audience, my pregnant daughter Michelle, her husband Dan, Bob's wife Evie and our mutual friend Don Shelton. This was as live a performance as any I've given on stage. The few times we went to "take 2" were because I had become so enamored with Bob's breathtaking solos, I'd simply forget to come in. Another time, our terrific engineer, Rich Breen, recorded us rehearsing one of the tunes and that became the final take.
  Needless to say, I am so proud of this project. I can't wait for my son Jonathan, my mom, and the rest of my family and friends back home to hear it. My hope is that the joy I had in recording ''You Will Be My Music" comes through in the listening.