Me, Myself, & I

Recorded in his basement studio, Paul’s work on guitar, bass, flute and drums demonstrates remarkable musical versatility. Paul taught himself all these instruments while growing up by playing along with his father, jazz pianist Frank Hosford. The enjoyment Paul finds in exploring this rich and complex music from the perspectives of different instruments is clear, and engages listeners whether they have a background in jazz or not.

My great uncle Richard Mansfield grew up on a farm outside of Albion (a rural community of about 1,600 where I still live today), and he took up the flute because it was the easiest instrument to carry back and forth to school on a horse. An avocational reed player on the West Coast during the Swing Era, Richard visited Albion for the last time when I was 15. Again, because it was easy to travel with, Richard brought his flute and on his first evening here he invited me to play an old standard, Oh, Lady Be Good with him – just string bass and flute. We were then joined by my father Frank on piano and my grandfather Russ on drums, and we all had a great time jamming together for the rest of the week. As he was leaving, Richard handed me his flute and told me to learn to play it. So this album is dedicated to Uncle Richard and the first track, Oh, Lady Be Good, starts with just bass and flute the same way he and I began our musical relationship all those long years ago. Paul Hosford