The existence of this album is firm proof that you never know just when or how a benefactor can come into view. Lifelong jazz fan Apostolos Georgopoulos was passing through upstate New York and he had the opportunity to spend a weekend with Connie Casey and Harold Varmus. Upon hearing some music at their home that piqued his interest, Georgopolous learned that their son, Jacob Varmus, was a jazz trumpeter. Then, after being exposed to Jacob Varmus' All The Things We Still Can Be (Self Produced, 2006), Georgopoulos reached out to him about the possibility of commissioning an album of original material. Here we have the end result.

Each of the pieces presented on Aegean is named for friends or family of Georgopoulous, and each is meant to capture the spirit of those particular individuals. "Phineas" is vibrant and strong, "Elma" sings with a heartland sweep, "Areti" is zany yet endearing, "Lyra" is positive and upbeat in nature, and "Zeina" speaks to peace and beauty. Varmus, in creating these sonic portraits for Georgopoulos, draws a parallel between music and family: each of his pieces emanate different characteristics yet all remain bound by their similarities and shared pedigree.

Varmus' trumpet (and cornet) are central to these stories, but he also makes good use of all of the players at his disposal. Saxophonist