When I was a boy my family moved around a lot. We lived in many different places,
traveled many roads. I inherited both my musical abilities and my love of traveling from
my mother, to whom the song is dedicated. A few years ago my stepfather gave me a
1970’s Martin Classical guitar. It hangs on my studio wall and I don’t play it nearly as
often as I’d like to. One afternoon I had pulled it off the wall and was noodling around,
thinking of my mom and all those roads we had traveled together, and I fell into playing
the very simple melody that was to become Highways Remembered. I sketched out a 4
minute guitar only version of the piece and sent it to Bruce.

The BKQ arrangement came together over many months, working both side by side in
Bruce’s studio and working independently, emailing midi and audio tracks back and
forth. Bruce’s instincts as producer enabled the piece to become more expansive,
creating a panoramic musical landscape on which we would explore. And explore we
did! Rich Kuhns came in with wonderful ideas, played deftly and sensitively in the body
of the tune and filled out the solo sections in the 2nd half with melodic, ruminative
improvisations. Jason did that thing that only the best of drummers can do: creating
momentum that is unfaltering yet spacious and liberating. Bruce’s pedal steel playing is
transcendent (and I don’t use that word lightly). In both his playing and producing,
Bruce managed to capture all those emotions I had felt as I held that old guitar and
reflected on the travels of years gone by.

This track features Jeffrey Wash on fretless electric bass, Rich Kuhns on piano, and Jason Lewis on drums.