Esmeralda was a track not included in the HJC album (digital re-release June 1, 2019) but is available here “from the vault” for your enjoyment. The tune features more aggressive and energetic playing by Cengiz Yaltkaya on piano and Brandon Walker on soprano sax. Larry Muradian plays a nice bass solo on it as well. Listening back now I really hear some magic in this track. I believe it didn’t make the album cut when the album was sequenced due to the tempo speeding up. I remember writing the exotic melody back in the day and named it Esmeralda, something like the name of a Disney character.

Esmeralda was also recorded some years later with George Grosman & Bohemian Swing’s tribute to legendary soprano saxophonist Sidney Bechet “Sidney, Mon Ami” and received much airplay on WUCF in Orlando. Listen here on Spotify.

Let me know what you think of this track (leave a reply below) and please check out the whole HJC album on Spotify or purchase on CD Baby. I will post another outtake next week!