"The experience these guys bring to their music has been obtained from lots of road time. Kleeman and Stannard are both in their fifties, have been playing bars for decades, and are clearly not ready for AARP bus tours. From the energy and pump of the music, it sounds as if some of the "obscure places" mentioned in the title might be smoky roadhouses, so it's surprising to discover that most of the album was recorded live in such relatively sedate venues as the Riley Rink in Manchester and the Old Firehouse in Tinmouth. A few tracks were laid down at Southview Arts, a fine little studio on a hill above Middletown Springs, and at Kleeman's home studio. It's clear that Kleeman, who has played with many musical partners over the years, and Stannard have found that rare thing: a musical complement that really fits."

The Vermont Jazz Ensemble is a 17 member instrumental music group that performs music, most of which is in the Jazz or "Big Band" style, although the repertoire also includes "Latin", "Rock", "Fusion", and music which is currently "Popular". The instrumentation includes 5 WOODWINDS (usually 2 alto saxes, 2 tenor saxes, and 1 baritone sax - these players "double" on saxes, clarinet, and flute), 4 TROMBONES (one is a bass trombone), 4 TRUMPETS (these players "double" on flugelhorn), DRUMS, BASS, PIANO, and GUITAR. The "VJE" maintains a performing library of approximately 300 selections, including music made popular by the bands and orchestras of COUNT BASIE, GLENN MILLER, DUKE ELLINGTON, STAN KENTON, WOODY HERMAN, TOMMY AND JIMMY DORSEY, MAYNARD FERGUSON,and many other "name" bands, as well as recently and currently popular music. Every performance features ensemble work, sectional and individual solos, and improvisation.