"Alec Fraser has become my all-around man for the last decade. He's been my engineer for all of my jazz projects, he's been the bassist and engineer for the "Jeff Healey Blues Band", and he shares my interest and enthusiasm as an eclectic listener to many different genres of music. In this band, I always feel like I'm a member, not the leader — just a musician who has an equally important role along with the other players."
— JEFF HEALEY, 2008
I've just spent a lot of time listening to the tapes of our band — from Notodden, the big festival in Norway, the date we played in London, when Jeff's old friend Randy Bachman came onstage to join him, and some tracks recorded at Jeff's club in Toronto.
It's such a flashback; Jeff was on top form, positive, well, and, as always, the rest of us gave him the support he could always rely on.
There are a couple of things that come back to me. One is how exhausted we all were for the Notodden Festival; it was a long series of plane rides, and then a couple of hours in a car with no sleep. However, the minute we hit stage, the tiredness seemed to vanish, and we were all ON, with Jeff leading the way.
As always, his repertoire was as wide as the Mississippi — you'll find some Chicago classics, some old r&b, a taste of psychedelia, and some pop classics from a bygone era — "Teach Your Children Well," "Come Together," and his biggest hit "Angel Eyes."
Whenever we played — in Europe, the U.S. or at home in Canada — Jeff always gave his best, even in the last days when he was seriously ill.
Around the world, thousands of fans will enjoy this CD. I believe Jeff was one of a kind and it's doubtful there will ever be another one like him.
At the very end of the last song, "Santa Bring My Baby Back to Me," Jeff can be heard saying "That was fun, and that's what it's all about."
And so it is.
- ALEC FRASER (producer & bass player)
Jeff Healey - Songs From The Road
