As a teen, bassist Jeff Johnson was inspired by Ernest Hemingway and his way of writing from experience, giving rich, human impressions of events surrounding him. Johnson uses that inspiration as a guide on "Suitcase" as a way to more vividly convey his life experiences through composition and storytelling. Having forged a deeply creative improvisational partnership over the last twenty years with saxophonist Hans Teuber, his decision to team here with newer musical partners - pianist Steve Moore and drummer Eric Eagle - creates a lively balance of the well-known and less-known to assure there will always be more chapters to be written. "He plays with a mystique that takes the music out of the ordinary with his inventive improvised lines..." - Cadence