A chance meeting between Johnny and Japanese bass virtuoso Masatoshi Emori sparked the idea of recording together. But it wasn't until Johnny "discovered" the amazing talents of drummer Lorenzo Braceful at another venue several weeks later that the idea of forming a trio and recording together took shape.
Johnny immediately set about writing some original material for the date and "Johnny Todd - The Trio" was recorded in Tokyo shortly after. In addition to the eight originals composed expressly for the trio, Johnny added arrangements of two folk songs to highlight the international flavor of the group. "Danny Boy" reflects the Western influence and "Yagi Bushi", a folk song from the Gumma Prefecture of Japan offers an Oriental taste with extra spice added by the powerful and exuberant drumming of Lorenzo "Zo" braceful.
Chance meetings can often produce indelible relationships, a fact expressed by the word "en" in Japanese and embodied also in the first syllable of the opening track "Encantado" (de