The music for NEW PERSPECTIVE developed while touring the USA promoting our 40th Anniversary album TIME FLIES. Our keyboardist Manuel Valera and bassist Janek Gwizdala asked me if I was interested in playing any jazz interpretations of Journey songs. That question has been coming up for the past 40 years and my answer has always been “No.” Ignoring my "No," Manuel decided to come up with a radical treatment of “Don’t Stop Believin.’” We tried it at a soundcheck, played it that night and it got a positive response, which shifted my perspective. On June 29, 2023, near the end of our east coast tour, we stopped at Studio Mozart in Little Falls, NJ to record “Don’t Stop Believin,’” “Open Arms,” plus new versions of Vital Information classics “The Perfect Date” and “Charukeshi Express.” A theme for our next album was born: Record songs that I had previously played on during my career but with new arrangements that are quite different from the original versions, bringing a NEW PERSPECTIVE to the music. - Steve Smith