The seeds for Vida Blue were sewn when McConnell attended shows by the Allman Brothers Band and the Meters in April 2001. McConnell honed in on the playing of Burbridge and Batiste, and the wheels began turning. When both enthusiastically assented, McConnell took the reins and made the arrangements, booking time for the trio at a New Orleans studio.

The trio cut tracks and jammed for a week at Piety Street Recording, a brand-new studio in New Orleans' Ninth Ward. McConnell subsequently added instrumental overdubs and vocals back home in Vermont. He didn't approach the project with an agenda beyond his intention to focus more on synthesizer, organ and electric piano than the grand piano that had been a signature part of his playing with Phish. In terms of sonics, the principal inspiration for Vida Blue's first studio foray was "some of the stuff Miles Davis and his keyboardists did with the Fender Rhodes electric piano circa Jack Johnson, In A Silent Way and Get Up With It. The texture of the Rhodes, the sound of the drums — it opens up in all sorts of ways."

Some of the tracks unfold like musical conversations among three highly skilled players, while others — notably "Most Events Aren't Planned" and "Electra Glide" — are songs featuring McConnell's vocals and representing his first foray into lyric-writing. "Without a doubt, that was one of the most challenging aspects of this project, because I'd never done it," he says. "I spent a lot of time and worked really hard at it."

Of his fellow players, McConnell has nothing but praise. "They're phenomenal musicians," he says. "I feel challenged, but I'm comfortable with them also." McConnell has known bassist Burbridge from the days when Phish shared bills with Oteil's former outfit, the Aquarium Rescue Unit. "When the Aquarium Rescue Unit was playing in the early Nineties, they were my favorite band," McConnell recalls. "I saw them as often as I could. It may have been the last time I unequivocally knew what my favorite live band was."

Drummer Batiste, who joined New Orleans funk legends the Meters when they re-formed in the late Eighties, was voted Musician of the Year in New Orleans a few years back. "He is a musician from a family of musicians in a city of musicians, not unlike the Neville or Marsalis family," notes McConnell. "It's no secret to the people down there; everyone knows who Russell is."

What has McConnell the most pumped up about Vida Blue is the indefinable chemistry that emerged during their recording sessions and is further developing in concert. "Vida Blue has brought out something new and different in our playing," he enthuses. "We're developing a personality and character as a band. It really does have its own sound and chemistry and energy. We're still a relatively young band, but it's going so well right now. I didn't imagine it would be coming together this quickly."