In 2019, Billie Eilish asked the question, When we all fall asleep, where do we go? on her song "Bury A Friend." Here, Chicago Soul Jazz Collective spin that sentiment into a love song, asking the lady where she ends up in her dreams. Is it Paris on a carpet ride? Up over the rainbow?
The big question, though, is, Do you ever dream of me?
This is the only track on the It Takes A Spark To Start A Fire album with vocals, which are sung by a guest artist: Raul Midón, who also adds guitar.
The group's tenor sax player, John Fournier, wrote this song. He told Songfacts the story: "I was driving around Chicago and I got lost as I often do in an unfamiliar part of the city. I came upon a huge mural someone had painted on the side of an old building. A beautiful colorful concoction with the words 'Where do you go when you dream?' written underneath it. The title was really good and I carried it around with me for a few months waiting for a song idea that might go well with the title. I came up with this cool shuffle-type melody and groove as I was listening to a lot of old Basie band recordings and some early Ray Charles. I thought the title might be a bit clunky but it worked beautifully with the melody and fit right in rhythmically, which pleasantly surprised me.
Once I hit on the idea of the singer sweet talking his object of affection the words came to me quickly. I tried to use phrases that Joe Williams or Ray Charles might sing and have lyrical references that people would know now but would have also known in 1965, and I think that helps give the song a classic appeal.
The last piece of the puzzle was to find a singer who could really deliver the song and I was honored and thrilled when Raul Midón accepted my invitation. We were fortunate to find animator Iz Mozer who delivered a surreal video and the positive response to the song has been a thrill."Chicago Soul Jazz Collective formed in 2017 when Marques Carroll and John Fournier were backing the singer Robbie Fulks on horns at a session. Between takes, they got to talking about the state of the world and how jazz-soul records seemed to ease the pain. Adding Amr Fahmy on Rhodes piano, Andrew Vogt on bass, Larry Brown, Jr. on guitar, and Keith Brooks II on drums, they started performing, and in 2019 released their debut album, Soulophone, which they followed in 2020 with It Takes A Spark To Start A Fire. Both albums were recorded mostly live to capture the feel of their performances.