Bassist, composer, and bandleader Derek Frank will release In Case You Missed It, Volume 2 – Live at The Baked Potato on November 7, 2026. Recorded at the legendary Los Angeles jazz club during a brief tour break on May 21, the album captures Frank and his seven-piece band turning a night without rehearsal into one of his favorite performances.
“Rehearsal is overrated,” Frank joked after the first set.
With conflicting schedules leaving no time for the band to rehearse, Frank relied on a familiar approach among LA’s top session and touring musicians: send the set list, charts, and recordings in advance, then trust everyone to “do their homework.” This time, the challenge included several songs the group had never performed together, plus substitute keyboardist Michael Bluestein, the longtime Foreigner member who was tackling most of the material for the first time.
Frank had every bit of confidence in the musicians around him; That confidence paid off from the opening downbeat.
“One of my favorite shows we’ve ever played,” he said.
Fortunately, the cameras and multitrack recording system were running at “The Spud” that night. House recording engineer Jeremy Krull captured both sets, preserving the interplay, spontaneity, and energy that made the evening stand out.
Founded in 1970 by keyboardist Don Randi (of the legendary LA studio musicians collective known as “The Wrecking Crew”), The Baked Potato has long been a gathering place for Los Angeles’ finest session musicians and fans of jazz and fusion. The intimate Studio City venue gives artists room to stretch out and audiences a close-up view of the musical conversation—an ideal setting for Frank’s groove-driven originals and the spontaneous interplay captured on this album.
“There’s something in the energy of the first take… the freshness of playing something for the first time with no formal rehearsal, that often results in some magical musical moments,” said Frank.
The evening’s repertoire drew from Frank’s three studio albums—Let the Games Begin.. (2009), Eleven Years Later (2020), and Origin Story (2024)—alongside more recently-released singles and select covers. The opening medley, “Da Break/Breakout,” paired fellow bassist Oskar Cartaya’s “Da Break” with Frank’s original “Breakout,” setting the tone for the set that followed.
“When I listened back to the board recording a few days later, I decided that the first set deserved to be made into a live album,” said Frank.
Narrowed down to eight tracks, the resulting collection features five original compositions and three covers: The Meters’ “Give It What You Can,” Tower of Power’s “Squib Cakes,” and The Greyboy Allstars’ “Happy Friends.” Together, they showcase Frank’s blend of funk, blues, soul, jazz, and seventies soundtrack influences, with room for each musician’s personality to shine.
Derek and his handpicked band craft an eclectic mix of funk, blues, soul, jazz, and southern rock, channeling the feel of vintage soundtrack music. His compositions are defined by tight arrangements, slinky grooves, and a deep sense of musical interplay that prioritizes taste and feel over flashy technique.
Joining Frank are Matt Hankle on drums, Anthony King on guitar, Demian Arriaga on percussion, Dan Fornero on trumpet, George Shelby on saxophone, and Michael Bluestein on keyboards.
For his fifth solo album, Frank reunited with frequent studio collaborator Jim Scott (Tedeschi Trucks Band, Tom Petty, Wilco, Sting, Red Hot Chili Peppers), who mixed the record with assistant mixing engineer Benjamin Knapp. Fellow bassist Whynot Jansveld (The Wallflowers) handled mastering.
Frank’s solo work has earned praise from Bass Magazine, Guitar World Magazine, American Songwriter Magazine, No Treble, Bass Player Magazine, Music Connection Magazine, and podcasts such as “Everyone Loves Guitar” and “The Bass Shed”. Additionally, he received a Hollywood Independent Music Award nomination for Best Instrumental Song. His work has drawn comparisons to Lettuce, Vulfpeck, Cory Wong, Snarky Puppy, Tedeschi Trucks Band, Karl Denson, and John Scofield.
Frank has spent much of 2026 on the road with Melissa Etheridge and Don Felder, balancing a busy touring schedule with his own creative work. He squeezed in this Baked Potato performance during a two-week break between a run of shows with Etheridge and another with Felder, trading arena stages for the intimate club setting. The evening gave him a chance to reconnect with his own band and step into his role as a composer and bandleader—with the results captured on this new live album.
In Case You Missed It, Volume 2 – Live at The Baked Potato brings that chemistry to the foreground, capturing a night when preparation met spontaneity—and the tape was rolling. Release date: November 7, 2026.
Watch the first video “Breakout” from the Live album using Oskar Cartaya’s “Da Break” as an intro – Live at The Baked Potato in Studio City, California May 21st, 2026.
For more on Derek Frank:
By: Bass Magazine