Celebrated vocalist Kate Baker and her late husband, guitar giant Vic Juris, chronicle a moving love story on Return to Shore, their evocative, newly released album featuring a stunning recorded document of tender connection and supreme musical synergy.  

The album’s origin began several years prior to Juris’ untimely passing in December of 2019 at the age of 66 from neuroendocrine cancer. His untimely death created a crater-like  hole in the music community. Known as a true “musicians' musician,” his career spanned 40 years with several important musical partnerships, including a 20-year tenure in saxophonist Dave Liebman’s band.  

However, the most meaningful partnership was with Kate. They performed together often and their uncommon collaboration left audiences floored. Despite their frequent live appearances, the duo never released an album together. Perhaps even more surprisingly, Baker had never issued a formal recorded debut. When Vic passed, the recordings they had done in studio from earlier that year took on new significance, and with producer and guitar great Dave Stryker’s help, Jill wanted to deliver one last document of her late husband’s work to the world. The results are revelatory and cathartic. 

Our conversation chronicles Kate’s personal and professional journey of releasing Return to Shore. The music speaks for itself, and we share clips with you in this episode. This story can’t be adequately told without hearing the immense love and respect behind it.