The songs on Canbaz were born from the breakup of Yasemin Widener and Steven Christofor. During late night jam sessions with candles and incense burning, a few songs had been written and the idea to record an EP arose as a bright spot in a tough situation and as a marker for two people’s moment in time.   

The Canbaz release was originally 5 songs recorded at Pumpkin Hill Studios in Norwalk, CT during the Summer of 1998. It was recorded, mixed and mastered by Ed Jezarian. Ed was co-owner of Pumpkin Hill Studios along with Frank DiConstanzo who played guitar in Steelheart; Frank also engineered some of the tracks and played slide guitar on "This Will Be Alright". Additional tracking on the song “Suzi” was done at Horizon Studios in New Haven, CT which was recorded and mixed by Roger Arnold. The guitar part for each song was recorded to a click track and from there the songs were formed with the help of a few excellent musicians, including the late John Fowler, drummer of Steelheart.  

1,000 CDs were pressed and distributed hand to hand through the underground, with a few CDs making their way to college radio and some press. Within the year, the Canbaz CD would fade into its intended place as a memory, with its writers falling out of contact.  

After more than seven years, in December of 2006, Yasemin and Steven reconnected. By mid-2007, there was talk of re-tracking the vocals and remixing the Canbaz masters, only to find out that some of the master tapes had been lost. The tapes that remained contained the original 12 string acoustic rhythm guitar played by Steven, the 6 string electric guitar parts played by Yasemin, John Fowler’s drum tracks, a piano track by Vic Steffens and the percussion tracks. The vocals, the electric guitars, two bass tracks and a drum track had been lost.  

Despite the missing tapes, Yasemin and Steven decided to continue with the re-release of the Canbaz and little by little, over the next seven years the lost tracks were re-recorded in addition to 7 new songs. Some of the recording was done at The Factory Underground in Norwalk, CT by Ethan Issac and also at Studio E in Danbury, CT by Brian Blair. With drummers Tim Brennan and Rob Langer, the return of original bass player Francesco Perrona, slide guitar by Frank DiConstanzo, pedal steel by David Kayne and new vocals by Joe Roberto and Jeannie Fry, the Canbaz album was brought back to life.  

In July 2014, 16 years after the first recording session, the new Canbaz album was finally finished – the last of the recording and the final mix being completed at Goat Ranch North in Brewster, NY by owner and engineer Crugie Riccio.  

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In 1998, Yasemin attended The Connecticut School of Broadcasting and by the early 2000s was a successful DJ with high ratings in major markets such as Charlotte, NC and Nashville, TN. Known as “Skye Lewis” on the air, Yasemin hosted a #1 rated show “The Playpen” and was adored by her listeners. In 2006, Yasemin was offered a contract by Sirius Radio to have her own show in NYC, something she had been working towards for years. The same week she was offered the contract, she was diagnosed with breast cancer. Not only did she have to pass on the offer, but she would spend the several years dealing with her illness.   

It was during this time that Steven and Yasemin worked on recording the songs for the new Canbaz release. After making a recovery from the cancer, Yasemin went back to radio, first in Charlotte, NC and then in Roanoke, VA working for Clear Channel.  

By June 2014, as the Canbaz album was nearing completion, Yasemin moved to Connecticut to focus on music. Plans were being made to release the Canbaz album with a promotion campaign, videos and touring. Yasemin had planned to live with Jeannie Fry in Brooklyn and Canbaz would begin performing acoustically in NYC & CT.   

Within a month and a half of coming up to Connecticut, Yasemin began feeling poorly and soon it was discovered that the cancer had come back. Through the Fall and Winter of 2014 and into the Spring of 2015, Yasemin worked hard at recovering and was hopeful that she would be able to continue with the plans for Canbaz. However, on May 12, 2015 Yasemin passed on to another plane.   

In the weeks before her transition, it was agreed that the Canbaz album would finally be released and Yasemin found much contentment from knowing that her songs would be shared.   

Yasemin was a lover of music and nature. She was a kind, caring person with an easygoing manner and a witty sense of humor who loved animals. Canbaz is her music and spirit and story.