As long as there are music fans, there will be ongoing “What if?” discussions about the canon commonly referred to as “Great Lost Albums” – recording projects that were supposed to happen but, for many reasons, never came to fruition.

“Black Gold” by Jimi Hendrix. Marvin Gaye’s “Love Man.” “Get Back” by the Beatles. A Bob Dylan/Johnny Cash collaboration. “Celebration of the Lizard” by the Doors. “Lost Highway” by Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. Green Day’s “Cigarettes and Valentines.” And on and on.

Is it possible New London has a great lost album? And can a recording be a lost great album if no one’s ever heard of it?

The answer to both questions is: Yeah, sorta.

Consider “It’s the Tone.” It was a proposed eight-song collaborative album envisioned by local multi-instrumentalist/producer/engineer/ Carl Franklin and renowned trumpeter Doug Woolverton (Roomful of Blues, Kenny Wayne Shepherd). Working in Franklin’s PWOP Studios on State Street in New London from 2012 to ’14, the pair finished five very excellent tunes within the parameters of a musical style they characterized as “groove chill.”

“It’s a concept of a style of music that’s not instrumental jazz or funk,” Woolverton said in a phone interview earlier this week. “It’s groovy music that has a chill factor. There’s a groove but the trumpet melody is —” he paused and laughed “— you know, light the candles and sit back and relax.”

The missing music

For many reasons, the album was never completed.

After a decade, though, there’s some good news. “It’s the Tone” isn’t lost anymore. Billed as Franklin and Woolverton, the musicians officially released the five existing tunes through all major streaming services as well as a FLAC download from their itsthetone.com website.

“Yeah, I sat on the recordings for a long time,” Franklin said earlier this week in a phone interview. “Doug was always, ‘Let’s go ahead and release it.’ But I was holding out hope that somehow, we’d get back to it and complete the original idea of eight songs.

“Plus, the whole industry was changing. People were releasing music and getting no royalties, and I didn’t just want to give it away. I think it’s valuable music and that people would pay for it. I was getting discouraged. I finally came to the conclusion that sometimes you have to give it away to get noticed, but I was also thinking, ‘There’s gotta be a way.’”

Franklin came up with the idea of selling audio files in the FLAC (Free Lossless Audio Codec) format. He explained, “FLAC files are CD-quality, like WAV files, but they are usually about half the size, so they are more easily downloaded. Some audiophiles seek out FLAC versions of their favorite music, so they get the highest fidelity possible.”

So, you can purchase the FLAC version of “It’s the Tone” for $20 at the website.

The best of intentions

“It’s the Tone” was a perhaps unlikely project to begin with. Franklin, known not just for his studio prowess but also for solo work and as leader of the popular group the Franklin Brothers, was writing new material. Majorly influenced by Steely Dan and guitarists Brian May, Larry Carlton and Joe Walsh, Franklin has continually refined a certain sound to his music. One day, particularly enamored of a section of one song, he thought it required a trumpet part, something, he said, “like Maynard Ferguson would do — but I didn’t know anyone who could play like that.”

Franklin asked the folks at Caruso Music in New London, and they recommended Curt Ramm, an Old Saybrook player best known for being a member of Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band. Ramm was in fact busy with The Boss, but he in turn strongly suggested Woolverton.

“I got a call from Carl and this big recommendation from Curt, so I drove to New London and walked into this amazing studio,” Woolverton said. Now living with his family in Maryland, Woolverton was based in Newport at the time. “I immediately realized Carl knew what he was doing, particularly with digital recording, so that was intriguing to know. And we did the track and it sounded great, and we got along really well. I started playing with the Franklin Brothers whenever our schedules worked out.”

As they grew more familiar with each other and overlapping musical tastes, they decided to explore the sonic possibilities of “groove chill.”

“It just instantly worked,” Franklin said. “Doug would play an idea and I’d just dial in, and we were off. It was great and easy. I had the studio and could play drums and bass and do the editing.” He said, as they refined groove chill, he thought of artists like Ringo Starr and Steve Gadd (drums), the tylistics (chord changes), Billy Preston (electric piano) and Aretha Franklin for her groove. “We never wrote anything out and we weren’t jamming. We built the songs from the melody or groove and develop them.”

Melody, space & tone

With the acknowledgment that each piece would have that seductive bottom end, the focus was on melody as it functions with space and tone. The emphasis was on tunefulness rather than flurries of notes demonstrating virtuosity for the sake of it.

Woolverton said, “I’ve been a huge fan of Miles Davis since I was a kid, and his approach to melody had a big impact on my playing. The trumpet is a very melodic instrument and I grew up learning melody lines. I’m also a big fan of Chris Botti — how each of those players let the music breathe and emphasize tone. I try to play melodies that are like vocal melodies. If you’re singing, you have to pause to breathe. There’s a natural space there that adds room and texture.

“And of course Carl not only provided his own melodic ideas but he’s just so great on bass and drums and his knowledge of the studio allows him to fill the sound out in a big way. He’s a huge Steely Dan fan, and their studio reputation is huge. Plus, Carl had the idea of doubling a lot of the trumpet parts, which is a studio technique Herb Albert came up with that just brings this rich stereo vibe. I mean, we were having a great time and the music was really good.”

Unfortunately, it was getting harder and harder for the pair to find the time to get together. Woolverton had been touring with Roomful, had his own Newport residency with a Miles Davis tribute band, and then I became a dad, which is something I really wanted to be.”

Franklin released Franklin Brothers music as well as his own stuff (including guest work from another influence, jazz guitar great John Scofield), and was increasingly successful as a self-employed software developer.

Fading into the past

Eventually, and despite Woolverton and Franklin’s connection, “It’s the Tone” drifted from back-burner priority to “not happening.”

“The truth is, life got in the way — for all the right reasons,” Woolverton said. “I’m a dad and it’s something I love. I have some great work opportunities and I’m about to go back out with Kenny Wayne Shepherd. Plus, I live in Annapolis, so the days of hopping in the car and driving over to Carl’s studio are no longer practical.”

All these years later, Franklin found himself pondering the music he and Woolverton had in the can. “We were celebrating in the studio when we did that. We had a lot of fun. You know, if we’d put it out, we’d have introduced a style of music that maybe wouldn’t have been hugely popular. But it’s music we like to listen to, and maybe a lot of people WOULD like it.”

With the relatively recent fiscal possibilities represented by FLAC, the idea of putting the songs out suddenly seemed reasonable.

Now’s the time

“I called Doug and ask what he thought and he said, ‘Great! Let’s do it!’” Franklin said. “So I copyrighted the music and got licensing with BMI, and here we are. I’ve expanded the website to include videos for each song as well as credits. Maybe we’ll bring it out in vinyl. Maybe we’ll record again. The thing is, it brings back so many great memories of when we were recording to begin with.”

“I listened to ‘It’s the Tone’ today and thought, ‘These are really great!’” Woolverton said. “Not to sound silly, but music allows and reunites relationships. Music is what brought Carl and I together and it will always keep us together. He’s helped me be part of some amazing things, and it makes me happy to remember being back in the studio, just laughing and having a great time. I hope when people hear these tunes they realize we put a lot of love in this music.”

To listen

Who: Franklin and Woolverton

What: “It’s the Tone” EP

How to hear: Free on all streaming services, $20 in FLAC format

For more information: itsthetone.com