One man's passion becomes another's vision.

That about sums up the twin philosophies of two of Bermuda's leading professional musicians, Milt Robinson and Howard Rego.

The duo have long been friends as well as comrades in crotchets, and they share the common belief that the talents of Bermuda's best musicians be recorded for posterity and future generations.

In fact, that is part of what motivated Mr. Robinson to re-release his two previous recordings in compact disc form.

The first, entitled `Wanna Be With You', has recently come onto the market and the second is on the way.

"I remember years ago sitting down and listening to local pianist Ed Carmichael play for me so many of his original compositions, then he passed away, and it has bothered me that all records of his playing and beautiful compositions have gone with him,'' Mr. Robinson said.

The guitarist also noticed that the music of older and by-gone local musicians was seldom, if ever, getting air time on the radio stations these days, and people who called up to request their favourite numbers were being told by the DJs that they were not playing vinyl records any more.

"I sadly realised that the days of vinyl recordings and turntables that worked were fast becoming a thing of the past, and I also recognised the debt owed to musicians who sincerely recorded their music for it to be shared,'' Mr. Robinson said.

He resolved that something must be done, and decided to get the ball rolling by re-releasing his old recordings.

"I thought it was my responsibility to make sure that the music stays alive and lives on (on CDs), whereas vinyl just ends up in the dump, and all record of local music will be gone,'' he says.

Thoughts that such music might be outdated never crossed his mind.

Quite the opposite, in fact.

"As far as I am concerned the music is just as fresh today as it ever was,'' he says. "We have been listening to `Stardust' for a long time, for example, and it still sounds fresh.'' As the leader of The Milt Robinson Trio, the guitarist, composer and arranger has a wealth of memories of "the good old days'' when tourism was booming and local groups were in great demand in the hotels and night clubs.

There, visitors would flock to hear island and other music, and many developed a real affection for certain performers and bands.

In fact, it was three repeat visitors from Boston who urged him to produce his first album.

Today, while Mr. Robinson is still very much in demand, not all of his fellow musicians are as fortunate.

So, in addition to rekindling fond memories of the talent that once charmed Bermudians and made the tourist scene tick, he wants to generate similar interest and support among Bermuda's young people.

Which is where professional drummer Howard Rego comes in.

His aim is to take Mr. Robinson's vision further and establish his own state-of-the-art recording studio where he will produce CD's of Bermuda's finest musicians to world class standards.

"Imagine taking the veteran musicians who didn't have too much recorded and putting them in a studio,'' he said.

"I think the musical community here, and the Bermudian people in general, would appreciate it from both an artistic and cultural point of view.'' Mr. Rego said his plans include recording himself "extensively, Milt extensively, and trying to convince anyone with real talent and something to say who has not recorded to make it happen''.

"I don't want to wait, I don't want to talk, I want to get in a room with a mike and talk!'' he stresses.

Of his talented fellow musician and long-time friend, the drummer added: "Milt has written some of the most beautiful, original compositions, and it would be a sin not to get them properly recorded in a studio with every modern convenience that we can possibly get.'' Meanwhile, Mr. Robinson has included on his CD `Wanna Be With You' a live performance in the former Belmont Hotel nightclub by what has become known as "The Howard Rego Trio'' -- himself, Mr. Rego and bass guitarist Stan Gilbert.

Apparently, there is much more "space'' on a CD than on a vinyl record, so Mr. Robinson felt the music they made one night was special enough to be included, despite the lack of sophisticated equipment on which it was recorded.

"The music is spontaneous and improvised.

"We are never sure where it will take us, but the ride is always pleasurable,'' he writes in the sleeve notes.

"We try to listen to each other, respond and interact.

"Sometimes the signals are not quite clear, but taking a different road is always an adventure, so we make no apologies.

"Ours is a one-time thing played with honesty which will never be heard again.

"We sincerely hope that you.. .accept the music as it is given: with much love.''