Smooth Jazz Therapy

Bob Jamieson Goes Smooth Cruising

Although, to music fans, the name of Bob Jamieson may not be instantly recognizable he is in fact one of the shrewdest business brains in the industry. He is credited with the high profile turn around of the then ailing RCA Records and his work in this respect resulted in him being made the subject of a Harvard Business School case study.

In the music business for most of his working life, Jamieson has been responsible for signing some legendary performers. Now he is using that same business nous and passion for music as the driving force behind the new look (and freshly named) All Star Smooth Cruise. When I caught up with Bob at his office in New Haven, CT I first asked him about his motivation to get involved with the project.

Alan Hewitt - In Conversation

Despite five solo albums, recorded over an eleven year period, Alan Hewitt has often been regarded as ‘one of music’s best kept secrets’. Yet much of this time spent behind the scenes has been done so purely through choice. Although this has fuelled a creative process that continues to deliver impressive writing credits for both television and film, Alan Hewitt is at long last all set to grab the headlines. When I caught up with this multi platinum writer, producer and keyboard player at his studio in Palm Springs CA I first asked him how he would sum up his own writing process. He explained that composing music for shows such as ‘Oprah’ or ‘The Osbornes’ brought with it a discipline and a training that he has found invaluable when writing music both for himself and others.

Shilts - In Conversation

It was Sting who sung about an Englishman in New York but it would seem that, in smooth jazz terms, there are also quite a few in Los Angeles. Paul ‘Shilts’ Weimar is the latest to follow in the footsteps of Peter White and Chris Standring who, among others, have journeyed from England to California to seek and ultimately find smooth jazz stardom. Although he has only been resident in the LA area since 2004 Shilts is by no means new to the scene. He is in fact the face of the live incarnation of the band Down To The Bone (DTTB), an association that now extends back nine years and when I recently caught up with him at his home studio he took a break from working on new material to talk about the exciting turns that his career has recently taken.

To Grover With Love - In Jason Miles' Own Words

Albums that can stand the test of time don’t come along every day but one recording that already carries the hallmarks of classic status will be re-released on July 18. The Jason Miles tribute to Grover Washington ‘To Grover With Love’ first came out in April 2001, sixteen months after Washington’s untimely death and when I recently talked to Miles I first asked him about the knack he has for turning what at first sight appears to be ‘the tribute concept’ into an art form. He was quick to stress that “these records should not be viewed as collections of covers” and anyone who has heard his Grammy winning ‘ A Love Affair : The Music Of Ivan Lins’, the nod he makes to ‘Celebrating The Music Of Weather Report’ or, more recently, his ‘What’s Going On? - Songs Of Marvin Gaye’ will wholeheartedly agree with his sentiments. “It’s all about taking the music to another place” he explains. “What I do, one of the gifts I have, is to gather together just the right group of musicians to create the collaborations that re-imagine familiar songs into something new and fresh but with the feeling and passion of the original artist.” This approach is well demonstrated with his 2005 project ‘Miles To Miles – In The Spirit Of Miles Davis’ where, with original compositions, he brings to life the spirit and creative vibe of the legendary trumpeter, expanding musical ideas into a realm that was unheard of during the halcyon days of Davis.

Nick Colionne - In Conversation

For Nick Colionne, pictured here with Peter White, 2006 could hardly have started better. His new CD ‘Keepin It Cool’ is picking up rave reviews and the first single from it, ‘Always Thinking Of You’, is racing up the chart of most played on smooth jazz radio. Since the 1994 release of his debut CD, ‘Its My Turn’, Nicks career has seen its fair share of twists and turns so when I recently got the chance to talk to him about all that and more I first asked him how the genre has changed over those intervening twelve years.

“Although smooth jazz was around in 1994 it contained more pure jazz elements,” he told me. “Today it’s predominately pop based and often shows little resemblance to what some would regard as jazz. However,” he added, “everything changes. Jazz has changed through the years either following or dictating musical taste. My music has done the same. Back in the day I was playing jazz guitar that had straight ahead elements to it. I have played R & B too. To change is not selling out, its moving with the times and keeping it fresh.”

Denise Jordan Walker - Candid Jazz And Conversations

Many regard former WNUA DJ Denise Jordan Walker as the ‘Oprah Of Jazz’. That may sound like quite a label to live up to but she is currently combining her exceptional people skills with an in depth knowledge and love for smooth jazz to realize what, for her, started out as a dream. That dream is to help the real fans of the genre get close up and personal with some of today’s greatest smooth jazz artists, not just in terms of the music that they play but also by scratching away at the celebrity to find the person that lays within. The vehicle by which she is making that happen is her Candid Jazz and Conversations (CJ & C) series that, in part, was born out of the frustrations she felt by the increasing difficulty smooth jazz artists have in gaining exposure in the Chicago-land area.

Larry White - Newport Pacific Records

How does an up and coming independent record company take on the major labels in the all important battle for radio airplay while still finding its own niche in the ever more competitive markets of contemporary and mainstream jazz? This was one of the burning questions that I put to recording artist and President and CEO of Newport Pacific Records Larry White when I talked to him recently.