Hey, super nice to have the chance to chat with you. What have you been up to over the past year in this big old mess?
Well, I’ve been writing and recording music, as I always do. I try to get up every day and devote part of the day to playing the piano and recording in my studio. I live between Provence, France and Portland, Maine and so I travel between those two places soaking up the cultures and enjoying the diversity of their musical scenes.
I’m very interested in how you started your adventure with music, and did you know from the beginning that this is what you wanted to do?
For me, that’s a complicated question, because I grew up in a musical family; my parents were both concert pianists and teachers, so I started playing piano when I was three and I was writing little songs by the time I was 8. When friends of my parents would ask me what I wanted to do for a living—they were always surprised by my answer: “Play and write music” —I think they expected “fireman” or “doctor”—but I knew from an early age that music was my passion and my destiny. I began a long time ago—it really is an adventure!
Congrats on your new release, ‘Wing And A Prayer’. Can you give us some insight into it?
Thanks! I’m proud of the song and the great singers and players who make it so soulful. It’s a song that takes you through the break up of a summer romance—so it starts in a mellow mood, but with each new section builds in intensity and excitement. The background voices have that kind of soulful sassiness of old Motown or Philly sound, and they comment on the breakup story as it goes along. Layonne Holmes, LaJuan Carter, and Audrey Martells are great singers from the New Jersey area and they really hit the mark hard! Obviously it’s a song about how physical attraction isn’t really enough to make a relationship last, but I think there’s also a message about relying on hope and optimism to make it through. That’s the “wing and prayer” idea. You know if you don’t take a few risks in life, you can miss out on a lot! There’s also a great guitar solo and a great horn section to crank it up a notch.
What are you doing to ensure you continue to grow and develop as an artist?
For me, active and frequent listening across a wide range of genres is key to growing as a writer and musician. I love to hear what other people are doing and I listen a lot. But as an artist and songwriter—the key is working and practicing your craft everyday. Incorporating new influences into your musical ideas—I love working in my studio—and these days as a keyboard player with extensive sound libraries at my command and the ability to multi-track to my heart’s content, creating new music seems so easy. At my age, I’m also trying to express some of the experiences of aging musicians and bring them to life for listeners to appreciate. That lifetime of passion and engagement in music is a kind of cultural wisdom that an artist tries to pass along. Funkadelic said it best for me —“one nation under a groove—gettin’ down, just for the funk of it” Keep listening, keep playing, and keep dancing!
What should we expect from your next releases in terms ofstyle and sound? How different are they going to be compared to your previous works?
The next releases off the new album really reflect my love of jazz rock and neo-soul. Some of my longtime influences are Steely Dan, Aretha Franklin, Stax artists, Tower of Power, and a host of jazz funk artists with gospel overtones. So “Rocks” my next release, is right in the sweet spot of those combined influences. Great horn playing, with rock guitar, wailing sax and Steely Dan type keyboard sounds, combined with my lyrics—that try to get at the essence of rocks. (yeah really—“the power of stone, to break our bones.” The release following that, “Lucifer” has a strongly jazz funk feel to it— with great vocals. It’s a devilish tune with a fantastic battling horn trio of solos on the out. So I try to strive to honor all my influences yet in an original and varied way.
Where are you based? Can you tell us how the music scene there has inspired your sound at all?
I live in two very different worlds—part of the year, I live in a tiny French village in the middle of the vineyards of southern France, and the other part of the year, I live in Portland, Maine where I have family and friends and a long- time association from my college days. I’m a lucky man! In terms of music scenes—I love the Spanish and southern European influences of artists in France—any market day you can hear, classical music, Django Reinhardt, Stephane Grappelli (what they call “Manouche”) style musics, Celtic songs, and some pretty serious jazz and funk—but filtered through a French cultural vibe. In Portland, I love the range of Indie styled artists and the folk rock and bluegrass influences. In terms of influencing my music—because I’m an old songwriter and listen widely—those regional sounds find a way into my music, but more as a musical stew than as a discrete influence.
If you could perform at any venue in the world, where would it be and why?
So many dream venues, so little time! I love the Greek Theater in Berkeley CA for it’s beautiful acoustics and the Les Arenes in Nimes, France. Or any number of the castle venues in England. I guess I’m attracted to old outdoor venues with a sense of natural beauty and sound. But, now that I don’t play out as much, I prefer the more intimate, sweaty venues of clubs. It’s cool when you can see the faces of the dancers and the audience and have some interaction with them. In big performance venues, the spectacle is cool, but the lights and the onstage action make it bit less intimate.
Can we expect a new EP or an album from you in the near future?
All of my recent releases are from my new album, “Short Life, Small Planet.” which will drop in its entirety in late October, early November. There are 11 new songs on the album. All the songs in one way or another address the themes of how humans’ short life span affects their decisions and their actions, and how living on a small planet in an enormous universe puts a different perspective on human existence. I really appreciate the positive and growing support I’m getting!
Finally, have you got anything to share regarding upcoming gigs, and what have you got planned for the rest of 2023?
Given my travel, and my promotion work, we’ll have to see how much gigging time there will be in 2023. At the moment, I plan on keeping with my writing and recording of new songs, making a few music videos, and celebrating all the hard work that releasing a big album involves.
