The saxman's soulful essence and benevolent spirit enriches smooth jazz and his community
By Chris Campbell
What is often lost in the synthetic landscape of commercial music is its pure ability to be a transformational experience that resonates, connects and inspires people. When it's heartfelt, you feel that vibration through your mind, body and heart. That, in essence, is what soulful music is about: music that matches the vibration of your heart. From his debut record, Trolltown, to his new release, In the Zone, saxophonist Richard Elliot has enjoyed a long and successful career that has produced some of the most soulful moments in smooth jazz.
The building blocks for Elliot's sound were tied into his musical influences, a diverse mix of Motown sax players such as Junior Walker to straight-ahead jazz players like Dexter Gordon.
Early on, Elliot would make a name for himself as the saxophonist with the R&B horn band Tower of Power. The notion of a solo career was furthest from his mind at the time.
“Having a solo career just fell into my lap,” he said from his North San Diego home during a telephone interview. “A producer friend of mine, Harry Louie, let me have free rein of his studios on the weekends, where we would do jam sessions and record songs recreationally. Before we knew it, we had an entire album.”
That album became Elliot's debut, “Initial Approach,” which showed that he had the chops to hold down tracks as a solo artist. Spurred by its positive reception from music critics, Elliot would leave Tower of Power to pursue a solo career. Around this time, he also experienced another development that would impact his music.
“Motown producers Tony Paluso and Steve Berry called me in to cover for a musician who was unable to play for a recording session,” he said. “We hit it off and they began using me for other acts like the Four Tops, Temptations and Smokey Robinson. It was an amazing experience for me because I played with the heroes I grew up listening to.”
Elliot forged a reputation as an artist who could skillfully interpret soul music, and by the time of release of his fourth album, Take to the Skies, he decided to take a concerted stab at doing soulful cover tunes.
“I thought about doing covers when I did Initial Approach but didn't have the courage to do them at the time,” he said. “To me, soul classics are like treading on hallowed ground, but working with those Motown artists gave me the impetus to try. I chose Percy Sledge's ‘When a Man Loves a Woman’ because I knew that song could work for everyone.”
Elliot's reinterpretation of the tune proved to be a watershed moment for the then-emerging smooth jazz genre. The format had just taken off and was riding the tide established by artists like Kenny G, and Elliot's single helped bridge the gulf between Motown and smooth jazz.
Several well-received, critically acclaimed album releases would follow that placed Elliot squarely at the head of the class of smooth jazz and opened the door to other key projects and artistic collaborations.
Groovin’ for Grover (Washington), an all-star tribute with Gerald Albright, Paul Taylor and Jeff Lorber, was a partnership that according to Elliot produced ‘”ncredible jam sessions and beautiful friendships.’”
The popular Guitars & Saxes tour, a happy co-mingling of top smooth jazz instrumentalists, would later serve as the catalyst for the formation of the music super group and annual tour franchise Jazz Attack.
“Jazz Attack created some wonderful opportunities for me,” Elliot said. “Rick Braun and I became friends after the Guitars & Saxes tour back in the ’90s. We wanted to do some more touring together and formed the Jazz Attack group with Jonathan Butler and Peter White.”
Elliot and Braun's collaborations would extend to business as they started a record label together known as the ARTizen Music Group. The label released several successful albums such as Metro Blue and Rock Steady from Elliot and RnR featuring Elliot and Braun.
“We felt that we had all this new freedom,” said Elliot. “Rick and I co-produced those albums together. My releases paid homage to ’70s-era R&B/Euro-funk; while his (Braun’s) was a musical free-for-all. Those albums allowed us to bring the best out of each other.”
The duo continued to collaborate closely and stay on as artists even after selling their label to Mack Avenue Records.
Elliot’s new CD, In the Zone, scheduled for release Oct. 11, continues the evolution of soulful funk from his last album.
“This latest CD has roots in my last one, Rock Steady,” he said. “I made 1970s-era R&B the centerpiece of Rock Steady and then built instrumental music around it. In the Zone is a snapshot of what contemporary music was in the 1970s, when it was not uncommon to hear instrumental artists like Bob James, Grover Washington Jr. and Ronnie Laws on the radio. The album is co-produced with jazz legend Jeff Lorber, who was a pioneer from that era. I do a cover of Grover's cover of 'Inner City Blues,' and then fashion original music to round out the album.”
The album is sure to build on Elliot's already colorful stage performance where he rocks a zebra saxophone, a signature piece of his repertoire, and at times he has been described as over the top, but in a good way.
“I remember playing the Catalina Island JazzTrax Festival awhile ago,” he said. “My guitarist jokingly suggested I should parasail when we saw someone parasailing over the water. I decided to arrange for a boat to be placed by the theatre so that I could parasail when I got an encore. I did the show, and thank God I got an encore. As I got into the boat, it occurred to me that I had never parasailed before. On top of that, we didn't have a wireless system, so I didn't know if I could be heard. However, from a couple hundred feet in the air, the parachute acted like an acoustic shell that pushed the sound back down to the ground, so people could hear me playing. It was so popular that they had me do it again at the 10-year anniversary of the festival.”
His enthusiasm for adventurous performances equals his undying passion for the arts and philanthropy. Elliot, along with his wife, has used his celebrity for charitable fundraising and to promote positive awareness of school music programs.
“It's scientifically proven that music education helps kids in all walks of life,” he said. “I do a benefit concert in San Diego for the L.R. Green Foundation every other year. It means so much to me.” That nonprofit organization, which the Elliots helped launch, has used the proceeds to purchase badly needed supplies, sound equipment and computers for the L.R. Green School in Escondido, California. Elliot will be donating the proceeds from his concert on Feb. 25, 2012 at the California Center for the Arts, Escondido, to the foundation.
While Elliot plans a tour to promote his new album, he has scaled back on the number of committed concert dates to allow time to tend to his growing family, who have shown musical inclinations.
The Elliot’s daughter, Mikayla (12) and son Eli (11) have shared the stage with Elliot on bass and guitar respectively, while Bub (18) has become an adept drummer. Their oldest daughter, Candace (21), is a dancer. And although their youngest son, 6-year-old Julian, dabbled in piano, he is now taking a break. “I told him, ‘if you’re not going to focus, I’m not spending $30 for half-hour lessons!’” said Elliot’s wife Camella, laughing.
“My wife and I don't force music on our kids,” said Elliot “But we do require them to do something extracurricular in some form of fine arts.”
Elliot is not only successful with his musical career, the saxman is also an astute businessman. He’s a partner in Global Cash Card, a customized paycard solutions company that developed and owns the proprietary software that enables the financial transaction processing and information technology systems they offer.
Prior to joining forces with Global Cash Card in 2002, Elliot co-founded PacifcNet, an Internet service provider in 1995. In 1997, he developed a means of delivering high-speed Internet access by taking small unlicensed indoor radios, modifying them with Russian, declassified, military radio parts, putting them on mountaintops and pointing them at populated areas. This innovation launched PacificNet's broadband wireless division, one of the first high-speed wireless Internet access services.
In 2000, Elliot designed, programmed and deployed "Codesonics," a dynamic audio/visual content delivery system for the radio broadcast Industry. This new system, which allows radio stations to add dynamic visual Internet content to complement their on-air broadcast, is now in its production phase.
Moving forward, Elliot continues to tour, most recently as part of Summer Jam with guitarist Norman Brown. He’s also looking to take the flavor of his recorded sound in a different direction, hinting at releasing a world beat or Latin album.
One constant of Elliot's multidimensional careers has been his attitude and approach, which may explain why he has enjoyed such longevity.
“I'm incredibly thankful and don't take anything for granted. I don't feel I'm entitled to anything,” he said. Then concluded, “And what comes out of my instrument is 100 percent what I'm feeling, what's in my heart. That's what's important to me.”
For more information about Richard Elliot, including his complete tour schedule, visit www.richardelliot.com.
On Tour
Oct. 9
Catalina Island JazzTrax Festival
Avalon Casino Ballroom
1 Casino Way
Avalon, California
www.jazztrax.com
(866) 872-9849
Oct. 15
JW Desert Ridge Jazz Festival (with Norman Brown)
JW Marriott Desert Ridge Resort & Spa
Sage Court
5350 E. Marriott Dr.
Phoenix, Arizona
www.sageconcerts.com
Oct. 29
Yosemite International Jazz Festival
Chukchansi Gold Resort & Casino
711 Lucky Lane
Coarsegold, California
www.yijazz.com
(888) 71-TICKETS
Feb. 25, 2012
California Center for the Arts, Escondido
340 N. Escondido Blvd.
Escondido, California
www.artcenter.org
Discography
1986 Trolltown (Blue Note)
1987 Initial Approach (Blue Note)
1988 The Power of Suggestion (Blue Note)
1989 Take to the Skies (Blue Note)
1990 What's Inside (Blue Note)
1991 On the Town (Blue Note)
1993 Soul Embrace (Manhattan)
1994 After Dark (Blue Note)
1995 City Speak (Blue Note)
1997 Jumpin' Off (Blue Note)
1999 Chill Factor Blue Note
2000 The Best of Richard Elliot (Blue Note)
2001 Crush (GRP)
2001 Ballads (Blue Note/Capitol Records)
2003 Ricochet (GRP)
2005 Metro Blue (ARTizen Music Group)
2009 Rock Steady (Artistry Music)
2011 In the Zone (Mack Avenue Records)
