Mindi Abair- 2X GRAMMY Nominated Saxophonist / Singer/NEW ALBUM The Best of Mindi Abair Available Now
Interview conducted April 28, 2021
By Dan Locke
One of the most recognized and sought-after saxophonists, two-time GRAMMY nominee Mindi Abair has been electrifying audiences with her dynamic live performances and sax prowess since her debut album in 1999. No one since Junior Walker has brought saxophone and vocals in one package to the forefront of modern music. In 2014, Mindi received her first GRAMMY nomination in the Best Pop Instrumental Album category, followed by a 2015 GRAMMY nomination for Best Contemporary Instrumental Album for her solo LP Wild Heart featuring the late Gregg Allman, Joe Perry, Trombone Shorty, Booker T. Jones, Keb’ Mo’, and Max Weinberg.
You might know her as the featured saxophonist on American Idol, sitting in with Paul Shaffer on The Late Show with David Letterman and The Roots on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, or as the first solo saxophonist touring with Aerosmith since 1973. She has garnered twelve #1 radio hits in the jazz and blues world, two #1 spots on the Billboard Contemporary Jazz Album Chart and two #3 spots on the Billboard Blues Album Chart. In 2018, Mindi Abair and The Boneshakers won 8 Independent Blues Awards including Artist of the Year and Best Blues Song fan award for the Independent Music Awards for “Pretty Good For A Girl” featuring Joe Bonamassa. They won the 2019 LA Critics Award for Best Holiday Album for All I Got For Christmas Is The Blues. And in 2019, 2020 and 2021 she was nominated by the Blues Music Awards as the Best Instrumentalist: Horn.
How did you discover music?
I grew up on the road with my Dad’s blue-eyed soul band The Entertainers until I was 5 years old. Then I hung out in the practice rooms of the rock bands he would put together for the next 15 years. As a kid I watched MTV constantly. I wanted to sing like Tina Turner. I couldn’t, but I could scream like her on saxophone. I loved the raucous energy of bands like Aerosmith and Springsteen. Clarence Clemons was bigger than life to me. When I got into college I immersed in jazz. So, coming out of college I had this wide set of influences. When I signed my first solo album deal with Verve Records, my music was pop instrumental. It had elements of jazz, but it was basically pop melodies and instrumentation. It was categorized as Contemporary Jazz, and I had great success in that genre, topping the charts over 10 times. Over the years I noticed any time I moonlighted from my own band, I was playing rock or blues. I grew up with that, and so many of my close friends were blues and rock musicians. I’d join them for tours or record a song on their album. I’ve recorded with Keb’ Mo’ and Smokey Robinson and Bobby Rush, but they never came into my world as an artist. After touring with Aerosmith and being the featured saxophonist on American Idol for 2 seasons and even getting to fill the shoes of one of my heroes, Clarence Clemons, one night for Bruce Springsteen, I made it my mission to make an album that embraced all my influences… I wanted to let out the blues and rock that I grew up with and make an album that showed all of me. I asked my friends for help and named the album Wild Heart. It featured Joe Perry from Aerosmith, Booker T. Jones, Keb’ Mo’, Max Weinberg, Trombone Shorty, Waddy Wachtel, and Gregg Allman. It garnered me my first GRAMMY Nomination for Best Contemporary Instrumental Album. And it was my gateway drug to making albums that were more rootsy and organic. I hired different players to join my band. Randy Jacobs was my first call. I’d met him playing in a rock band when I first moved to LA. This guy did a backflip into the audience mid guitar solo one night and landed it and kept playing… I was a fan from day one. He started his own band called The Boneshakers. It was members of Was Not Was and Bonnie Raitt’s band. I was always a fan. Cut to many years later when half of my band was playing in his band The Boneshakers and Randy was playing in my band. I sat in with them one night and it was just electric. We decided to join forces and record and tour as Mindi Abair and The Boneshakers. We made 4 albums together and toured playing all the blues and rock festivals. It was fun to revisit my roots and just go for it playing blues and rock for a few years. I’m back to making solo albums now coming back to my contemporary jazz sound. I’m having fun following my inspiration.
How did you start to write music?
I wrote my first real song in college at Berklee College of Music. It was an instrumental song for my grandmother.
How did you get your first saxophone?
I started playing saxophone when I was 8 years old in the 4th-grade band. My school band teacher Ann Reynolds asked us to choose an instrument… she put them all on the floor in the band room… take it back to our seats and we’d learn how to play it. I chose the saxophone. My father was a saxophone player and he’d shake and shimmy and walk the bar. He always looked like he was having a great time! I made the right choice. And no one told me it was odd for a girl to play the saxophone until it was too late!
What is your saxophone of choice now? And does it have a name?
I play a silver-plated Yamaha Custom Z alto, soprano, tenor, and baritone. I’ve never named any of my horns!
What is the process of writing your music?
I feel that each album I make is a snapshot of where I am in my life. My songs reflect my surroundings and feelings. I think that you have to pour yourself into your songs and emote through them. I usually hear a melody in my head and sing it into my iPhone to remember it. I’ll either go home and put chords to it sitting at my piano or finish it with a friend. I love to write with friends. We’ll grab breakfast or lunch and then just write. It’s a social thing for me, and I feel that certain people bring out different things in songs than I would. I love creating with friends.
Do you belong to any to songwriters’ organizations like the International singer-songwriter association, SESAC, BMI or ASCAP?
I belong to ASCAP
You have played with many different acts including Aerosmith, Duran Duran, Keb’Mo, appearing on American Idol and playing a duet with Gregg Allman. Tell me about the recording session with Gregg Allman?
I played a show with Gregg Allman and I was so taken with his voice and energy. He sang and I felt his soul. I asked him after the show if he would write something with me or record with me for my new album. He said “Sure Darlin’ … just give me a call!” I did just that a few months later and he met me at the airport and ushered me into his house for 3 days to write. During that time his 25-year-old girlfriend came over, followed by his drug dealer, and it turned into the rock star experience only Gregg Allman can offer. We both wrote from the heart, and “Just Say When” turned out to be one of the most autobiographical songs I’ve written to date. We recorded it in a small studio in the back of a pharmacy. You can’t make this stuff up. It was so organic and real. We sang face to face and I was mesmerized. I miss him so much…. as a friend… as a musician… and for the spirit he had. I learned so much from him and walked away with this beautifully haunting song.
You have appeared on both The Late show with David Letterman and The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. Can you tell me a funny show about your time on either show?
It was amazing to play with Paul Shaffer and his band. They’re incredible. They’ve done this for years and they’re a well-oiled machine. I walked in and realized that Paul would call a song 10 seconds before a show segment and they’d be right there rockin’ it. I was still figuring out what key it was in and preparing. I realized that I didn’t spend my life preparing to be that player. I spent my life as a bandleader and writing and being the front person. They are such incredible musicians to pull that off. I had fun… I felt like it was a drug!
And playing with the Roots was other-worldly. I brought in 5 songs of mine that they literally learned in 5 minutes. And they played them as they wrote them. They were fierce.
You released your first solo single since 2014. Tell me about your Forever. And how you felt once it hit#3 on the billboard Smooth Jazz song charts?
I spent 4-5 years as Mindi Abair and The Boneshakers. We made 4 albums together from 2015 – 2019, and every bit of that experience was inspiring. I realized that I had piled up a lot of songs that just weren’t right for that band. They were more personal and melodic. I had saved them up and finally thought… it’s time to make a solo album again and put these songs into the universe. I wrote “Forever” with my friends Wayne Rodrigues and Ty Stevens. We’ve written for years together, and it was fun to come back to me as a solo artist and tell a different story. This is an empowering song… almost a chant of “Mindi Abair Forever” for me! It felt amazing to see it rise up the charts to #3 on Billboard Smooth Jazz. Amazing!
How do you stay healthy while performing?
Playing saxophone and singing is a sport. It is its own workout for sure. I’d like to say that I work out, but I don’t. I lean more vegetarian but eat some meat. I drink a lot of wine, which makes sense, as I have a wine and music company with my husband Eric. I hike in the Hollywood hills occasionally. I do Transcendental Meditation and have for 13+ years. But I’ll be honest… I should probably start doing yoga at some point!
You have been up to a lot during the lockdown. The biggest thing you have been doing is your Tuesday Night Wine and Music Sessions. Are you going to continue them into the New Year?
When the world shut down last year due to the Covid virus, I thought maybe it’d be for a month. I realized quickly that it would be longer. Every date I had booked for my band disappeared within weeks. I realized I was homebound for a while. I’m a hugely social person. So, I decided to connect in a different way. I started playing in my living room via Facebook Live. At first, it was just me. No one else was allowed in, so I’d sit at my piano and play. And I’d play acapella sax. We moved back to Hollywood mid-pandemic, and I started playing on my porch. I’d invite one other person over and we’d socially distance and play together. It was great. I’ve had guests like Dave Koz, Rick Braun, Peter White, Ellis Hall (Tower of Power), Casey Abrams (American Idol), Patrick Bradley, Bill Champlin (Chicago), and Jim Peterik (Survivor, Ides of March). If I’m in town, I do them! It’s been such an amazing way to stay connected. I needed it more than anyone… it kept me sane to play every week! Thank god my neighbors are cool and love the shows. I have people hanging off their balconies watching and cheering us on!
What is your choice of drink during the session?
I started a wine + music club http://www.reservetastings.com with my husband in September 2019. He finds amazing wines; I create the artwork with friends for the labels and curate playlists for every wine. We ship new wines to our members 4 times a year, have zoom tastings, and go on adventures together. We’re going to Sonoma in June, and Tuscany in November 2021. It’s open to anyone and we keep it very small… 30-40 people on a very intimate trip drinking great wine, visiting amazing wineries and I promise listening to great music. You should join us… check out the trips on our website. So, my drink is wine… lots of it!
Have you discovered or rediscovered any new hobbies?
I go to the beach a lot … it’s my happy place!
How do you like your new Yamaha YDS150 Digital Sax? Have you discovered any fun things you can do with it?
I love the new Yamaha YDS150 Digital Sax. I’ve had so much fun delving in and getting to know the instrument. It’s so fun to change sounds on my iPhone and experiment with how I play differently with a flute sound as opposed to a saxophone sound. It’s inspiring!
I was surprised that Sonic Drive3-in still had their National Convention. How was it to be the house band for the event?
My band and I had a blast being the house band for Sonic’s National Convention. It was a huge event, and we were set up like a late-night talk show band. So, we played a lot of our own music mixed with some covers that we loved. It was a chance to expand and do something a little different and be a part of a really inspiring event.
Are you getting a lot of orders of your personalized video messages?
I’m loving being on http://www.Cameo.com/mindi – what a fun website to peruse! I started doing personal video messages last year for people on this website. I’ve played Happy Birthday and played love songs for Valentine’s Day and given a pep talk to budding musicians… it’s been really inspiring and fun.
How was it to work with Peter White on a Virtual Christmas?
I’ve toured with Peter White for our Christmas tour for 12+ years. He’s an amazing friend and partner in crime musically. When our tour canceled last year, we were all heartbroken. So, we schemed and came up with a way to make a concert happen that all could see! We rehearsed for days beforehand to make sure we could pull it all off live. It made all of us feel so good to be together. But it was all over too soon. We’re used to spending a month + with each other on a tour bus during the holidays. But it felt good to get some joy and holiday cheer out to our friends and family!
95% of people said that they have changed the way they watch television. This includes people who don’t have television and using their computers to do streaming of programs and movies. Which is your favorite streaming channel?
I’ve had fun watching different series during this past year. I’m not usually a big TV watcher, but I loved The Queen’s Gambit, The Crown and Schitt’s Creek!
Many artists are doing nightly concerts over either YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram. In October that is going to change at least on Facebook. Facebook is cracking down on livestreamed shows that include recorded music with new terms of service, preventing artists from using the platform for “commercial or non-personal” purposes, unless they have obtained the relevant licenses.
The updated music guidelines state that users “may not use videos on our products [which include Instagram] to create a music listening experience […] This will includes [Facebook] Live,” and stipulates that such content should be posted for the enjoyment of friends and family only.
How do you think this will change the landscape of Facebook?
Most every show I do I get flagged from Facebook that I’m using copyrighted material. I contest it and tell them I wrote it and they take the warning off. I think it’s good that people can’t just go on there and use other people’s music. I’m all good with that policing! I just want to be able to use and play my own songs!
How can bands keep their fans if they cannot play live in front of the fans and sell merchandise to them at the show?
If you can’t do music what would you like to be doing?
If you could not be doing music, do you have any backup plans?
Well, If I couldn’t play music, I’d probably produce music or write music. If I couldn’t do music at all… well, that’d be a sad thing! I have no backup plan! It’s music all the way!
How are you plans for your Mindi Abair Wine and Music Adventures Coming along?
We’re going to Sonoma June 5-10th 2021 and Tuscany in November. Both are going to be amazing trips. The Sonoma trip is all planned and 90% sold out. We kept it small to keep it intimate. You can still come, though, but I’d book it quick. We’re going to some incredible wineries as a group, eating at some of the most amazing restaurants and I promise the music will inspire you too! It’ll be a week you’ll never forget. You can check it out at http://www.reservetastings.com/adventures
Did Chris Stapleton ever call you to play soprano saxophone for him?
Ha… no! I love the new Chris Stapleton album. I just think he’s a master songwriter and I love listening to him sing. I’m a fan!
Anything you would like to say in closing.
Thanks for listening and thanks for your service! My grandfather served and died in the air force in WWII. Respect to all our vets and US military… I’m sending you love and music.
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