Smooth Jazz EU Concert

Join me for my first major concert in The Netherlands in conjunction with Smooth Jazz EU! This is The “JAZZ ROCK CAFE!” I like the sound of that. It sounds like a place anyone that likes Jazz with a little “ummph” wants to be. Sounds like if you want to be a part of a unique concert event you will be there.

JAZZ ROCK CAFE will be several hours of fun with me performing some songs from both of my projects: “In Transit” and “My Life”

It will also be an audience participation event. Jazz is “Interactive” not passive. So I will be giving away CDs for the best “Air Instrument” Performances from the members of the crowd.

“What is that all about?” you may ask.

Anytime you act like you are playing guitar in the mirror, or drums, or keys or singing…That is Air Instrument. I will have judges around looking for the best performances during the show. At the end they will get a free CD for each instrument.

The event is April 5th, in Hengelo at the MetroPool Poppodium.

See you there!

In Transit Billboard Top 30!

Thanks to my Radio Promoter Roger Lifeset, for a job well done! Thanks to my Producer Derrick Harvin for the magic! And thanks to my fans, and the Radio Program directors that have been spinning me throughout the world!

And Thanks to the Creator as always!

Erly

The news has been good! It is not an easy process to break into the radio scene but the CD has been enjoying several weeks staying on the actively rising list of every chart available. I feel blessed to be in the company of many mainstream artists right along side their new projects and I can only pray that it continues.

My life long dream is to actually wake up in the morning and only have to play saxophone for my job. The main guys and girls all do that now. That is why they are so awesomely wonderful on stage. While I think I can turn a few heads myself, I know that rising to the level of being a full time artist is definitely the way to make sure that I am giving my absolute best to all of you!

So call the station near you and ask them to play that new “Erly Thornton” track and hopefully they will follow the lead of the many stations and program directors that are spinning it now.

After an 18 month journey my new project “In Transit” is finished! I am happy to report that it will be available soon for pre-order here on this web site and globally soon after.

Just as last time, the CD project started out sort of nameless.  Instead of coming up with a theme we let the music itself determine what it made us feel like.  The 1st song of the 12 on the project was written while performing at a local restaurant over 2 years ago.  Many times we would come up with grooves on the spur of the moment and experiment with melodies and and progressions.  Just whatever the mood inspired.  Most of the time we never remembered what we did.  We probably had lots of good stuff just float into the air and the minds of the crowd but never made it onto “wax” as we would say who remember that term.

One time I saved what was played on my iPhone memo recorder.  When we started the project months later I found the clip, we listened and fleshed out the song.  By the end of the night what was to be “Morning Sun” was born.  When you hear this I think you will think it is one of the more soulful songs on the project.

Most of those early songs were created at the house sitting in my office with Derrick Harvin playing keys with the board on his lap and me pulling out different horns and testing for the appropriateness of the tone with the music he was tickling out.  Starting with a few chords and me coming up with some melodies on top, we would create the verses, bridges and structure of the songs.  End of the night we would record it on Garage Band and then Derrick would start molding it into a quality tune at his home in the wee hours of the morning.

During this early time with only 2 songs developed I was fortunate to meet Guitarist Steve Oliver on a Jazz Cruise we were performing on along with The Rippingtons Featuring Russ Freeman and Jeff Kashiwa.   Steve graciously agreed to collaborate on a few tunes with me.  Man did that put some energy into the mix!  We wrote a song that had Steve in mind and sent tracks back and forth across the country. Steve is in Los Angeles and I am of course in Orlando.  That is how we do it now!  Steve was given the honor of naming the tune and decided to call it “Latismo”.  I think you will love the groove on that.  We also collaborated on a tune I eventually called “Moonlight Cay” that should evoke the mood of dancing by the sea under a starry sky.

As we gained momentum the compositions started to evolve and a theme started to suggest itself.  More and more we saw the songs gain more sophistication and as “My Life” was released in 2008, this showed a growth over the last 3 years regarding musical style. We began to get more excited about where we were going.  Clearly we were working on something that really showed musical movement from one state to another.

More songs were included and I just had to add some songs that I had been performing live for a while but never made it into the studio like “My Funny Valentine” and “Biggest Part Of Me”.  I still like the old school Jazz and R&B I must admit!

Derrick then wrote the music for a song that had this really moving beat.  It immediately made you want to start bobbing your head.  You felt excited when hearing it.  You felt like “Whoa!”,  “I didn’t expect that!”, “This is nice!”  We came up with a melody and I took it back home and by the next day I had the demo.  After recording we knew we had something special.  This was change.  This was “In Transit!”  This became the title of the project and the focus for the rest of the CD.

David “D1″ Grant then sent over a song for consideration that had this really nice melodic part over some really moving chords.  This became “Amsterdam” which will be my destination in a few months. That will be explained in another post!

Towards the end we finished it off with some more “Old School” R&B with my favorite band Earth Wind and Fire – “September” and some Mint Condition.  I won’t even tell you the name of that one.  You will have to wait!

Derrick then created an intro that evokes the feeling of traveling from one place to the other.  A journey.  Sounds of the train, the plane, the airy sax over the top and the European beats creates a mental picture that tells you something is coming.  I titled that “Le Voyage Transatlantique” and you can hear that and the title cut “In Transit” as a preview.

Making a CD takes a lot of effort and takes a lot out of you.  It has been a grueling process of writing, late night recording sessions at the studio, all of us being pushed to the edge.  Relationships get strained and at the end you find out who is really in your corner.  The emotional impact of all of that striving to create, striving to improve, striving to work together to make it over the finish line without compromise on quality has created something in that crucible that surpasses anything I have done musically.

I think it came out wonderfully!  The people in my unofficial focus group, “Friend and Family” from those you that remember MCI, simply love it!  And many of these people are serious about their music and would not pump me up with a false review.

I think this CD will be something that has a much greater emotional impact than my first project “My Life” and hopefully you will love also.

Sincerely,

Erly Thornton, Saxophonist

Just recently in Orlando a long running station dedicated to the genre of Smooth Jazz changed to Latin Contemporary leaving the area with its Classical Jazz channel WUCF. While the station, WLOQ, was one of the only independently owned Smooth Jazz stations in the country, and arguably was the station that started the genre over 30 years ago, it in later years decided to follow the corporate play list used by many other conglomerate owned channels.

A Short History Lesson: Most stations are owned by large companies and have decided to save money by putting out a central playlist. This playlist is produced by a consulting company which takes local DJ’s and Program Directors out of the picture.

As a result when these hundreds of stations all play the same songs by a small group of artists all at the same time, the songs invariably will chart on Billboard giving the false impression that stations nationwide and the listening public are clamoring for them. It has been proven that is not the case. Listeners grew tired of hearing the same songs by the same artists several times a day and ratings dropped.

The consulting company then made the decision to add in some pop songs to the jazz station playlist. These songs were very popular on the Adult Contemporary and R&B stations so they should do well on the jazz station also, right?

Nope! That backfired as most listeners did not want Elton John or Alecia Keys mixed with their Jazz. Ratings dropped even more and Jazz stations from across the country started failing: Dallas, Chicago, Miami, New York, etc all changed format.

While each failure is a tragic blow to jazz on terrestrial radio, there is new hope. There is a return to Contemporary Jazz and the music is sounding exciting again.

The stations that are still operating either always lived in Contemporary Jazz and have shunned the playlist or have gotten the message.

One station that has in my memory always played a huge variety of artists was WFSK, Fisk University, Nashville where you can listen for days before you hear the same song again.

Also Watercolors on XM Sirius Satellite Radio is now using the phrase “The Art Of Contemporary Jazz” and is living up to it. I’m now hearing new music that was considered “too risky” for the Smooth Jazz stations and a return to old school Contemporary artists like Yellowjackets, Rippingtons, Spyro Gyra, Gerald Albright, Grover Washington, Kirk Whalum, Michael Franks, Foruplay, etc. that could not seem to get airplay anymore unless they watered down their product.

While we will miss the familiar WLOQ, especially the concerts, around the city of Orlando It gives me hope that the genre will spring back and be relevant again.

“Long Live the Art of Contemporary Jazz!”

They have an excellent Menu there, from appetizers like Wagyu Kobe Beef Sliders, Crab Cakes, Calamari and of course Wings to main courses like Baby Back Ribs and Rib Eye Steak. Deserts too!

Full service lounges with 3 large bars, plentiful staff, and of course since Beer is in the name, specialty beers from around the world many of which even the most avid beer drinker has not tasted.

And of course there is the Jazz! The spot is inspiring to me and the crowd has been really live! Come join us for Re-Wine Wednesdays from 5-10 pm each Wednesday in July. We play 6-8 pm so get there early!

Biggest Part of Me – Performed July 13th

I have been performing at an exceptional spot in Downtown Orlando right across from the new “Orena”. Draft Global Beer Lounge and Restaurant is a spot that has EVERYTHING. Great Food, Great Staff, Great Ambiance, and most importantly Great Bartenders with a huge line of Beers on Tap, as well as a wine and premium liquors. This place takes you out of Orlando and makes you feel more like NY, LA or Vegas. Or is this the “New” Orlando?

Next week, JUNE 8TH, I will have my Trio there for Draft’s Rewind Wednesday where I am doing the Jazz Portion and one of Orlando’s world class DJ’s will be doing the rest of the evening. Listen to WLOQ for more information.

See you there!

Performers were:

Keyboards and Music Director for Erly Thornton – Derrick Harvin
Bass and Music Director for Miki Howard – Larry McRae
Drums – Howard Smith
Percussion – Vernon Suber
Guitar for Miki Howard – Clay Benjamin

Concert Video Courtesy of Arlene, producer of the Guf Live Show on UStream.

The Jazz Jam was ON this year!  I truly missed having this party and this turned out to be the best Jam Yet!  We had close to 97 folks show up and pack out the back yard, the neighbors yard and and everywhere the people could fit!  I am always truly amazed at how my postage stamp back yard can turn into an intimate concert venue once a year.  We had great food!  I have to thank everyone who brought a dish to share, some drinks, and most importantly, yourselves!

The main core of the music was done by my friends, Kene Ledford on Keys, Larry McRae on Bass and Joseph Pegram on Drums.

We had a huge Horn Line:  Deverick Bell and Kevin Scott on Saxes (SaXfactor group members with me but you will hear more about that later!), Michael Kahn, Doctor Otto Gomez and Bill Moss on Trumpets, and Frank Wharton on Flutes!We had some vocalists come through also: Michelle Holland, Joey Pegram and his wife sang, a lady with a beautifully pristine voice (I’m sorry I can’t remember her name – Charge it to the game)  Yvonne OVACHI Bennett, and RAVYN, though Ravyn did not get a chance to sing cause the band was into some Margaritas and by that time 5.0 had started to show up!

Yes for the first time that we have done this event 5.0 came by to tell us to turn it down!  See a new elderly couple moved into the community last year that started calling the boys early in the evening.  Not that we were loud.  We weren’t but maybe some people don’t like other people having a good time.  The Police were REAL COOL!  They were like “We see that you all are having a great time and the music is not loud, but we have to respond.  So we took it down to real intimate sound and kept flowing!

I have to thank Arlen Guffin and her friends!  Her friends as well as Ovachi and friends, and many others made this a success! Arlene did a Live Broadcast of the event on her GufLive Webcast!  See all of her shows at: Guflive Presents!

See you you next year!

Step back for a minute and think about WHY?  Whether you are spiritual or not, this is a time to relax, reflect and think about how you want to handle 2010!

WOW 2010!  How many of us imagined that we would be riding around in “The Jetson’s” like cars now?  Homes where everything was done by Robots?  I used to think that as a child.  Now as an adult there is much still to do.

The most important task for you in this next year is to think for a while.

What about?

Well the things that you wanted to do as a child.  Those things that someone may have told you were: impractical, too hard, did not make enough immediate money, “are you nuts? OK, hmm, sure (while ignoring you)”.   That is where God comes in.

God gave us all talents that many of us do not use.  You know what they are. You know what you are good at and what makes you happy.  That is your Talent!  Many of us have been told by the society of man that “You Can’t Do That”  Well, 2010 is coming and “Yes You Can.”

Think about it.  Write it down. Post it as a sticky note on your computer or on your dash in the car.  PASTE IT TO THE CEILING IN YOUR BEDROOM so when you wake up, and look up, you know what you you are doing that day!  Make it a big goal, worthy of your Talent!
And then TAKE ACTION!

Take small steps to initiate. It does not have to be big.  Baby Steps as long as you are focusing and moving.  Outside your job, outside your daily routine, find time to do a little toward your goal.  The Universe will follow as God has Ordained!

Relax, Regroup, Do the family thing and take Joy in all that happens.  Resolve to LIVE YOUR DREAM no matter what it is!  TRY!  You will be happy in the Journey!

Happy Holidays!  Merry Christ Mass (Origins of the term Yall!) And realize that Jesus Existed to Teach Us by his example.  You can do what he did by Belief.  Not just in that He Exists, but in that He is within you and through Faith, that He is THERE and will HELP YOU.  You CAN LIVE YOUR DREAM!

2010 WILL BE A GOOD YEAR!
Erly Thornton