WEBVTT - Kenny G 0:00:01.600 --> 0:00:04.640 Hello everyone, and welcome to another episode of Inside the 0:00:04.680 --> 0:00:08.039 Studio on iHeart Radio. My name is Jordan Runtag, but 0:00:08.200 --> 0:00:11.280 enough about me. My guest today is the best selling 0:00:11.280 --> 0:00:14.760 instrumentalist of all time and arguably the most famous jazz 0:00:14.800 --> 0:00:19.680 musician alive. Both of these points elicit extremely strong emotions 0:00:19.680 --> 0:00:24.680 in people. Too many. His music inspires peace, serenity, and relaxation. 0:00:26.600 --> 0:00:29.640 Christmas album Miracles marks the start of the holiday season 0:00:29.680 --> 0:00:32.560 in my house, but to a vocal minority, his music 0:00:32.560 --> 0:00:38.040 inspires jokes and occasionally antipathy. Still, he's good natured, confident, 0:00:38.240 --> 0:00:42.400 and wildly successful enough to be unperturbed by the ribbing. Besides, 0:00:42.560 --> 0:00:45.600 he's probably far too busy to care. Following the death 0:00:45.600 --> 0:00:48.720 of James Brown, the Man born Kenneth Bruce Gorelic just 0:00:48.840 --> 0:00:51.839 might be the hardest working man in show business. He 0:00:51.920 --> 0:00:54.840 approaches his musical craft with a focus and clear eyed 0:00:54.880 --> 0:00:58.160 determination of an athlete in training, and he's been training 0:00:58.160 --> 0:01:01.000 for over half a century. He puts in three to 0:01:01.080 --> 0:01:03.720 four hours of practice each day to ensure that his 0:01:03.880 --> 0:01:07.760 playing remains up to his exceedingly high standards. His hard 0:01:07.760 --> 0:01:10.839 efforts have paid off on a new album entitled New Standards, 0:01:11.120 --> 0:01:14.560 a collection of original material designed to evoke the timeless 0:01:14.560 --> 0:01:18.080 spirit of jazz classics. He's also the subject of a 0:01:18.080 --> 0:01:22.360 new documentary by filmmaker Penny Lane called appropriately Enough Listening 0:01:22.360 --> 0:01:26.480 to Kenny G. Premiering December three on HBO. The film 0:01:26.480 --> 0:01:30.880 explores his artistic journey, superhuman work ethic, and his somewhat 0:01:30.920 --> 0:01:35.280 polarizing reputation as a musical figure. It also showcases his 0:01:35.360 --> 0:01:40.120 host of other non musical talents, including baking, flying, and golf, 0:01:40.760 --> 0:01:43.480 and as you're about to find out, he's also really 0:01:43.520 --> 0:01:46.800 good at being interviewed. It's my pleasure to welcome Mr 0:01:46.880 --> 0:01:50.840 Kenny G. So sit back, relax, and enjoy, and maybe 0:01:50.880 --> 0:01:53.240 throw on a Candy G album in the background. Why not? 0:01:58.400 --> 0:02:01.000 I wanted to start with the upcoming h bio documentary 0:02:01.040 --> 0:02:04.240 Listening to Kenny G. It's such a fascinating premise because 0:02:04.240 --> 0:02:07.320 it's not just a biography, it also documents your relationship 0:02:07.400 --> 0:02:10.320 with fans and with your critics. How did this begin 0:02:10.440 --> 0:02:12.440 for you? How did you first link up with with 0:02:12.480 --> 0:02:14.920 Penny Lane, who, in addition to being very talented, has 0:02:14.919 --> 0:02:18.560 an awesome name. She has an awesome name. Definitely, Well, 0:02:18.600 --> 0:02:21.480 you know I got the call from who did I 0:02:21.520 --> 0:02:24.920 get the call from Actually it was from my attorney 0:02:25.000 --> 0:02:27.000 who said he would talk into this guy Bill Singer 0:02:27.080 --> 0:02:29.560 at Ringer Films that they may want to do some 0:02:29.600 --> 0:02:32.440 sort of an HBO doc on me. And so I 0:02:32.520 --> 0:02:36.760 just basically said, sure, I'm interested, and I got together 0:02:36.800 --> 0:02:41.400 with Penny, who was also contacted by them. And here's 0:02:41.400 --> 0:02:43.960 what happened. They contacted Penny and said, would you want 0:02:44.000 --> 0:02:48.520 to do a documentary on a musical person? And she 0:02:48.600 --> 0:02:50.520 came back and had and had the idea to do 0:02:50.760 --> 0:02:53.680 about me. So that's really where it came from. And 0:02:53.760 --> 0:02:55.839 what was the experience like for you making this film? 0:02:55.880 --> 0:02:57.320 I mean, I'm thinking back to the old This is 0:02:57.360 --> 0:03:00.240 Your Life programs. I mean, did you learn anything about 0:03:00.240 --> 0:03:03.440 yourself in the process? Um? Well, you know no, I 0:03:03.480 --> 0:03:05.760 mean I pretty much know everything that I that I 0:03:05.800 --> 0:03:08.960 said about myself. But it was, um, it was fun. 0:03:09.000 --> 0:03:11.840 It was actually really fun. Penny made it easy. It 0:03:11.960 --> 0:03:15.600 was um a lot of um, you know, self reflection. 0:03:15.720 --> 0:03:19.280 That was a lot of thoughtfulness, good questions. And also 0:03:19.320 --> 0:03:21.040 I got a chance to see my old high school 0:03:21.400 --> 0:03:23.480 a band teacher, which was awesome because I hadn't seen 0:03:23.520 --> 0:03:27.440 him in twenty plus years. Oh that's incredible. I there's 0:03:27.520 --> 0:03:29.440 a very moving part of the film when I and 0:03:29.600 --> 0:03:32.480 Uh he was saying that you found your soul when 0:03:32.520 --> 0:03:36.680 you played a ten minute note on stage you have. 0:03:36.920 --> 0:03:40.360 Is that a real, uh, crucial turning point in uh 0:03:40.400 --> 0:03:42.760 in your life. Do you remember that moment very well? Well, 0:03:42.800 --> 0:03:44.840 I think he remembers it more than I remember that 0:03:44.880 --> 0:03:47.560 particular moment. I think I was just playing my heart 0:03:47.600 --> 0:03:49.760 out and doing my thing. And I think maybe for him, 0:03:49.760 --> 0:03:51.720 he might have looked at me. You know, a teacher 0:03:51.800 --> 0:03:53.360 might look at a student one day and go, you know, 0:03:53.440 --> 0:03:56.360 he's not really a student anymore. Um, you know, and 0:03:56.400 --> 0:03:58.920 maybe that was his moment like that. But for me, 0:03:59.000 --> 0:04:01.880 it was just a great camaraderie with him, and he 0:04:01.960 --> 0:04:04.680 was super encouraging. So he was a big part of 0:04:04.720 --> 0:04:08.800 me continuing to play because, um, he always made me 0:04:08.840 --> 0:04:11.600 feel like I was a pro. Oh well, I mean 0:04:11.640 --> 0:04:14.960 that's when you're first starting out on any instrument. I mean, 0:04:15.800 --> 0:04:18.159 you need to feel like you're actually going somewhere. And 0:04:18.200 --> 0:04:20.640 that's a crucial thing. I think teachers to give them 0:04:20.640 --> 0:04:23.400 a sense of confidence that you know you're getting somewhere. 0:04:23.400 --> 0:04:26.520 That's a beautiful gift. I agree, I agree. And then 0:04:26.560 --> 0:04:28.760 he did. He gave that to me and and I 0:04:28.800 --> 0:04:31.240 just can't. I took it and ran, is it true 0:04:31.279 --> 0:04:34.640 you still use the same same taxophone. Yeah, yeah, same one, 0:04:34.680 --> 0:04:37.120 same exact one. Yeah. I mean this is my you know, 0:04:37.160 --> 0:04:39.400 my Indiana Jones brain is kicking in. I mean, I 0:04:39.440 --> 0:04:41.760 feel like that prolongs and the MU see him. I mean, 0:04:41.800 --> 0:04:43.960 do you have it an a vault? Like? Wow, that's 0:04:44.120 --> 0:04:47.920 unbelievable that that's still I mean, aside from Paul McCartney's Hoffner, 0:04:48.000 --> 0:04:50.080 I can't think of a more you know, iconic instrument 0:04:50.320 --> 0:04:53.240 that's linked to somebody. Wow. Yeah, that's yeah, it's it's 0:04:53.240 --> 0:04:56.279 it's the same one I use all all um, every gig, 0:04:56.320 --> 0:04:59.440 I play everything, I records all the same sacks. Wow. 0:04:59.520 --> 0:05:04.120 That isn't credible. Oh man. I mean I love I mean, 0:05:04.160 --> 0:05:06.559 the film shows off your your your sense of humor, 0:05:06.880 --> 0:05:09.440 and I really love and admire the way that that 0:05:09.520 --> 0:05:13.720 you handle your critics because it doesn't impact your love 0:05:13.720 --> 0:05:16.480 of playing one iota. And I just think that is 0:05:16.520 --> 0:05:18.760 the coolest thing. There was an interview you gave recently, 0:05:18.760 --> 0:05:20.320 I think it was with The Daily Beast for your 0:05:20.320 --> 0:05:24.160 actually complimenting the writing of a of a critical review, 0:05:24.480 --> 0:05:26.760 which I just think is some is like Buddha level 0:05:26.839 --> 0:05:30.400 equanimity and compassion there. And I just think it's so 0:05:30.440 --> 0:05:32.160 important to put this out there because you know, there 0:05:32.160 --> 0:05:36.200 are so many people who talk themselves out of doing 0:05:37.400 --> 0:05:43.320 pursuing any creative avenue for fear of you know, critics, 0:05:43.320 --> 0:05:46.560 what people might say, whatever. And I just think, you know, 0:05:47.360 --> 0:05:49.800 it's so important for someone like you to to I 0:05:49.880 --> 0:05:51.640 just want to know where how did you achieve that 0:05:51.720 --> 0:05:55.840 level of composure and self self assurance. I just think 0:05:55.880 --> 0:05:58.279 that's that's like more people should see that and just 0:05:58.720 --> 0:06:01.599 you know, do their thing. Well. Thank you. You know, 0:06:01.640 --> 0:06:04.640 I do believe that's a really good message, because you're right, 0:06:04.680 --> 0:06:07.600 a lot of people stop the whole process because either 0:06:07.680 --> 0:06:12.080 because they are criticized or their fear of being criticized, 0:06:12.800 --> 0:06:16.000 and it stops a lot of really great ideas from 0:06:16.000 --> 0:06:20.040 getting farther along, great ideas, great music, whatever you want 0:06:20.040 --> 0:06:24.120 to say. But um, you know, I've always had the 0:06:24.160 --> 0:06:26.279 feeling inside of me that when I play my sacks, 0:06:26.400 --> 0:06:29.000 I just know what I want it to sound like, 0:06:29.360 --> 0:06:32.800 and if I accomplish that, whatever anybody says really doesn't 0:06:32.800 --> 0:06:36.360 mean anything to me. Because fortunately for me, when I've 0:06:36.400 --> 0:06:38.760 done that, I've gotten I've gotten a lot of feedback 0:06:39.000 --> 0:06:42.559 positive around the world by millions and millions of people. 0:06:42.640 --> 0:06:45.960 So when when that happens, that's a really good that's 0:06:46.000 --> 0:06:49.800 a really that's really good feedback for trusting yourself. I mean, look, 0:06:50.000 --> 0:06:52.600 if I did that and everybody hated everything I did, 0:06:53.320 --> 0:06:56.359 it would be a lot harder. Maybe too. We have 0:06:56.440 --> 0:06:58.600 that confidence that I still want to do what I'm doing, 0:06:58.960 --> 0:07:01.840 but it's probably would still I have it because when 0:07:01.880 --> 0:07:04.280 I'm in my studio right now, and when i come 0:07:04.320 --> 0:07:07.480 out of the studio with some piece of music recorded 0:07:07.560 --> 0:07:10.600 that I think is good, that's that's it, man, That's 0:07:10.640 --> 0:07:13.640 just it goes out there and whatever happens, I still 0:07:13.680 --> 0:07:16.360 love it. I'm so whenever I talk to people who 0:07:16.400 --> 0:07:19.280 are blessed with the ability to to write music, I'm 0:07:19.320 --> 0:07:22.280 so curious of what compels them to do it. Is 0:07:22.320 --> 0:07:25.240 it a desire to connect with other people or is 0:07:25.240 --> 0:07:27.160 it to just get something out of yourself. If you 0:07:27.200 --> 0:07:29.200 were on a desert island, would you, you know, be 0:07:29.240 --> 0:07:31.960 playing and just as much I would be playing just 0:07:32.000 --> 0:07:35.840 as much. Yeah. For me, it's comes from inside. Yeah, Um, 0:07:36.000 --> 0:07:37.960 what is the desire to write a piece of music. 0:07:38.000 --> 0:07:40.640 It's really um one of those things. It's uh, it's 0:07:40.680 --> 0:07:44.440 almost like um so almost like if you were like 0:07:44.480 --> 0:07:47.920 if you opened a box and then you you go, Okay, 0:07:48.000 --> 0:07:50.480 well I wonder what's inside? You just kind of curious. 0:07:50.840 --> 0:07:53.080 So that's kind of what is. I'm curious how I 0:07:53.120 --> 0:07:55.000 hear a couple of notes and go, WHOA, I'm really 0:07:55.000 --> 0:07:57.520 curious about these notes? Can these notes turn into a 0:07:57.520 --> 0:07:59.800 beautiful melody the way that I think they can? And 0:08:00.160 --> 0:08:03.000 for me, it's all about the discovery and the challenge 0:08:03.400 --> 0:08:07.040 of trying to make it work and the mystery of 0:08:07.080 --> 0:08:09.320 whether it will work or not, and then when it 0:08:09.360 --> 0:08:12.040 when it when you play it back. When I play 0:08:12.080 --> 0:08:14.560 it back and I listen, I'm almost like a third 0:08:14.600 --> 0:08:17.320 person listening and going, that's a really beautiful piece of 0:08:17.400 --> 0:08:20.560 music without it being me stroking my own ego. And 0:08:20.680 --> 0:08:24.040 that's something that I think maybe it may be unique, 0:08:24.040 --> 0:08:25.760 but that's how that's how I do it. I'm really 0:08:25.800 --> 0:08:29.880 able to separate myself from myself when I listen back. Yeah, 0:08:29.880 --> 0:08:31.960 I wanted to ask you more about your your composition 0:08:31.960 --> 0:08:36.480 progress process new standards is is originals? Do you do 0:08:36.520 --> 0:08:39.000 you hear the tune in your head? And put it down. 0:08:39.080 --> 0:08:41.800 Or do you solo and maybe pick a phrase or 0:08:41.840 --> 0:08:43.720 two that you think, Oh, that's really beautiful. I'm gonna 0:08:43.760 --> 0:08:46.559 develop a little more. Or is it a combination. It's 0:08:46.559 --> 0:08:49.240 a lot of factors. It's not it's not any one thing. 0:08:49.320 --> 0:08:52.360 Sometimes I have a melody that's just I've got it 0:08:52.400 --> 0:08:54.240 in my head and I know it's gonna be right, 0:08:54.640 --> 0:08:56.280 and then I just need to find the chords that 0:08:56.360 --> 0:08:59.719 go along with that melody. Sometimes I'm just playing with 0:09:00.320 --> 0:09:02.440 a keyboard player and we're just noodling and then he 0:09:02.480 --> 0:09:04.720 plays a chord. I go play that chord again, and 0:09:04.760 --> 0:09:07.560 then I okay from there, and then we just start 0:09:07.640 --> 0:09:10.120 from there. And it's a lot of ways. It could 0:09:10.160 --> 0:09:13.120 be just could just be humming something and I just 0:09:13.200 --> 0:09:15.520 hear something. It could be it could just be some 0:09:15.640 --> 0:09:17.680 music that I hear that go oh, I'd like to 0:09:17.679 --> 0:09:20.760 play something like that. I hear a certain chord changes, 0:09:20.760 --> 0:09:23.000 I'm gonna come up with something that goes along with 0:09:23.080 --> 0:09:26.040 something like that. And so there's I wish there was 0:09:26.080 --> 0:09:28.200 only one way, and I wish I could just model 0:09:28.240 --> 0:09:30.839 it and then it would be a lot easier. I mean, 0:09:30.840 --> 0:09:32.280 this is this is a question that's going to give 0:09:32.280 --> 0:09:34.319 away the fact that I as much as I love 0:09:34.400 --> 0:09:37.000 music and my job allows me to speak to fantastically 0:09:37.040 --> 0:09:39.520 talented people like you who can write. I've never written 0:09:39.520 --> 0:09:41.679 a song in my life. I play a number of instruments. 0:09:42.040 --> 0:09:44.720 I can't. I can't do it. I don't know if 0:09:44.720 --> 0:09:46.719 it's in my head or just something I guess. The 0:09:46.800 --> 0:09:50.720 question is is being a musician so or a composer 0:09:50.760 --> 0:09:52.320 I should say, is that's something that you're born with 0:09:52.400 --> 0:09:54.680 or can you learn to do it? Oh? I think 0:09:54.679 --> 0:09:57.160 you can absolutely learn to do it. I think it's 0:09:57.200 --> 0:10:00.240 pretty easy. But here's how. Here's how I would vise 0:10:00.280 --> 0:10:02.840 anybody that this has trouble doing it or just doesn't 0:10:02.920 --> 0:10:05.640 understand the process. Okay, if you if some of us 0:10:05.679 --> 0:10:09.480 are born with with that those melodies inside of us, 0:10:09.520 --> 0:10:12.959 some of us are, But if you're not, it's really easy. 0:10:13.080 --> 0:10:17.520 Find songs that you like, figure out how they were composed, 0:10:17.559 --> 0:10:20.719 like get the chord changes, play them, and then just 0:10:20.800 --> 0:10:23.480 kind of get used to that and then say, Okay, 0:10:23.480 --> 0:10:26.720 I want to write something like that, So change the chords, 0:10:26.800 --> 0:10:30.719 change everything, but try to find some similarities where it's 0:10:30.800 --> 0:10:33.400 not too similar, because you obviously don't want to have 0:10:33.400 --> 0:10:36.120 any copyright infringement. But that's how you do it. You 0:10:36.200 --> 0:10:39.120 kind of emulate, and then you'll find your own voice 0:10:39.120 --> 0:10:41.480 because you may go, wow, I really like this, but 0:10:41.559 --> 0:10:43.920 I wish it would go here, and then you find 0:10:43.920 --> 0:10:46.840 that you're creating a brand new song. Was there a 0:10:46.880 --> 0:10:49.280 turning point for you when when you went from being 0:10:49.320 --> 0:10:53.880 somebody who was i'll use the phrase an apprentice musician 0:10:53.920 --> 0:10:56.240 to really knowing that you discovered your own voice in 0:10:56.280 --> 0:11:00.760 your own sounds. I think it was probably when I 0:11:00.760 --> 0:11:03.319 did my album Duo Tones in eighties. Six was when 0:11:04.040 --> 0:11:06.800 what happened was Okay, it's eighty six is like thirty 0:11:06.840 --> 0:11:11.440 five years ago. They the technology just came out with 0:11:11.480 --> 0:11:15.680 what we would call a synthesizer. Now it's just like whatever, 0:11:15.880 --> 0:11:18.439 that's like old school. Like now we're talking about all 0:11:18.440 --> 0:11:22.920 these you know, um computer based things and you can 0:11:22.960 --> 0:11:27.079 trigger sounds with your the keys on your laptop or 0:11:27.080 --> 0:11:30.439 we're just talking about like a piano looking device that 0:11:30.600 --> 0:11:32.839 had sounds in it. It wasn't a piano. It was 0:11:32.880 --> 0:11:35.960 a synthesizer electronic. You could play something on it and 0:11:35.960 --> 0:11:37.960 then hit a button. It would play back when you played. 0:11:38.840 --> 0:11:42.280 That's pretty That was. That was innovative back then, it's 0:11:42.280 --> 0:11:45.760 not innovative now now it's now that's that's like like 0:11:45.880 --> 0:11:49.480 kindergarten stuff. But back then, So what happened was that 0:11:49.559 --> 0:11:51.199 I got my hands on one of these things, and 0:11:51.640 --> 0:11:54.800 since I'm not a piano player, I can noodle, So 0:11:54.840 --> 0:11:57.240 then I started noodling, and then you can fix notes, 0:11:57.280 --> 0:11:59.400 so I would fix. I go, hey, I just created 0:11:59.400 --> 0:12:01.920 a piano track that I've always wanted to play on 0:12:02.640 --> 0:12:05.920 that I could never explain to somebody, and it wouldn't. 0:12:05.920 --> 0:12:07.640 It didn't sound right on a piano, but it sounded 0:12:07.720 --> 0:12:11.640 right on this synthesizer. A sequencer. That's the that's what 0:12:11.679 --> 0:12:14.000 I'm a sequencer. So I played this thing and then 0:12:14.000 --> 0:12:16.000 I hit my button and it's like, whoa, I really 0:12:16.000 --> 0:12:18.880 like this back backing track that I just made. That 0:12:19.160 --> 0:12:20.760 make a melody to it, And that's when I found 0:12:20.760 --> 0:12:35.440 my voice. In the film, they there's a lot of 0:12:35.440 --> 0:12:38.160 attention paid to your your your practice regimen, which is 0:12:38.200 --> 0:12:43.360 formidable three hours a day for approximately fifty years something 0:12:43.400 --> 0:12:47.640 like that. Yeah. Yeah, I mean, by Malcolm Gladwell's tenours rule, 0:12:47.679 --> 0:12:51.640 you're a master five times over. And as a lay person, 0:12:52.120 --> 0:12:54.400 I would imagine that that that there must be very 0:12:54.440 --> 0:12:56.520 little for you left to learn. I mean, you're Kenny 0:12:56.559 --> 0:12:59.720 g Why do you practice? Is it to keep limber 0:12:59.800 --> 0:13:03.240 or you still discovering and finding new things? Well, the 0:13:03.280 --> 0:13:06.480 analogy I would use would be somebody like um, you know, 0:13:06.640 --> 0:13:09.400 like a great golfer. Let's say, let's take Tiger Woods. 0:13:09.440 --> 0:13:11.480 So why would Tiger would ever have to go to 0:13:11.559 --> 0:13:14.559 the driving range? Doesn't he have it? I think, doesn't 0:13:14.559 --> 0:13:18.040 he have it? Good point? You know, why would anybody 0:13:18.080 --> 0:13:22.360 go practice? Because practice is what maintains your skill level 0:13:22.520 --> 0:13:24.720 at something that you maybe, let's say you are a 0:13:24.760 --> 0:13:26.640 master at it. Although I'm not saying I'm a master 0:13:26.679 --> 0:13:29.080 with the sacks. I'm trying to master the sacks. And 0:13:29.120 --> 0:13:31.960 I would say that anybody that's playing an instrument or 0:13:32.200 --> 0:13:34.760 golf or any of those things, we all say our 0:13:34.840 --> 0:13:37.439 goal is to keep trying to master something that can 0:13:37.480 --> 0:13:42.120 never be mastered. So it's just the it's the quest 0:13:42.360 --> 0:13:45.320 to keep learning. I mean, I practiced this morning. I 0:13:45.320 --> 0:13:48.040 did my three hours already, and you know, I was 0:13:48.080 --> 0:13:52.040 working on trying to use my phrasing in a different 0:13:52.040 --> 0:13:54.000 way than I than I've done in the past, and 0:13:54.360 --> 0:13:57.280 challenging because I'm so used to doing in a certain way. 0:13:57.400 --> 0:13:58.880 So I thought, let me try to do things a 0:13:58.880 --> 0:14:01.640 different way here, and I'm working on that. I figured, 0:14:01.679 --> 0:14:03.520 you know, maybe a couple more years of doing that 0:14:03.559 --> 0:14:05.800 and I'll probably be pretty good at that particular little thing, 0:14:05.800 --> 0:14:08.120 and then I'll be another couple of years for something else, 0:14:08.160 --> 0:14:10.200 and then I'll be in my nineties and I'll just 0:14:10.240 --> 0:14:13.400 keep doing the same thing. I mean, that is an inspiration. 0:14:13.520 --> 0:14:15.599 I mean, you really are. I mean, and they go 0:14:15.760 --> 0:14:17.800 you go through this in the film as well. I mean, 0:14:18.400 --> 0:14:20.680 you're a pilot, you're a golfer, you're a baker. I mean, 0:14:20.680 --> 0:14:23.040 they're all all these things that that you do that 0:14:23.080 --> 0:14:25.960 you commit a thousand percent to, which is really, you know, 0:14:26.040 --> 0:14:28.760 the way you should do anything. Uh. Is there anything 0:14:28.760 --> 0:14:30.920 that you're sort of at the beginning of your journey 0:14:30.920 --> 0:14:34.800 on hobbies wise or you know, interest wise that you 0:14:35.080 --> 0:14:38.560 just started to learn that you're first now getting into. Yeah, 0:14:38.600 --> 0:14:41.240 I'm trying. I'm trying to learn how to be French. Really, 0:14:41.680 --> 0:14:43.720 I already know how that's gonna be, already know how 0:14:43.800 --> 0:14:45.680 much that's gonna take, and I am not putting in 0:14:45.720 --> 0:14:47.800 the right kind of time. I just don't have it. 0:14:48.160 --> 0:14:50.840 So I'm trying to figure out how I might be 0:14:50.920 --> 0:14:55.000 able to sneak in the right amount of time, and 0:14:55.040 --> 0:14:56.760 I just don't know how to do that yet because 0:14:57.080 --> 0:14:59.560 my life is pretty full. I mean, I I do 0:14:59.640 --> 0:15:01.560 my pray, just saying I got my exercising I like 0:15:01.640 --> 0:15:03.720 to do. I still have to maintain my skill level 0:15:03.720 --> 0:15:07.080 as a pilot. Obviously, we want that because that's your 0:15:07.120 --> 0:15:10.640 life depends on that. I love golf, so I I 0:15:10.640 --> 0:15:13.720 want to dedicate some time to golf. I have a family, 0:15:13.840 --> 0:15:15.960 you know, I have people in my life that I 0:15:15.960 --> 0:15:18.600 want to spend time with. And there's also I'd like 0:15:18.640 --> 0:15:22.080 to do things like nothing like sit around and just 0:15:22.160 --> 0:15:26.280 contemplate things and spend time just being instead of doing. 0:15:26.320 --> 0:15:28.680 So I have all those things, but I still want 0:15:28.680 --> 0:15:30.360 to speak French, so I'm trying to figure out how 0:15:30.400 --> 0:15:33.240 to make that happen. I'm not sure if it's gonna happen, 0:15:33.640 --> 0:15:35.120 and I may be one of the things that I 0:15:35.200 --> 0:15:37.400 might have to just go. I'm going to be satisfied 0:15:37.440 --> 0:15:40.840 with a less than stellar skill level at that. But 0:15:40.920 --> 0:15:45.520 maybe if I have just a working French vocabulary and dialogue, 0:15:45.800 --> 0:15:47.480 maybe I'll be happy with it. I'm not sure I 0:15:47.480 --> 0:15:49.600 will be because I'm not wired to be happy with 0:15:49.840 --> 0:15:53.920 anything that's not really great? Are you judging from your 0:15:53.960 --> 0:15:56.200 track record? I have a funny feeling you'll be fluent 0:15:56.600 --> 0:15:59.240 very very shortly. What's that great? You know the painter 0:15:59.360 --> 0:16:01.880 Bob Ross, the you know, the guy on PBS, and 0:16:01.880 --> 0:16:04.640 he would all he'd always say, you know, I hope 0:16:04.640 --> 0:16:07.520 you're plagued with dissatisfaction because that will keep you coming 0:16:07.520 --> 0:16:09.720 back and keep you, you know, wanting to keep on 0:16:09.760 --> 0:16:12.480 painting another and another. And I I you know, it 0:16:12.520 --> 0:16:15.520 seems sounds counterintuitive, It almost sounds negative when you hear it. 0:16:15.600 --> 0:16:17.520 But I think of that a lot, and you know, 0:16:17.600 --> 0:16:19.840 hearing what you just said, it makes me think of 0:16:19.840 --> 0:16:22.240 of you being plagued with dissatisfaction, but in a good 0:16:22.240 --> 0:16:27.440 way to keep moving forward. Yeah, it's almost like that movie, um, Whiplash. 0:16:27.480 --> 0:16:29.960 I don't know if you saw the movie Whiplash. By 0:16:30.000 --> 0:16:32.200 the way, I never had a teacher like that, not 0:16:32.280 --> 0:16:36.080 like that. He's awful, but he his whole thing was 0:16:36.520 --> 0:16:39.800 he never wanted to tell somebody good job. I remember 0:16:39.880 --> 0:16:42.040 he was saying, because he thought those were the worst 0:16:42.080 --> 0:16:44.480 two words you could ever tell somebody good job. Because 0:16:44.720 --> 0:16:46.680 he felt like if you did that then it would 0:16:47.040 --> 0:16:50.400 stop them from trying harder to get better. I completely 0:16:50.400 --> 0:16:52.920 don't agree with that. I do not agree with it. 0:16:52.960 --> 0:16:55.680 I think you can say good job and still if 0:16:55.720 --> 0:16:59.480 a person is really interested in becoming better and better 0:16:59.560 --> 0:17:01.520 just because body's I mean, I hear it all the time. 0:17:01.680 --> 0:17:04.560 How hey that was a great show. Well, in my mind, 0:17:04.600 --> 0:17:06.120 I know that I missed a note that I wanted 0:17:06.119 --> 0:17:07.399 to hit the way I wanted to hit it, or 0:17:07.400 --> 0:17:09.880 blah blah blah. But I don't mind hearing a good job. 0:17:09.920 --> 0:17:14.040 I appreciate that, and that doesn't take any motivation away 0:17:14.080 --> 0:17:16.879 from me to try harder to be better the next 0:17:17.160 --> 0:17:19.280 the next night, at my next gig, no matter even 0:17:19.280 --> 0:17:21.520 if I'm think even if I think, hey, that was 0:17:21.560 --> 0:17:24.399 a really good gig, great, but I'm still motivated to 0:17:24.440 --> 0:17:27.439 do even better tomorrow, isn't it. I So I disagree 0:17:27.480 --> 0:17:29.920 with that, But I get the the velocity of being 0:17:29.960 --> 0:17:34.320 dissatisfied does gives you always trying to be better, but 0:17:34.400 --> 0:17:37.280 hopefully you're not beating yourself up during the process, right, 0:17:37.320 --> 0:17:41.080 That's a delicate balance. I mean, speaking of moving forward, 0:17:41.200 --> 0:17:43.600 your your new album, tell me a little bit about 0:17:43.600 --> 0:17:47.000 the theme behind it. It sounds like you. It's steeped 0:17:47.040 --> 0:17:50.639 in you know, old masters like Coltrane and Miles Davis. Like, 0:17:50.640 --> 0:17:54.360 tell me a little more about the thinking behind the record. Well, 0:17:54.400 --> 0:17:56.800 I love the balance of those uh of the era 0:17:56.880 --> 0:17:59.200 of those those jazz grades. So this is we're talking 0:17:59.240 --> 0:18:01.760 about the fifties and sixties. So you've got your Miles 0:18:01.840 --> 0:18:05.119 Davis and John Bultrain. Those are pretty household names. I 0:18:05.119 --> 0:18:07.159 think even people that aren't into jazz kind of know 0:18:07.280 --> 0:18:10.480 those names. But they're stand Gatz and there's Paul Desmond, 0:18:10.520 --> 0:18:13.879 and there's cannonball Adderly and Sonny Rawlins. Those names are 0:18:13.880 --> 0:18:18.399 probably not so upfront with people. But I love all 0:18:18.440 --> 0:18:21.320 those ballots. And the thing I love about those ballots 0:18:21.800 --> 0:18:25.520 is that they're not, uh, they're not simple. They're complicated. 0:18:25.560 --> 0:18:28.000 And I say complicated in the sense that the composition 0:18:28.800 --> 0:18:33.320 are chords like they're complicated jazz chords, and and it 0:18:33.359 --> 0:18:37.119 gives the player a chance to nuance through the solo 0:18:37.200 --> 0:18:40.760 section of a song and really kind of find a 0:18:40.840 --> 0:18:45.520 way to bring all those complicated chords together. Um. And 0:18:45.560 --> 0:18:47.480 so I wanted to do that, but I also wanted 0:18:47.480 --> 0:18:49.919 the melodies to be my melodies, So I didn't want 0:18:49.920 --> 0:18:52.239 to just go ahead and play the old standards. So 0:18:52.280 --> 0:18:55.040 I wanted to write new songs in that style, but 0:18:55.240 --> 0:18:59.400 make them the melodies that that sing sing to my heart. 0:19:00.080 --> 0:19:01.919 And that's what I did. So that's why it's called 0:19:02.000 --> 0:19:04.440 new standards because they're not the old standards. There are new, 0:19:04.640 --> 0:19:07.439 brand new songs, and I'm hoping that they would be 0:19:07.480 --> 0:19:10.679 considered standards at some point because of the way that 0:19:10.720 --> 0:19:14.240 they're constructed. I mean, that's what I love about those 0:19:14.320 --> 0:19:17.000 those tracks. I mean they are they're complicated when you 0:19:17.040 --> 0:19:19.280 sit down and try and play them, but they they 0:19:19.320 --> 0:19:21.680 don't sound that way. They they cover their tracks, They 0:19:21.680 --> 0:19:24.680 cover the joints and make it seem so seamless and 0:19:24.680 --> 0:19:27.440 make it seem so easy. What is for you? I 0:19:27.480 --> 0:19:29.879 mean the title is so great because to me, the 0:19:29.880 --> 0:19:32.840 thing that makes a standard really is just the passage 0:19:32.840 --> 0:19:35.480 of time. Uh, And so that the the idea of 0:19:35.520 --> 0:19:38.600 a news standard is is it's like jumbo shrimp. It's 0:19:38.600 --> 0:19:41.679 almost it's almost counterintuitive. What is it to you that 0:19:41.680 --> 0:19:44.560 that makes And maybe this is a you know, a 0:19:44.680 --> 0:19:47.320 I the Beholder type question, what is it that makes 0:19:47.600 --> 0:19:51.560 a timeless melody to you? Well, that's a good question, 0:19:51.600 --> 0:19:53.480 and that's what I try to do with every song 0:19:53.560 --> 0:19:58.880 that I record. Um, it's it's a melody that makes sense, 0:19:59.440 --> 0:20:02.639 and it's and played in just the right way that 0:20:02.800 --> 0:20:07.000 the emotion of the melody there. Uh, it's not a 0:20:07.359 --> 0:20:10.040 it's not like a one time take. See that's what 0:20:10.119 --> 0:20:12.040 I That's why I love doing it in my studio 0:20:12.080 --> 0:20:14.520 because I have a chance to tweak things. Because you're 0:20:14.560 --> 0:20:17.160 talking about a timeless melody. You're not talking about Hey, 0:20:17.400 --> 0:20:19.760 Tuesday night I had that was a good take. Okay, 0:20:19.760 --> 0:20:21.760