No shortage of sound or energy with Gerald Albright

Inspiration can come from a lot of places. Just ask famed saxman Gerald Albright.

“Ever since I moved to Colorado, every CD I’ve done has been nominated for a Grammy,” he said during a recent telephone interview. “I’ve had some prior records nominated but in terms of them in succession that is eight in a row. But I have yet to win!”

Albright will take the stage at Thornton Winery as part of the 2015 Champagne Jazz Concert Series.

A native of Los Angeles, Albright started off in music learning the piano. After graduating from the University of Redlands, he went on tour with Patrice Rushen. From there it was plenty of sessions work with Olivia Newton-John, Ray Parker, Anita Baker, among others, and more tours before embarking on his solo career.

Now, he is still putting out great music and touring, but he is appreciative of what he has now in Colorado.

“We wanted to go somewhere a little slower with less traffic,” he said.

And it has proven to be a good thing for his music.

“There’s something about it that inspires me to write,” he said. “I have a studio in the basement and can close myself up in there. I look out and I can see deer and squirrels. It is really conducive to relaxation which allows me to bring out creativity because it gives the mine and heart a chance to create.”

And create he has, considering his sound definitely stands out.

“I grew up listening to different players than many of my comrades,” he said. “Others listened to [David] Sanborn and [Randy] Bricker, but I went for more soulful guys like [Curtis] Mayfield, Cannonball [Adderly]. I was listening to different people at the and when you are developing your musical likes, whoever it is that inspires you is what makes your sound.”

A lot of it is just experimentation.

“Music is trial and error,” he said. “You try to sound different and some things work and others don’t. For example, Cannonball Adderly could play any riff improvisation and just had a signature sound. You keep working on it. I am still refining my style.”

Ultimately, it is about music that makes people have fun.

“My music is feel good music with an inspiration from the Motown sound,” he said. “The demographic we play to are people who are putting in 50 to 60 hours of work and they need a nice bottle of wine and a nice, strong musical groove.”

It can’t be too technical.

“I’m in awe of the technical players, but sometimes it can be too cerebral,” he said. “A guy like Miles might play two or three notes, wait a few bars and then do something, but that note was so much because it had soul and emotion. I think people want to hear a conversation. They want to hear what you are doing and what you are trying to convey.”

Albright also points out that the musician has to fit the genre he is playing in as well.

“Clarence Clemons of Bruce Springsteen’s band comes to mind,” he said. “He was not the best player on the planet and if you put him in another place like jazz he might be as famous. But what Bruce saw was the personality on stage and whatever notes he played were from the heart. Clarence was a star there and Bruce needed him.”

In addition to the music, there has to be a stage presence.

“It evolves as you play because you kind of develop a barometer in your personality about what fits and what doesn’t fit,” he said. “I always like to promote ‘Gentleman Gerald.’ I’m not about trying to put on different costumes. I want to look nice but I want people to feel me as the same guy who speaks to them off the microphone. It’s hard to tell an 18-year-old sax player to do that because he just hasn’t experienced it.”

Of course, he has experience, especially with his daughter who is a musician and has played numerous shows with her father.

“My daughter just did a recording session at the house with her new record, and we are about four or five tunes in and it’s incredible,” he said. “I can’t tell you how recreational it is to be in the studio and hear your child. I am the ultimate proud father. My son as well is in video editing. He comes around to shoot background. We did something right!”

But that is typical Gerald Albright. He is the consummate musician and gentleman. And he likes having a good time on stage.

“I like to think my music is honest,” he said. “I make that connection between the records and the live show. People develop a love affair with the show and that’s what makes them come back time and again.”