All of the Sax Pack fans want to know who Marcus Anderson is, so tell us a little bit about who Marcus Anderson really is.
Marcus Anderson (MA): Well really not too much to me. I like long walks in the park (laughing), no seriously I’m a guy who loves music and got an opportunity to play with Jeff (Kashiwa) and Steve Cole. I mean I’m just a little country boy from South Carolina, Spartanburg to be exact, that got an opportunity. Every opportunity that I got I took advantage of it and that’s how I got to the point to be able to play with the Sax Pack and several other artists. That’s kind of who I am in a nut shell.

SV: Well let me ask you this, who approached you on joining the group?
MA: My agent actually talked to me about it and asked if I would be willing to do it. He also books for the group the Sax Pack. When he heard that Kim Waters was going to be doing his solo career, it opened up an opportunity for me. He asked me, and I said that I would be more than happy to do it. So he ask me, I accepted, and basically the next step was a phone conversation with Steve Cole and Jeff Kashiwa so those guys could sort of get a feel for me. They had already checked out a lot of my music and had been following me on Facebook and my website and on Twitter and all that good stuff. They liked what they were seeing and they thought it would be a good fit to bring the youngster in.

SV: That is awesome. Are you learning a lot of new music now?
MA: I am. I try to stay up to date and relevant and what’s happening in the industry of music, not just in jazz but in other genres whether it be pop, rock, r & b, country, just everything. If you’re versatile, my jazz professors in college always told me that it’s good to be versatile. To have it and not need to use it or to get to a situation and not being able to know what to do. It’s good to have that knowledge base of music. It’s almost like having a secret weapon to pull out when you need it.

SV: It really is. I guess you’re learning a lot of the Sax Pack music now?
MA: Yea I’m learning the whole library they have and we’re working on a new CD now that will be out in the summer. That’s been fun writing with Steve Cole and producing with Jeff Kashiwa. All of it has been great.

SV: Oh, I can imagine! So what’s it been like replacing Kim Waters? I know that he has been in the industry for years. I know that it’s tough to replace someone like that. How has that been for you?
MA: Oh man, I don’t think I could ever replace someone like Kim. He’s and icon in the industry and in music. I just try to do what they brought Marcus in to do, just really play the music, and give it my best. I’m kind of the energetic guy on stage. I’ve learned to not be moving so much when I perform. I’ve studied how Kim performed in the group and how he played his parts. I went to You Tube, I bought the record, and I did my homework. I basically tried to do what he did and add a little bit more or a little bit of my flavor to what he had in the Sax Pack. It seems to be working out pretty good.

SV: From what I have seen on You Tube and the videos I saw from Thornton Winery, it looks like you have stepped in really well. What was it like going out on stage for the first time with the two guys?
MA: I didn’t know what to expect or what was going to happen. I got up there and said “hey, here we are!” You know that was a day of reckoning, you’re either going to make it or break it. Fortunately I made it that day.

SV: Well that is awesome. When did all of that start?
MA: It started in December; we started writing the music in December. They had been talking to me early in December. They gave me the music about a month or so before the actual festival. This whole thing has been going on now for six or seven months. It actually came to light May 6th, 2012 Temecula California.

SV: You mentioned Steve Cole earlier. He’s so smart because he has that economics degree, yet he’s so funny when he’s on stage. What’s it like touring with him?
MA: It’s great. What you just said, it wraps it up in a nutshell. He’s very smart. I didn’t realize that until I was actually sitting and talking with him and having conversations and having the Sax Pack more visible was just finding out how intelligent this guy was. He really is a “brainiac”. He’s talented; he can play and is an excellent keyboard as well. I didn’t know that. He’s a great songwriter. He’s like a triple threat although he’s only one.

SV: I think he even worked on Wall Street for a while after college. So he has that to fall back on if this sax thing doesn’t work out for him (laughter). You know Jeff has all of his years of experience with the Rippington’s then solo gigs as well. What’s it been like touring with him, and what have you got from him?
MA: Jeff is a guy who is really organized. If anything, you learn to be very on top of things. He’s very meticulous when it comes to scheduling, being in a certain place at a certain time. To me, being with the Sax Pack has made me more punctual (not to say that I wasn’t). He’s just so polished with everything he does. He makes me say “wow, I need to take a note from them and really be on top of my game.” I was already pretty good when it came to being organized, but Jeff helps hold everything together. He’s part of the glue that holds the Sax Pack together.

SV: Jeff has been known for his EWI (Electronic Wind Instrument) over the years and so have you. Have you guys gotten together and done anything with them?
MA: Not yet. We talked about it and are still trying to figure out a way to make it work in a live show. We kind of stayed away from it and let people see me as Marcus Anderson the saxophone player then incorporate other stuff because we’re going to change up the show just a little bit when the new CD comes out and see what it is that we can do.

SV: That will be great. Are you playing much of your music in the shows?
MA: You know while each of us has a segment in the show where we play our own music then the rest is Sax Pack music. So I will play may be one or two of my tunes (depending on how long the show is) Jeff will do two of his, and Steve will do two of his, so everything is split up equally.

SV: You have a relatively new CD that came out last year that’s called Now that features several guys from North Carolina such as Jullian Vaughn and Nicholas Cole and a few others. Tell us a little bit about that and if you’re playing any of those songs.
MA: I am actually. I’m playing some of the songs off that CD. We’re doing “Back to the Basics” as well as “Empower” (with 480 East out of Canada) that whole CD, I was very proud of it and how everything came out. I was kind of nervous. I took some risks and some chances that I normally wouldn’t. It came out very well. The artwork was something different. I wanted to go with something hip, and that was totally out of the norm of the typical CD with a person holding their saxophone looking to the side or facing away from the camera. I took something that was totally retro and threw it on there. The music came out to match it with the artwork. I was very pleased how it all came out. The CD was received very well too from the audience; and is very well received today.

SV: That’s a great CD and I think I actually reviewed it here on Smoothviews last year. So any of the new fans who are checking out Marcus with the Sax Pack, be sure to check out Now which is a great CD from last year. One of my favorite songs ever from the first time I saw you in Cary was My Turn and “Waiting For You” has been one of my all time favorite songs.
MA: People always love “Waiting For You.” Maybe it’s the story that goes with it, or may be it’s the heart and hurt or pain that goes with that song.

SV: Speaking of good music, let’s hear about the new CD. What can we be expecting from the new Sax Pack CD later this year?
MA: Oh you can expect some funky, retro seventies vibe mixed with the current smooth jazz sound that you have now days on the radio. You know radio isn’t really what it used to be, and whatever we wanted to create, we basically did for the CD. We went with a vibe which was a seventies disco mixed with the current smooth jazz market and mixed it all into the CD. It sounds incredible, it sounds great. Jeff is doing a wonderful job with the production. Steve is too. I’m excited to be able to write with those guys and the creativity that came out. When it comes out, people are going to be like “wow, this is like something totally different from what the Sax Pack has normally done.” I’m not saying that I brought it in, it’s just the whole thinking process and the writing process for the CD has shifted for the whole group. All I did was just come in and give my little R&B gospel flare to it. You can hear each of us in all the music. You hear a little bit of Jeff in a song, you hear a little bit of Steve and Marcus, and it sounds like a collective work.

SV: Well I know that we’re all anxious to hear that. Is there a street date on the new release yet?
MA: No street date yet. We’re finishing up a little bit of recording, and then get the art work done. We should look for it to be out sometime in late July.

SV: We’ll be looking for it! You have a lot of tour dates scheduled this summer; tell us a little bit of where you will be later this year.
MA: I’ve got the Sax Pack stuff coming up; I have my own solo stuff coming up in Wichita Kansas. In mid June I’ll be in Overland Park. Then after that I’m going straight to Virginia, then the week after that I’m flying out to L.A. for rehearsal with Shela E. Then we’re going to Paris for about a week, doing some shows out there. We are just going to be shooting here and everywhere.

SV: It sounds like you’re going to have a very busy summer between your solo work and Sax Pack work and all that fun stuff. It’s definitely “jazz season” right now. It has to be exciting! Marcus, in closing, is there anything you want to tell your fans?
MA: Just thank you guys for your support and everything and everything that you have done, and everything that you’re going to do to support me. All the musicians and all the individual artists like me. I’m not funded through a label. I’m funded through the people who buy my CD’s and buy my music and come to the shows  Continue to follow me on Facebook and Twitter and go to the website (marcusanderson.net), get on my e-mail list and follow that. That’s all I can say. Thank you.

SV: That is awesome. We look forward to seeing you out on the road this summer with either the Sax Pack or your solo tour. We here at Smoothviews wish you all the best of luck.
MA: Thank you Harvey I really appreciate it.