There is a litany of excuses that most of us default to when we tell ourselves that we can't chase our dream. “I'm too old”, “my job leaves me with no time,” “I let go of it while we were raising the kids and now it's too late.” “I should use the money for something more practical.” And so on. So here is Patrick Bradley, who last year released his second CD, Under The Sun, which climbed the charts, got rave reviews, and featured a dream lineup of musicians including Dave Koz, Rick Braun, and producer/collaborator Jeff Lorber.

Bradley is a self-taught keyboard player who left the life of a touring musician when he was in his twenties so he could raise a family. He climbed the ranks at the Whole Foods grocery chain and added more and more responsibilities. eventually landing in California as a Regional Vice President. He and his wife, Lisa, raised two kids. He listened to music, he played when he could, and then a few years ago, deep into midlife, he decided to record his first album. He financed it, wrote it, recorded it and released it. and it introduced him to the contemporary jazz audience.

A  few years later he went back into the studio, this time guided by Jeff Lorber, who he had recently met. He released Under The Sun, which industry pros and fans agreed was one of the best releases of 2011. He could have said he was too old to start something new, or too busy, or that he needed to put his money elsewhere but here he is, still working his “daytime job” and managing to fit in quality time for his family, his faith, and his music. And for this conversation, which began at the exact time it was scheduled. After all, if you are going to live multiple lives it helps to be organized.


SmoothViews (SV): This album has brought you a lot of attention but I have been listening to your debut CD, which actually flew by me when it came out. It was great too, but it didn't get a lot of publicity.
Patrick Bradley (PB): Yeah, and for whatever reason Under the Sunhas gotten a lot of attention

SV: It's probably because independent media are more mobilized now and able to get behind music we discover and enjoy, we have the reedom to play it, and we have more clout than we did before. If a bunch of people discover something the buzz can spread pretty fast, especially when it is really strong and doesn't sound like everything else.
PB:  That came from working with Jeff Lorber. He really wanted to keep my style the way it was and not do anything that would make it sound like albums that were already out there.

SV: When you started working on this one did you have any idea it was going to get as much attention as it has?
PB:  I had a gut feeling that it would because I had a lineup of musicians that I knew would open some doors, but I didn't know how far it would go. I'm very pleased and happy with how it has turned out. It became what I was hoping it would become.

SV: I read that you wrote these songs then brought them to Jeff Lorber and he collaborated on them.
PB: I brought all the structure and Jeff and I worked on the songs.  There are several that we completely wrote
together. The song “The Message” is a great story. We were trying to pick one of the last songs for the CD and
listening to a bunch of my stuff. He found one little nugget in one of my songs and we ended up writing an entire song based on that one piece. Working with Jeff really helped me hone my craft too. Obviously he helped with the songwriting and instrumentation but he was also really instrumental in creating the overall sound of the album.

SV: How did you end up working with him?
PB: I met him through Dave Koz. Dave and I became friends years ago through the sale of wine and through his cruises, of all things. I mentioned to him that I wanted to record another album and possibly hire a producer. I asked him about Jeff and Dave looked at me with that funny grin of his and said he could introduce us. Jeff and I met at a coffee house. I gave him a CD with all the songs on it. The hand off is always hard. I'm thinking “Oh God, I hope he likes this stuff.” You're kind of vulnerable when you're giving something you worked on to someone at that level.

SV: To say the least!
PB: I've always looked up to Jeff; I've loved his music for years. Here I am meeting him and handing it over. And he liked it!

SV: Did he listen there or contact you later?
PB: He had to run and I had to go back to work so he listened to it that day and called me back and said he would work on the project. So shortly after that we went into the studio and put the structures together. It was fun.

SV: The way that happened is so telling as far as how we live today. You meet a major artist who has been a big influence on your work, hand over a song you have done most of the work on already, then head off to the day job.
PB: That's exactly how it happened. All musicians know that when you do that you're kind of vulnerable. You're saying “Here's my music, hope you like it.” Fortunately he did and he actually made it better.  Working with somebody like Jeff, I really wanted to be open to whatever happened. That really opened the door for a bunch of creativity on my side, on his side, and with everyone who played on it.

SV: Can you verbalize what happened?
PB: A whole bunch of magic! The way it fell into place was amazing too. My “day job” is more like a 24/7 job. I have been working for Whole Foods for 26 years. I love it and I have a lot of responsibilities so I don't have a lot of extra time. Neither do the musicians who were in these sessions because they have so much going on with their own careers.

SV: How did you juggle that?
PB: I basically took a week off to spend with Jeff and we put the structure of all the songs together and did the arrangements. Then the craziest things would happen. Two guys would be in town on a certain day. I would be in LA at the same time. Boom! Rick Braun and Dave Weckl are set up to do their song in one day! This kept happening over and over.

SV: I think they call that God.
PB: I certainly did ask for a lot of blessings and they kept coming. Michael Thompson, who is a wonderful guitarist with a heavy schedule would be available at the perfect time, Dwight Sills just happened to be in LA when we could work on the album. All these people were available when we needed them.

SV: So you kept adding layers to these songs. Did they just come in and lay their tracks down when they were “coincidentally” in the area?
PB: Yeah. The structures were written out and they had a lot of freedom to take what was there, groove on it and make it their own and that's what everybody did. Then when it is all done and put together I was totally wowed by it. It happened quickly too. I was concerned about how much time I could put into it working around my job responsibilities and I wanted the quality to be there. It went smooth and quick and easy. 

SV: Most of the people who play at your level have one job, and that is to play music. It's really demanding with the travel, practices, doing gigs, recording and having to take on the things that record companies used to do like promotion and actually running their own labels. Here you are playing at that level and you have an extremely demanding job that involves covering a large territory on top of everything else. How do you do it?
PB: It starts with getting a whole lot of support. My wife is a tremendous help. We are in a place in our lives where our children are out of the house – they are 24 and 28 – so we both have time we didn't have before.

SV: Didn't you decide to not do music full time so you could have a family life?
PB: I did leave the music scene to raise a family.  I toured with a rock band when I was in my twenties but I couldn't make any money. I came back from being on tour, my wife got pregnant with our second child, and I wanted more stability so I decided to go back to what I knew. I had been in grocery retail before so I started with a natural foods chain called Mrs. Gooch's. Whole Foods bought us in the 90's and I worked through the ranks to where I am now. I actually went to Chicago for four years then came back to California about four years ago which was perfect timing because all the musicians are here. Throughout those 20 years I was writing and playing. I just didn't do anything with it until 2007.

SV: Were you doing any gigs at all?
PB: I would jam with friends and play and write at home but I didn't go out and play live. I was being Family Guy – hanging with the family, raising kids and doing the other job.

SV: Your wife came on during another interview you did, she sounded like she is really great and into it?
PB: I couldn't do any of this without her. The beauty of it is that she's into horses and she's a dressage rider who competes at very high levels so we both have our loves and passions in other places.

SV: You do the cycling on top of everything else. I don't see how you fit it all in!
PB: I do have to give something up and that is usually what goes by the wayside. I may get out and ride my bike once a week, but I go out with a group and knock out 60 miles or so.

SV: Unbelievable! (laughs)  What brought you to the point where you decided to actually do your first CD?
PB: I don't know. This has been my dream since I was a kid. I walked up to an organ at a friend's house when I was eight years old and I was just attached to it. From that point on I was clear in my mind that I wanted to be a musician. I think the dream went dormant during the years when I focused on my career and my family then
one day I just got this strong feeling that I needed to record an album. It popped in my head as clear as day that it was time. That project took a long time, it took about three years to finish. I was able to get Eric Marienthal on the record which was a very big deal. He's such a wonderful player that he made the melodies just soar. I got some attention on the album even without a lot of promotion

SV: I saw something you said that was such a sign of the times. You said that if you didn't make money on this one you wouldn't be able to do another one. That's the reality that a lot of musicians are living right now. You just put it out there and said it.
PB: At this point in my life I look at it realistically. If it doesn't work I can't just pour more money into it because it sure isn't cheap. I don't have a label behind me, so it is my hard earned money that is going into it. You have to look at it and decide if that's where  you want to spend it. I probably will do another one in about a year or so.  I've also been able to get out and play live some.

SV: How do you get out there with your schedule?
PB: I found some fantastic local musicians and we've been doing some gigs they are going really well. That's spreading the word around and it's been fun.

SV:  The idea of touring is pretty much impossible for you isn't it?
PB: Yeah, I can't do it. With my life right now and my career where it is there is no way that I could tour. That's OK. I love what I do. Whole Foods has been a real blessing. I couldn't do any of this stuff without having that. We're doing some great things in the world and I'm proud of that too.

SV: Whole Foods actually did a fund raising tie in with your album recently didn't they?
PB: We have a foundation called Whole Planet Foundation, which raises money to help people out of poverty through micro loans. It's a great foundation. Last March we raised over five million dollars from our customers and team members. I decided to donate part of the proceeds from the sale of each CD countrywide. We just started that so I actually don't even know how that is going right now, it's too early in the game to tell.

SV: Is this nationally or regionally?
PB: Nationally.

SV: So people can pick up the CD at their local store?
PB: Yes they can.

SV: That's a great way to get your music out there too because internet marketing mostly hits people who are already in the loop.
PB: Yeah, and for retail I put a sticker on with Jeff's name, and Dave and Rick's and the other guys they might recognize because they probably don't know who I am. Hopefully they will soon (laughs).

SV: Your liner notes have little pieces about the inspiration and thoughts behind these songs. They  make reference to your faith as a Christian and feelings for people, places, and even things like the feeling you get when you are cycling. That's something that is much easier for a songwriter to do when they can use lyrics. You're telling a story without using words. How does that process work for you? How do you convey that to the listener?
PB: I think people have to take music into their imagination and bring it into their hearts. For me, an idea will come to mind and I'll try to get the melody and feeling of that idea and put it to music. It is hard sometimes. If you listen to “Mending Fences” on the first album there are some heart rending melodies in that song. The same thing with “Tears From the Sky” on the new one. I wrote that for my father when he passed away. I think it's just a matter of interpretation. “Straight Path” is a grooving funk piece and it's really about Proverbs - about trusting the Lord and he will make your path straight even when you are having a lot of challenges. People ask me how I came up with such a funky groove for a song with that theme and I just say “that's  who I am.” That's what comes to my heart when I am writing songs. That particular song was always chorded into Proverbs.

SV: You went through some difficult stuff and wrote that “Straight Path” was about continuing and not letting that drag you down. Right now a lot of people are going through that and it's hard to not get stuck or thrown off when it happens. Was it hard for you to move forward at the time.
PB: I really believe that God has given us music for many reasons. Music just pierces right through your heart and it moves us all. For me it's a way of healing, a matter of doing something with the emotions. Both my parents passed away in less than a year. The recession hit. The world was changing. But I found myself at a place in life where I could still go out and do this album. That was a struggle too, because it takes a lot financially and I was guilting myself about that. In the end I had to do it. I had to put the music out there to partially help me get through it, and to help others get through whatever they were going through. Losing your parents is difficult. It was natural – the effects of old age – but that is still difficult.

SV: Your father passed on your birthday didn't he?
PB: He did. I had a feeling it was going to happen but it still makes you look at life and go “Wow! That's not random.”  The majority of these songs aren't sad though. If anything, the album is about celebrating the life you have.

SV: You even have some real rock fusion stuff on here like “Empress of Dalmatia” which is my favorite song on the album.
PB: Mine too. My wife and I were in Croatia with some friends from Whole Foods and I was just blown away by the beauty of the ancient cities. That imagery went deep in and that song came out. I don't know how to explain that.

SV: You were self-taught. How did you start out?
PB: I started out on a funky little organ that was around when we were kids. The one that had the numbers and the push button chords.

SV: I remember those. The kid down the street for me had one.
PB: That's how I found one. A kid down the street had one and I wanted one for Christmas so my parents got it for me. It had 15 keys. I remember that to this day. I played that for a while and when my parents figured out I was serious they bought me another organ. I just got whatever books I could and taught myself. I was doing rock stuff: Deep Purple, Elton John, and such. I was all over the place. It wasn't until I was practically a teenager that I got into progressive rock and fusion and it seemed like my skills just built up overnight. It was probably over several years though.

SV: Did you ever take lessons?
PB: I did when I was in college. I did two years of classical music at a local college. My heart just wasn't in that. It just wasn't there for me. I went back to jazz and fusion.

SV: During the time that you were being the family guy and not performing did you do a lot of practicing?
PB: I played at night after the kids went to bed.

SV: How do you develop this level of skill, and to the point where artists of this caliber are working with you when you aren't in the business full time?
PB: Just listening to music and imitating it and learning it is what worked for me. Whether it was things like Return To Forever and Jeff Lorber or progressive rock bands. I spent a lot of time learning music and chord structure from Yes. Their roots are really classical and they did some incredible stuff.

SV: I find it amazing that someone could just sit down with music from people like that and learn it.
PB: I really did spend a lot of time learning crazy fusion stuff like Bill Bruford and Jeff Beck and Herbie Hancock. Those guys were my influences and I tried to learn as much as I could of that. There weren't really any boundaries because it was just me.

SV: You have a “daytime job” and you are an independent artist. Do you think that gave you more freedom to do it the way  you wanted to do it.
PB: Absolutely. I do have a lot of freedom and I didn't have anyone trying to tell me what to do and as a producer, Jeff was careful not to rein me in too much. I think you can sense that in the album because there are all types of songs. I even felt like I got away with something when I recorded “Empress of Dalmatia.”  It's like “Wow. I got it on the record!”

SV: And we love it that you did. This one still new in terms of the lifeline of a contemporary jazz album but I hope you do get to do a follow up.

PB:  I am in the middle of writing right now. I have lots of songs but I want some fresh stuff so I am right in the middle of writing and giving myself a few months to sort out and finish the songs I want to consider recording. I think this time my approach might be different. I'm thinking of putting some structures together then just going in the studio to see what magic happens. And I think I am going to work with Jeff again on this one. I'm hoping to have another big cast of characters, maybe even more than last time. Who knows!