With the release of Blues For You, guitarist Jeff Golub has done what a lot of artists who have been living under the smooth jazz umbrella are beginning to do – record music that sounds like what they actually do when they are playing live and reintroducing the elements that have been filtered out of the music over the last decade or so. He calls it “taking the handcuffs off.” The result is a solid set of songs that are not bound by genre and he reintroduces some influential vocalists in a whole new setting – again with the handcuffs off.

We talked about the album and contemporary adult oriented music in general too. I was originally going to edit that part out for the sake of brevity but it would be amiss to not talk about the thread of innovation that started during the progressive rock era and is being revitalized now with music that will be right in the pocket for people who grew up then and new fans who look for fresh, powerful music regardless of genre. If the artists we mention are new names to you fire up the search engine and go exploring. You'll discover some fabulous music.

SmoothViews (SV): I was looking on Amazon.com at the section where they list other albums that people bought and when you look at yours it's got Boney and Peter White but also there are people like Stevie Ray Vaughn, Robert Cray and Derek Trucks.
Jeff Golub (JG): That what I want to do with this. I want to stretch out the audience. I think there are people who will appreciate the combination of the different genres of music. I'm there, I think a lot of other people are there with me.

SV: You and I are in the same age group so you may relate to how this album reminds me of the music we used to listen to in our dorms when blues based rock like Cream, Hendrix, Jeff Beck Group, and John Mayall were popular. This music that a lot of people grew up with and it is still really vital today.
JG: That's exactly how I feel. Music had not become a big industry yet when that music came out. It wasn't about huge money. Some big acts like Elvis or the Beatles had it but most people didn't have what we would call “superstar money” back then. Corporate people didn't get involved so much either. They let the artists make the music then they marketed it. Obviously they wanted to make a profit but music generated the business, it wasn't run by business. People weren't locked into categories. Listen to bands like Traffic or Santana. Would they happen now? Would a blues-rock band be allowed to add all those Latin rhythms and percussion? It happened then because musicians had more freedom to go with what their hearts were telling them. I feel like that's something we need to get back to and I think we can do it.

SV: Interesting that you mentioned Traffic because they had an instrumental called "Glad" that was one of the songs that led progressive rock fans into exploring instrumental music. Santana, JethroTull, the Allman Bros. were doing a lot of long instrumentals and there was a real word of mouth buzz in the music magazines and record stores. That was the last time that word of mouth was the main way music got shared. People who grew up with that happening can really help rekindle that process when they find new music to get excited about instead of getting stuck in the past.
JG: It's a matter of respecting that era and moving on. We should go into where we are now and take everything we have experienced and use that in ways that work in the present. Hopefully we are standing on the brink of something exciting.

SV: Last time I talked to you, right after Grand Central came out. I was trying to get you to drop some hints about what you would be doing next and you didn't really have anything definite in mind. How did  you end up going in this direction?
JG:  I have to give credit to the A&R person at my new label. I'm on E1 Entertainment and their jazz person is Chuck Mitchell who used to be at Verve. He had a lot to do with getting John Scofield and Martin, Medeski, and Wood on the label. He's a good music person and he really supports people who are crossing genres and mixing things up. He saw me live and wanted to capture that on the album. He thought we needed to capture what is different between me and other smooth jazz artists instead of what is the same. That's when we decided to take more of a blues approach.

SV: You have a new producer, John Porter, who has worked with a really impressive list of artists who are also not bound by genre. How did you hook up with him?
JG: My manager, Bud Harner, worked with him when he was doing A&R at Verve. He brought up the idea that John might be someone to talk to. I met him briefly when he was producing a Jimmy Smith album back when I was on GRP, which was part of Verve. I was recording Dangerous Curves when he was recording Jimmy Smith's Dot Com Blues. I dropped by and told him I appreciated where he was coming from - the whole idea that music is music and it's time to take the handcuffs off. He was the perfect producer because I wanted to make a blues record but I didn't want to do something that would be categorized exclusively as blues. I love it and it's a big part of my life but I love jazz too, and rock. I just love music. That's obvious to anyone who has seen the live show but not all record labels are willing to stretch out that much. Chuck understood what that was about and when John agreed to produce it I knew we were headed in the right direction.

SV: You got a really impressive group of musicians on the album and they play all types of music with lots of different artists too.
JG: I've been trying to get this band in the studio ever since I started making records. I love the way all these guys play. Shawn Pelton is on drums, Kenny White on keyboards, Tony Garnier, who played with Bob Dylan, is the bassist. That was the core of the band and I knew these guys had the technique and knowledge to play any style of music and they loved music. If we were going to go to a country blues they aren't going to play it with any less authority and love than they would bring to a bebop song.

SV: You have a lot of variety here - classic blues, blues rock, jazz rock, smooth jazz, and adult alternative to name a few. How did you end up with this selection of songs?
JG: I've been trying to get this particular group of musicians into the studio for four days straight for as long as I can remember. They are all very busy and I didn't want to switch the band around. I wanted them all together. We found four days when they were all free and there was a studio in Manhattan that was open. I didn't have the album written and together when I booked those days. I have jammed with this band a number of times and I know they can make magic out of nothing so I knew we would come up with something strong. Over the next six weeks or so I sorted through a lot of material and did some writing. It was really a "build it and they will come" kind of "Field of Dreams" mentality and it worked.

SV: You got into the studio with a four day time limit and this dream group of musicians. How did you sort it out once you got in there.
JG: By the time it happened I had more than enough material. Once I knew it was going to happen and started working on songs it was easy to come up with the music that would go on  One song that really shows the way things happened in the studio is a song that was on an old Freddie King album. It's called "Fish Fare." I was considering not using it but John said it was his favorite song and the band was really into it. Everybody knew the song so we just went for whatever was going to happen spontaneously. We recorded it in one take. It shows the spirit of us all listening and how anything can happen like when it goes into a drum solo and just ends. One thing I'm really proud of is that there are no fade out endings. We decided to let every song go through all the way. It's like you are a fly on the wall and hear it just like it happened without a lot of tweaking or editing.

SV: This spontaneity was kind of the essence of these sessions.
JG:  It was. The whole band contributed all the time. Things would change constantly. I never dictated to anyone what they should be doing.  The beauty of everyone involved was that they knew how to take this basic framework I had come up with and go from there to make it their own.

SV: "Blink of An Eye" sounds like it had a Jeff Beck influence but it goes deeper than that doesn't it?
JG:  It does. I was cramming in my home studio getting ready for the sessions and feeling kind of under the gun. My youngest son came in and started trying to get me to play tag. I was about to turn around and tell him "Daddy can't play tag, Daddy has to work" and I look at his smiling six year old face and had this realization. I said “I am going to blink my eyes and you'll be in college.” He said "Close your eyes, I want to be in college!" and I couldn't do that but I could take a break from my work and not miss this moment with him. So I spent that time with him then then went back to the studio and wrote this song. They grow up so fast, in a blink of an eye.

SV: You have quite an interesting and eclectic group of vocalists on here, lots of names people know. You've always had interesting rock and adult alternative singers scattered around and you did that again with more songs.
JG: I wanted to do more vocals here and I realized I was good friends with some of the best singers out there so it made sense to use them. They would float in and out of the studio. We were always set up and ready to go. Billy Squier came in and did a song, Peter Wolf did a song, Marc Cohn and John Waite are on it.

SV: Billy Squier uses this really different voice on "Everybody Wants You." It sounds like Bob Dylan. How did that come about?
JG: Billy had such the spirit of what this was. We've been friends since back when I played with him and he lives close by. I told him I wanted to do a remake of that song for this project. He had a lot of ideas but he didn't want to do the arrangement. We got into the studio and it kinda happened. He was originally going to play electric guitar but he picked up my acoustic and what we came up with was too good to pass up. That's the way he ended up singing it. It's a much "swampier" version than what we recorded in the 80s and it really captures the spirit of the album.

SV: You have Peter Wolf from J. Geils Band in here too. He sounds a lot more raw than he does on the J. Geils Band hits, more like the deep album cuts.
JG: I couldn't do a blues record without asking him and I'm so glad he was willing to do it.

SV John Waite has a voice here that is totally different from when he was with The Babys or when he did "Missing You." He's does some really gritty singing.
JG: He's not known as a blues singer but I've written songs with him and worked with him enough to know he can sing anything and make it sounds like it was meant for him. It just flows out of him, the melodies become what they are meant to be. He's got this improvisational approach that he can use on anything.  I knew he would rise to the occasion.

SV: Marc Cohn does an amazing job with "I Don't Worry About A Thing" which is kind of a song for these times even though it's an older song.
JG: It was written by Mose Allison back in the late 50s. There isn't a more current lyric that I can think of. than "I don't worry about a thing because nothin's gonna be all right." That's definitely a sign of the times. The whole band has worked with Marc so many times. He used to be a session singer in New York. He quit when he became a solo artist but before that if you heard a rock type vocal on a commercial chances are that Marc was singing it.

SV: That's why his voice has such versatility. It's such a bluesy song the instinct would be to belt it out but he gave it a lot of nuance and that made it hit harder..
JG: He knows how to record, he's an amazing singer - his voice, his phrasing, everything. And he knows when to use restraint. That's an instinct he has. The guys in this group do sessions so we had worked together a lot. We would be selling products but we were in the studio and we knew each so well it was easy to play. He sounds so relaxed and experienced.

SV: On the other side of the restraint scale Kirk Whalum has done his share of playing with restraint for smooth jazz releases and he does it very well but when he cuts loose it's crazy good and he goes off on "Goin' On."
JG: Kirk is my favorite tenor sax player and I wanted to do a song that really showed the way he can stretch out. He can play any melody and make it his own. He puts so much behind anything he does. I wanted to get  him really jammin

SV: What you've done here is basically a compilation of every element that has been forbidden as contemporary jazz/Adult Alternative music evolved into the smooth jazz radio format. Did the little voice in your head ever whisper that you may be going too far with this.
JG: Not while it was  happening. I felt like it was beautiful and right where I wanted it to be. After listening back that little voice did sneak in a little. That's a problem in life - that we second guess what we are doing. Fortunately we didn't have a lot of time to second guess and John Porter was there to keep me from second guessing. He doesn't live in this genre, or any genre. He just lives in music. His criteria was that it is either emotional music or it isn't and we wanted this to be emotional music. It did help to have someone like that confirming the way I felt.

SV: You were in Jacksonville with Guitars and Saxes for a free concert at an outdoor venue that has a lot of bars and restaurants around. There was a really big kinda rowdy crowd that was everyone from old jazz guys to young families, college students, southern rockers...you name it. They went nuts when you did your solos but this has always been a rock oriented market. Is that an aberration or is that the reaction you're getting everywhere.
JG: I was so happy with the response I got everywhere. I would play the Blues For You set and it went over really well. It proved something about this audience. I think everybody feels the blues. I think it's a universal language musically and emotionally. I can sit down with anyone and play some type of blues. Everyone will approach it differently but it's a common thread through jazz, rock, country, popular music in general.

SV: It's blues based but you kept a lot of pop and rock influences so it's in the pocket for people who might shy away from a pure blues project. Or it could send them exploring to hear more of the roots of this.
JG: That's where I think the idea of categorizing music has gotten us a little off track. Somebody could say "I don't like the blues" and I'd say "Yes you do." (laughs) Everybody puts some blues in what they do. This music is simply what I do. It's what I do in my live shows, but now it's on record.

SV: I think this one and Out of the Blue capture your live act the best.
JG:  I always do live feeling albums. I try to capture the interplay but this time it's like being a fly on the wall. With the technology that is available it is easy to make corrections and some people correct everything. I left things just like they were unless it was something that would make you stop in your tracks.

SV: When you give a record company something that is this different how do they market it.
JG: Fortunately they "got it" at E1. They have been a little bit miffed on how to do it but they like the music which helps and they are trying different avenues. Fortunately radio has been supportive. "Nikki's Walk" is in the Smooth Jazz top 10 and AAA (Adult Album Alternative) has been playing the Marc Cohn song and the one Peter Wolf sang ("Rooster Blues").

SV: Do you have any plans to do a tour based on this album, do more of what you've been throwing in on those G&S dates?
JG: I do have some solo dates coming up and I'm thinking of having more vocals in the shows. I won't be doing the singing.

SV: I don't think I've ever heard you sing. Is there a reason for that?
JG: There is. I don't think I'd have worked as hard on my guitar playing if I had been able to sing. I knew that was something I wasn't going to be able to do and if I wanted to be a musician I would have to learn as much about the guitar as I could. It's made me a much better guitar player.

SV: And we guitar geeks of the world are glad for that.
JG: There will be dates supporting this and there is going to be another Guitars and Saxes tour. It will be me, Peter White, Gerald Albright and Kirk Whalum.  Peter's an old friend, Gerald is my favorite alto player and Kirk is my favorite tenor player I'll be right in the middle of it.

SV: You're the longest standing member of that tour now aren't you?
JG: I am. I've ended up being a part of it and I have lost count of how many years I've been on it. I wasn't on the first one. It was Warren Hill, Richard Elliot, Craig Chaquico, and Peter White. I came in later and I've stuck around. We've had a lot of different people. I was actually out the other night in New York and spent some time with Steve Cole, who did a G&S tour, and Kim Waters and I realized I'm going to end up being friends with just about every guitar and sax player in this genre because of these tours. I love it. We get to book a lot of shows on the strength of four artists and it's fun. I never get to play with a better band and as time has gone on it has turned out that everybody gets involved on everyone elses songs more and more.

V: It takes a lot of guts to take the handcuffs off. Especially to take all the elements of this music that have become forbidden over the last 15 years and put them all upfront. You've been doing it live and people are eating it up.
JG: I think it's time for people to show what they have to offer. Similarity is not really working anymore. For example, George Benson is an amazing player but there are so many people imitating George Benson. Same with David Sanborn. Do we need more imitations of him. I think it will get pruned down to the people who are finding their own voice and being truthful about it.

SV: The question becomes are they being imitative because their record companies pressure them to create familiar sounding music for radio, or has imitation become second nature to them because they are surrounded by others who are being imitative.
JG: I used to take lessons from a great guitarist in Boston named Dick Goodman. He taught me a lot about music beyond the technique. He taught me about how to become yourself. I was worried that listening to other artists a lot could keep me from coming up with my own appraise and he told me to listen to every artist. If you just listen to one artist you will end up trying to sound like him but if you listen to lots of people you will come up with your own thing putting that all together. You have to be influenced by everything you hear. That is so true and it has helped me so much.

SV: To keep the thread going from our last two conversations I feel obligated to ask what's you have in the works for your next CD (laughs)?
JG: I haven't even started thinking about another record because I really want everybody to hear this one.

SV: That's what we're here to help you do. It's a timeless piece of work and it's going to have some growing and staying power.

There is a page on Jeff's website devoted to this album. Go to his website – www.jeffgolub.com and click on the album cover for sound clips and links to reviews and other interviews. SmoothViews also reviewed the CD in November. You can read our review here: www.smoothviews.com/cdreviews/golub_bluesforyou.htm