Interviewed by Shannon West
June 5, 2007

Jeff Kashiwa gained national recognition during the ten years he spent as a member of the Rippingtons.  He recorded two excellent solo CDs while he was still in the band, Remember Catalina and Walk A Mile, and was featured on all of Steve Reid's Bamboo Forest CDs.  After leaving the band to focus on his solo career in 1999, he released Another Door Opens and scored a #1 radio hit with “Hyde Park (The Aah Ooh Song).”  He released two more CDs, Simple Truth and Peace of Mind, and put together a three-sax supergroup, The Sax Pack, with Kim Waters and Steve Cole that has been touring for several years.  He toured with the most rockin' version of Guitars and Saxes a few years ago, and Rippingtons fans have been thrilled to see him onstage with the band again during their 20th anniversary tour.  In the midst of all this activity, he has stepped into the vanguard of smooth jazz artists who are moving beyond the tailored for airplay approach and reclaiming their original sound.  His latest CD, Play, will be released on July 31.  Several music writers, including this one, have said that this is the best Smooth Jazz sax CD they've heard in years.  I caught up with him about a week after an advance copy of the CD took up permanent residence in my car and my iPod.

SmoothViews (SV): Last November I saw you with Richard Smith, Freddie Ravel and Larry Antonino and you guys were just taking it to another level with the energy and fun you were having.  It makes you wish for CDs that capture that and it’s all over this one! 
Jeff Kashiwa (JK): What this CD is about is quite simply a return to passion.  Without over thinking it the title is very simple - Play.  That’s the word that kept coming up when people asked me about the new CD and what I wanted to do on it.  The answer was always that I just want to play!  I want to play like we play live - with some passion and energy.  That’s what we captured on this one.  I just want to return to the good stuff.  I think it’s a reminder, a celebration of what we do for a living.  Of playing music for a living.

SV: This is what smooth jazz used to sound like, what got a lot of us hooked on it in the first place.  We’ve lost that over the years and now you have this CD and other artists like Ken Navarro, Hiroshima, and Acoustic Alchemy are starting to do the same thing.  Playing without restraint and creating some great original instrumental music. 
JK: It’s almost like a coming home.  We’ve all done the formula or “format” music, I hate to use those words and don’t mean to belittle anyone, but for a while the object was to make the music as smooth as possible so it could be played in the workplace and not disturb anybody.  There’s a place for that but there is more to our artistry than doing that one thing, so hopefully we can return to showing that in our CDs.

SV: That’s one of the things about music research that put everyone on a path that is tangential.  Music tests are not set up to indicate what people love and enjoy, the idea is to find songs that are safe and familiar enough that people won’t notice them and possibly tune out. 
JK:There is a place for music that plays in the backgrounds and kind of soothes you but I didn’t want to do just that on this CD.  There are some mellower, jazzier pieces in there but for the most part it has a lot of energy.

SV: There are soft songs that don't fade into the background because they are played passionately, that can be done.
JK: Absolutely.  When the music has integrity it will speak for itself. 

SV: Why did you decide to cut loose at this particular time?
JK: It was actually with a little help from my record company president, Joe Sherbanee.  He’s a good friend and what I love about him, which I mentioned in the liner notes, is that he keeps the music in the music business.  He’s a businessman but he is very passionate about good music so he is always challenging his artists to dig deep and really come up with the next piece of their heart.  Even before we came up with the concept for the album I had been writing a bunch of songs that just happened to feature the tenor and happened to be high energy.  That’s were I am right now.

SV: Your longtime fans are going to feel like it’s old home week with the way the CD sounds and the people who are playing on it.
JK: My core band, Coastal Access, is featured on this and we have a special guest keyboardist, Russell Ferrante.  He really brought a whole new dimension to the music.

SV: How did you connect with him?
JK: I’ve known him for years and he played on the title track on Another Door Opens and “Best of Times.”  He wasn’t featured on those songs; he just played piano.  We really wanted to feature him this time around.  He’s one of the nicest people in the world and he’s so incredibly talented.  It was an honor to have him join us.

SV: He seems to be one of the most giving musicians as far as being able to put his stamp on an arrangement without eclipsing the other players, which would be easy to do when you are as gifted as he is.  Looking at the liner notes it looks like there were basically two different groups of musicians.  The one with Russell and Coastal Access, and another one with Dave Kochanski who was in the Rippingtons for a while with you too.
JK: The first part of Play was co-produced by myself and Dave.  He’s an extraordinarily talented musician and he’s been really busy working with American Idol - he is the Music Director of the Idol Live Tour.  He did find time to co-write some songs and do some production with me.  I’m so happy he was able to get involved with this thing.  He produced some tracks with an incredible group of players.  Actually the drummer on the first three songs is from the American Idol band.  Ted Campbell is on drums and we have Alex Al on bass, who is tremendous.  They start off the album with this really high-energy flavor, then we dip into my band, which was recorded at a different studio and has a slightly different sound.  It’s more organic and has a deeper sound.  We went to two-inch tape, which adds a certain depth that can’t be produced in digital recording so we went to tape first then to digital.  You'll actually hear it.  The bass and the drums sound different, it’s a deeper sound, and it was perfect for the more organic jazzier songs.  We recorded a lot of that stuff together as an actual group, with all the guys in the studio.  We wanted to go for a more interactive musical journey and not have everyone just do their parts then edit it together.  There are a lot of good subtle musical conversations that happen in the songs.  It really shows up, like on “New View” which has a really good shape at the end.  It really does sound like we were playing together, which we were.

SV: Was Greg (Carmichael) there?
JK: He wasn’t.  The rest of us were and we left spaces for him (laughs).  I really like the two different flavors on the CD.  The more refined high-energy pop thing, then we do the more jazzy thing in the middle.  I’m really happy with all the performers.  Everyone has a special moment on this CD. 

SV: Two of my favorites are at the end.  I love “Remember When.”  It’s this perfect instrumental pop song.  When you and Dave get together some kind of songwriting magic happens.
JK: I think we compliment each other very well, and we work together really well.  The funny thing is that I hardly ever seem him during our process.  We communicate through the internet, and upload and download constantly.  I don’t think anything gets lost through that.  We have a good connection and understand what the other is thinking, “Remember When” was actually supposed to be a vocal song.  I just laid the sax in on it to show the vocalist how it was supposed to go.  Then we decided to keep it as an instrumental.  A lot of my stuff starts out as vocal tunes I just end up playing on them.

SV: There has been a movement toward restraint in the genre and you kind of did that on your last CD.
JK: I enjoy the Peace of Mind CD.  My mom actually told me she loves this one but that she really loves that one.  She wants to put music on and have it soother her.  There’s definitely a place for every kind of music and I’m happy that people discovered that one and enjoy it.  On this one I wanted to do something different, though.  I wanted to get up and shout a little bit and dance.  This is a great CD to work out to. 

SV: It definitely works if you are running or doing weight training.  Another reason to pick it up.  You have two reggae-flavored songs here, which is a new angle for you.
JK: That’s a funny story.  In the 80s, I was in college at Cal Tech in Long Beach and it was in the early days of MTV.  I went home between classes and turned on MTV, there was this David Bowie song from a CD called Blue Jean, and it had this reggae feel I really liked so I grabbed a napkin and transcribed it so I wouldn’t forget it.  This was before we had digital recorders.  I wrote the bass and kick drum patterns so I wouldn’t forget the groove then I wrote down “Blue Jeans” because that’s what I saw on the screen.  I filed it away and while I was cleaning out my garage all these years later I came across this folder of music.  I was going through it…there was this napkin that said “Blue Jeans” on it.  It’s like a note to myself that I found 27 years later.  It was a simple part but that’s all you need to make a song start.  Just that little seed.  So I went to my keyboard, put the napkin down, and played what I’d written.  I turned on my music writing software and started writing this thing called “Blue Jeans” and there it is.

SV: Sometimes being a pack rat can be a good thing.  It’s almost been 12 years since your first solo CD came out and you went solo and kind of truly came into your own with Another Door Opens.  Now you’re back touring with the Rippingtons for their anniversary tour.  What has that been like for you?
JK: It’s been absolutely wonderful.  I think there needed to be that space between for me to explore myself as a composer and a leader and I’ve always really enjoyed that experience.  I've always remained friends with Russ.  We talk sometimes and he’s played on my CDs.  He called me and asked me to record a song on the Anniversary CD then the tour followed and it just made sense for me to be there.  It’s been an absolute blast and a pleasure for me to be onstage with him again.

SV: The fans have really loved it too.
JK: I think they get a kick out of it and it’s fun for me because I’m not leading.  It’s like a vacation.  I get to be the spoiled guy who says, “tell me where to go and when to be there” and I don’t have to take care of the details that come when you’re the leader.

SV: Do you have to do all that with the Sax Pack?
JK: Yes.  I do the finances, I do the travel and stuff.  Of course I hire really competent people like a road manager, a tour manager, booking agent and so on to help me out.

SV: You’re doing Sax Pack, the Rippingtons Reunion, and you have this new CD, which you were recording while you were doing all those gigs.  Hopefully you’ll be touring to support the new one.  That’s three different sounds.  How do you work that?
JK: I would have it no other way.  I really do enjoy the variety.  I think it just fits how I live my life.  I like to do a lot of different things and I always like to have something new and challenging coming up.  I play with Acoustic Alchemy sometimes and that's another different sound.  I’m looking forward to a gig I have coming up with Ken Navarro too.  It sounds crazy and it kind of is crazy but it adds up to a very fun summer.  I’m going to be playing with some of my favorite musicians. 

SV: You've seemed to thrive on the energy of collaborating with different people.  You've worked with Brian Bromberg, Russel Ferrante, Chuck Loeb, Russ Freeman obviously, and with Steve Cole and Kim Waters and sometimes Marion Meadows in Sax Pack?
JK: The magic of that is to let go and become part of something that is bigger than yourself and more than the sum of its parts.  That's what music is to me.  Whether it's a live collaboration or composing and recording you take each other to places you wouldn't have imagined going.  That's the magic and the mystery of music and collaboration. 

SV: You do a lot of work with young musicians.  What do you tell them?
JK: It's a funny thing because it's what Miles Davis said.  It takes a long time to find your voice.  That sounds like an obvious statement.  It's your voice; you're there.  You have to develop it, of course, by practicing but it's something I've experienced myself from time to time too.  You start to listen to everyone else's voice and everyone else's opinions and it starts to get real tricky.  It's very easy to lose your way.  You start to not hear your own voice and to hear everyone else's opinion of what your voice should be.  This goes back to what we were talking about earlier about the different compositions on the CD and the way I'm playing on it.  It's a re-coming into my own.  That's the phrase I would use.  It's a rediscovering of yourself and a rediscovery of the passion.  Whether you're a musician or not I think every day is an opportunity for people to rediscover who they are and reinvent who they are.  I'm a very strong believer in new possibilities.  It goes deeper than that these are some fun tunes and I hope people will like them.  It is that but also it's where my heart is, where my soul is, and I hope it inspires your heart and your soul and your life so you reach out and reach within and share with the world. 

SV: Wow!  I know that applies to writers, and group exercise instructors too (laughs).  We are so pressured to lose our voice and individuality.  Kurt Elling said something beautiful at the end of his press kit video about how when you are at your most individualistic and creative and feel like you need to reel yourself in so you'll be more “acceptable.”  Those are the times you should actually dig deeper and explore further.  That's a paraphrase but it's the gist of it.
JK: I think that hits it on the head.  I think many of us, including myself, have a habit of making ourselves small so you can be in alignment with the group.  Telling ourselves things like, “You don't want to draw too much attention to yourself and stand out because you'll seem arrogant.”  I get the sense of the sentiment that you shouldn't be arrogant or push your way over people but it's misdirected.  Each one of us has gifts and if you choose to mute that gift instead of open and share it that's tragic.  You gotta shout it out and you have to share it.

SV: Now you nailed it.  Will you be my shrink? 
JK: You don't need a shrink.  You need an expander. 

SV: I love that!  That's going in!  You've recorded six CDs that all have a different voice.  For Simple Truth, you even took the band overseas to record.  Can you compare these different modes with each other?
JK: Simple Truth was the spark for the initial concept of this one.  Joe (Sherbanee) called me up and said he had listened to all the CDs just to get a feel for where we stand and where we can go.  He said that as much as he enjoyed the last one he missed the connection that I had with the band on Simple Truth.  That we should go back to that.  Obviously that was fine with me.  That's the initial concept and the thing that kept coming up was for me to just play.  Don't hold back, just play!  Simple Truth was a great experience.  I wasn't recording at home or in New York or LA where there are all the everyday life distractions.  We went to Germany, we were just there together, and we didn't even speak the language so we had to stick together (laughs).  It was a wonderful experience for us to just live together for about a week and be in the studio and work as a team.  With this one, it was similar because my group drove down and we put them up in hotels.  We were working at Sounden Studios, which is a partner of Native Language music, and it's a first class studio with the old school and new school technologies all there.  We were fortunate enough to get the keys to that place and just go in and record the album.  We camped out just like we did in Germany for several days.  We hung out together, ate together, and played together.  To me it's important.  The whole experience of the way we are joking around, supporting each other, teasing each other and all that.  I think it translates when you record a group live, you can hear that chemistry.

SV: The chemistry doesn't only translate into the recording.  I think that intuitively the listener gets it.  You put this one in the player and you start to smile while there are some really good songs on other CDs that have the quality but don't have that effect.  So that leads to another subject.  Getting the music heard.  There have been a lot of changes as far as how people discover music and how they purchase it.  You've got a brilliant CD here.  How much of the process of interactivity and creating a buzz do you think an artist can do and how much more do you give to a project you've put so much into. 
JK: I think you give till you can give no more.  We've got a campaign to get the word out and writers are coming back with thumbs up and saying there's something here.  I'm very happy with those responses.  These days with the internet and MySpace and all it makes it more accessible for fans to keep in touch and to hear the music and we are doing all of that. 

SV: What are your plans as far as touring this summer?
JK: I've got a busy schedule starting now.  I am going to be out with the Sax Pack, then the Rippingtons, and then doing some of my own stuff.  So between the three bands, I'm going to be pretty busy this summer.

SV: They're really going to want to see you live after this one hits the streets.  It's going to be the summer album for a lot of people.  Thank you for talking to us and most of all thank you for being willing to just get out there and play!