Roger Sause - Freestyle Funk

Over the past two decades, the millions around the globe who have experienced the Kenny G phenomenon live in concert have learned the funky secret behind his melodic soprano sax success-one of the most incredibly rocking ensembles in the business. From 1982 through 1987 (during which time the saxman's fourth album Duotones launched a superstar), Kenny and Roger Sause, the saxman's keyboardist and musical director, gathered a handful of the Pacific Northwest's best musicians to create one of contemporary jazz's most exhilarating shows. Sixteen years after leaving the fold, Sause reunites with five of his former bandmates-along with special guest sax stars Gerald Albright and Eric Marienthal--to create Freestyle Funk, easily the freshest and edgiest smooth jazz recording of 2003 and his debut on the Portland, Oregon based indie label Lucky Records. The perfectly titled, ultra-melodic and heavy grooving disc features eight new soulful Sause originals, along with exciting reworkings of two instrumental hits synonymous with the pre-superstardom Kenny Gorelick: 'G-Force' featuring Marienthal's punchy alto, and Freestyle Funk's first radio single, 'Tierra Verde,' a Gorelick-Jeff Lorber composition whose original version appears on Lorber's 1981 album It's A Fact. Sause chose Albright to play the tune's cool, swaying soprano melody due to the saxman's familiarity with the song; long before he was a smooth jazz star in his own right, Albright also held the sax chair in Lorber's band. Keeping the Freestyle Funk moving throughout are bassists Vail Johnson (who has played with Kenny G from 1985 to the present) and Joe Plass (1983-84), guitarists John Raymond (1985-present) and Marlon McLain (1983-84), drummer Bruce Carter (1988-present) and percussionist Ron Powell (1988-present). Each of Sause's cohorts has an extensive musical resume apart from the Kenny G experience as well; Vail has played with Herbie Hancock, McLain with the Dazz Band and Funk All-Stars, Carter with Cameo and Powell with Madonna and Diana Ross. 'I've been successful in my other musical endeavors since the Kenny G days, but the idea of doing a smooth jazz recording was always something I had in mind,' says Sause. 'Because Kenny's best known for his mid-tempo soprano ballads, it surprises a lot of people just how intense his band has always been, and my idea was to capture a lot of that live energy on disc. I haven't heard this kind of edge in smooth jazz in a long time, and I liked the challenge of introducing something a little beyond the usual parameters. I love writing and playing keyboards, and I do a lot of aggressive soloing, but the most fun part by far was jamming with the guys again,' he adds. 'I had worked with some of the guys on other projects over the years, including Vail's two solo projects in the mid-90s, but this was all about finding that same chemistry again. It was like a family reunion where you pick up the conversation just where you left off. All these guys are upbeat, and there's lots of love and crazy humor for everyone. We're not afraid to be ourselves and make the kind of music that comes naturally to us.' The Sause originals include the heavy throbbing, symphonic flavored jazz-funk opener 'Magic Motion,' the brassy blues explosions 'Hot Sause' and 'Back Stroke' (featuring Sause jamming on the organ), the lush ballad 'Beata,' and the crazy cool thump of 'Side Effects' and 'The Great Wall.' Vocalist Jeff Scott Soto performs some colorful 'vocalese' on the swinging, lite samba 'Speak Easy' and the moodswinging (from ambient to wild and jazzy) 'Oni Spirits.' Roger Sause has the perfect return question for those fans who ask what he's been up to since the Kenny G days: 'What have you been doing with your Boogie Nights?' Sause's involvement in the early 90s with the campy L.A. R&B/disco band Roxxanne led to the creation (with longtime friend Jamie Brown) of a trash disco tribute called 'Boogie Knights,' which rapidly exploded into the most successful cover revue in history, currently featuring 120 cast members performing 300 shows per month nationwide. 'The show has become an incredible, ever expanding phenomenon, featuring great choreography and clever dialogue a la Spinal Tap,' says Sause, co-owner of the popular franchise who also serves as producer and musical director. 'Over the past few years, we added two new shows to the mix, Metal Shop and the 80s new wave satire Spazmatics.' The Portland native began playing the piano and organ professionally at age eight, performing in a teenybopper R&B cover group that took second place in a nationally televised battle of the bands. Coupling his vast influences in R&B (Sly and the Family Stone, P-Funk, Santana, Tower of Power) and jazz (Chick Corea, George Duke, Herbie Hancock), he signed with Fantasy Records in 1981 as a member of Shock, whose funk classic 'Let's Get Crakin'' was later sampled by a variety of hip-hop artists. After leaving Kenny G's band in the late 80s, Sause secured Shock a new deal on Atlantic Records and scored a worldwide hit with 'Talk About Love.' After a few years of doing sessions and showcases, in 1992 he was hired by Christian crossover icon Michael W. Smith as keyboardist on the record shattering Change Your World tour. He toured with 'Smitty' through 1994, culminating in what would become the largest indoor musical event in history at the Toronto Skydome in June of that year. 'While in the studio recording Freestyle Funk, I realized that all my experiences since my original time with the Kenny G guys have made me a smarter, more focused musician,' says Sause. 'I'm still hyper and wild, but I'm a better player and more directed in my writing and what I want to accomplish musically. It was exciting after so long to finally take our gloves off again and play some funky music.'