Jazz Monthly.com Interview with nick colionne

“Jazz Monthly Feature Interview” Nick Colionne

Smitty: Well, there are few artists on the planet that can blow you away both on stage and in the studio. Case in point, my next guest. His great new record is called No Limits and let me tell ya, he has spared nothing with this great record, and I must tell you, you will be completely blown away when you hear this CD. He was 2007 International Instrumental Artist of the Year at the Canadian Smooth Jazz Awards, he’s won numerous awards since then, he has become a fan favorite, and when you hang with him on a cruise ship, it is on! Please welcome my incredible guest, my man, Koch recording artist, Mr. Nick Colionne. Nick, how ya be, my friend?

Nick Colionne (NC): What’s up, Smitty?

Smitty: Oh, it’s all good, man, and it’s gotta be good for you. You got a new record, everything is cool in Chicago.

NC: Everything is cold here in Chicago. (Laughs.)

Smitty: Yeah, man, and the Cubs are winning.

NC: That’s a good thing.

Smitty: As a follow-up to Keepin’ It Cool, this is just incredible music! You really titled it right when you called it No Limits because you have touched all buttons with this great new record.

NC: Oh, thank you, Smitty. I just wanted to try to make a record that everybody would enjoy. Try to touch a little bit of everybody with this project and hope that it does that, that it reaches out and hit a whole bunch of people right where they live, in the heart.

Smitty: Yeah, man. I mean, this record is not for the faint of heart.

NC: (Laughs.)

Smitty: I mean, this is a CD that you could just put on the radio and the DJ can hit random and take a break, a long break, you know what I’m saying?

NC: (Both laugh.) Thanks, man. My goal was to make a record that when you wanted a little different flavor in your music, you didn’t have to take this record off, you know? If you want to hear something a little upbeat or then you want to move the chains, you wouldn’t have to change records. That’s what I was trying to do.

Smitty: And that’s it. You did it.

NC: Think you’ll like that.

Smitty: Yeah, man. I mean, the first track, it’s there, man. When you hear the first track, “No Limits,” the title track, you know right away that this is going to be a record that you can just put on and do your thing, What ever that may be.

NC: That was the whole purpose behind the title and everything. No limits, you know? You’re not limited. If you’re having a dinner party, you’re not limited. You can change it to a dance party any time you get ready.

Smitty: Yeah, now I was joking a little bit about the DJ putting this on and just hitting random and taking a break, however, when I listened to this record, it reminded me of the days when radio would do a whole album side, in the vinyl days, and just let everybody enjoy the artist’s great musicianship, and I think this is a CD where they could just put this on and let everybody enjoy Nick Colionne. It should be the Nick Hour, you know what I’m saying?

NC: (Both laugh.) Yeah, I like that. My mother would like it a lot.

Smitty: Because when I listened to “The Big Windy Cat,” man, that is a killer song, and then you follow that up with “Melting into You,” and when I was listening to “Melting into You,” I could hear women screaming. (Both laugh.) Couldn’t you hear those women screaming, man?

NC: As long as they’re not screaming “Get off the stage,” it’s okay.

Smitty: (Laughs.) They were not screaming that, and if you didn’t hear it when you hear listen to this record, just show up at the gig and you will hear the women screaming when Nick Colionne starts screaming “Melting into You” because there’s some serious get down lyrics in this song.

NC: Yeah, it’s a great song. I wrote the song with Jim Peterik, formerly of the Ides of March and the group Survivor, and also was the writer of the theme song from Rocky, “Eye of the Tiger.”

Smitty: Yeah.

NC: And “Vehicle” and all those great songs he wrote for 38 Special and stuff, so he’s a rocker, you know, and we met at Jazz On the Vine and decided “Let’s see what we could do together and see what we can come up with,” and “Melting into You” is actually the first song that we wrote together. The first day I went to his house, we sat down and we set out and we wrote that song and a couple of others, and the other song on the CD, which is called “Hard Line,” which is a more bluesy kind of number, we wrote that the same day. So we really clicked writing together. We played off each other’s lyrics, joking and cracking around, and it came out to be a really good song. I was a little bit hesitant in the beginning, but I was like “You know what? I’m gonna do this song,” you know? “I’m gonna do this song.” He was like “Man, look, you could do this.” I was like “I don’t know, Jim. I don’t know if I can pull it off.” He was like “Dude, we’re just gonna make it and put it in your low key, man.” He said “You live in the basement, man, so we’re gonna put it down there.” I was like “Okay.”

Smitty: (Laughs.)

NC: And he was like “Okay.” We put it down there and we went for it.

Smitty: It’s down there, man. I mean, this is the bump and thump song. (Both laugh.)

NC: I don’t wanna hear about nobody bumpin’ and thumpin’ and not listening to the record. (Both laugh.)

Smitty: (Laughs) You know what? That’s too much information, huh?

NC: Yeah.

Smitty: Well, when I think about No Limits, I’m looking for a record that has just a multiple of different types of music and you hit it spot on because “Melting into You” is, like you said, that really smooth, get down kind of song. “No Limits” just strikes a fire. And “Hard Line,” that’s a bluesy kind of song. I even heard some organ on this record.

NC: Oh yeah. Well, you know my boy John Blasucci, all of a sudden he decided he wanted to be a young Jimmy Smith or something, so we put a lot of organ in the record, and we use a lot of the organ sound on the live performance, so what we really were trying to get to was do a record that can come as close as we could to what we sound like live without doing a live recording.

Smitty: Yeah. Right.

NC: Something that sounds like what we do live but still radio friendly enough to be played on radio.

Smitty: Yeah, absolutely, and you hit it, man. I mean, you nailed it because another song that I think just really sets this record off is “Until Tonight.”

NC: That was the collaboration of me and “Hollywood” Dave Hiltebrand. Dave and I go off on these tangents with songs. I don’t know where they come from. (Laughs.) But it’s about a mood.

Smitty: Yeah.

NC: And that’s why “Until Tonight,” it’s about the mood, and I think it’s just a nice mood. That’s what we were trying to get to and hopefully that’s what we created, a nice mood.

Smitty: Yeah, well, if anybody can set the right mood, it’s you and “Hollywood,” that’s for sure. (Both laugh.) Hey, and talk to me about “Ports of Call.”

NC: Well, you know the Cruise Man here. I started playing with that little stuff, man, and just playing that little hook line while I was on the cruise, just messing around, and then I kept playing with it. Actually on the 2007 cruise I started messing with that and kept playing with it at rehearsals and stuff, and some of the cats were saying “Hey, you really need to do something with that song, man. It’s a hip little cool tune.” And when I got ready to do this record, I went to it and pulled it up and started working it out, didn’t have a name, and I thought about how it had that kind of cruisin’ kind of feel to it, so I was like “You know what?” I started thinking about when I was walking around Cabo San Lucas and Cozumel and all the cool, different ports we’ve been hitting on these cruises.

Smitty: Yeah.

NC: I was like “Okay, yeah, this is what this reminds me of. All my little ports of call that I’d jumped off on.”

Smitty: And those ports of call have been great, man. I mean, what an inspirational song to sort of reminisce about some of those great places we’ve been out there. Speaking of that, you have just become THE cruise artist, the number one cruise artist on the planet. Everybody knows about Nick Colionne’s world famous “Jam Sessions” and it’s become one of the highlights of going on the Smooth Music Cruise, and I must say that’s one of the things that has just kept me coming back to the Smooth Music Cruise because, man, we get down after midnight. (Both laugh.)

NC: Oh yeah. Let the circus open. (Both laugh.)

Smitty: And they get better every year. I mean, just when you thought, man, how do you top this jam session every night on this cruise? And some of the cool things that happened on the last cruise with the jam sessions were just crazy good. Some of the people that were at the jam sessions on the cruise told me that they have never stayed up that late in their life and they loved it. (Both laugh.)

NC: I didn’t wanna stay up that late. (Both laugh.) It just happened.

Smitty: Exactly, and that’s what the music does, man, and you have just become the maestro of the jam sessions making it such an exciting time and some people have never been this excited at 2 a.m. in their life.

NC: I dig this because I don’t like anything that’s not spontaneous.

Smitty: That’s what I’m talking about.

NC: I don’t like coming up with a whole, you know, I don’t like to try to dictate what’s gonna happen on the jam session. Because they come to me and they say like “What do you need us to do? What are we gonna do? Got a list of songs?” I’m like “No, I don’t have no list of songs. I don’t know what we’re playing.” (Both laugh.) I walk around the deck, man, and cats be coming to me telling me “You know what we’re gonna be doing tonight on the jam session?” I say “Nope. Haven’t figured it out. I’ll figure it out when I get to the stage.”

Smitty: But isn’t that improvisation at its best?

NC: That’s it, man. I don’t want cats going in there feeling like they gotta go to their room and practice all the songs. A few cats come to me and say, well, “Man, I don’t know a lotta outside songs.” I go “Don’t worry about it. We’ll make up something.”

Smitty: Yeah, and it’s always just killer. I mean, to me, it reminds me of a person posing for a photo opposed to someone taking a candid shot of them.

NC: Mm-hmm.

Smitty: And the candid shots are always so cool. And to allow the artists to just come out and just do their thing, you know, “Show me what you’ve got” is basically what the night is, you know?

NC: That’s what it should be about. Just come up and do your thing. This is no competition, this is no “Oh, he’s trying to play this song.” This is just walk off the wing of the stage and just come out there and start playing. I don’t care what you play, just play it and we’re all gonna follow each other and we’re gonna make it fun for us because if it’s fun for us, then it’ll be fun for the audience because you know me. I’m gonna be out there crackin’ up. (Laughs.)

Smitty: YOU crackin’ up? The fans are the ones crackin’ up. I included (Laughs.)

NC: Because I’ll be up there trying to figure out…I mean, the hardest thing with the jam session to me is getting people to stop playing.

Smitty: (Laughs.) And there again, I think when the musicians really get into it, they’re having the time of their life. It’s like something they’ve never ever experienced before.

NC: Mm. Because the main thing with the jam session is that they get musical freedom, you know?

Smitty: Exactly.

NC: You can play, even solo. I mean, some people get a little carried away and I’ll be like “Okay, man, tomorrow night you ain’t soloing for two hours.”

Smitty: (Laughs.)

NC: “Just come in here and you’re gonna play a regular time limit like everybody else. You did your thing last night, we let you get away with it.”

Smitty: Yeah, man, but it’s one of those things, you know, what I love about this particular cruise, the Smooth Music Cruise—and I must say that it is the only cruise that I personally and professionally endorse because I think it’s the best cruise out there—and here’s just one of the reasons: the jam sessions. You can’t top it. I mean, the jam sessions are incredible. But I think the fans are so excited because they’ve had a full day of great music and interacting with the artists and then they know they’ve got some whipped cream that’s coming for that cake of the day, you know what I’m saying? And it’s the jam sessions. I mean, what a way to close out a day of just kickin’ and having fun with some great music? If you can’t have a great time on this cruise, ya need help.

NC: You know, you go to the jams, you come on a cruise, each night you see some great acts.

Smitty: Yeah.

NC: I mean, because the Smooth Music Cruise, they get some of the best cats in the business on the ship to play. Each night you get to see this particular act and that particular act do their thing, and then at the end of the night you get to see the same artists again playing with everybody else at the jam sessions.

Smitty: True that.

NC: And it’s like the fans get a chance to see how the musicians interact with each other and how much respect and admiration they have for each other and how much fun they have just getting a chance to play with each other, because these cats don’t play together all the time.

Smitty: It’s a first for some of them so they are really excited themselves.

NC: I had never played with Larry Carlton in my life. I used to just idolize him from records.

Smitty: Yeah, and was that sweet or what?

NC: Now I’m like I’m on the stage and here’s one of my heroes, you know? And before him, I thought a hero wasn’t nothing but a sandwich, you know? (Both laugh.)

Smitty: We are having too much fun. And you know what else is cool about that is how many times we have sat around saying “You know what? My dream team of a band would be Larry Carlton with Nick Colionne and Michael Paulo and Steve Cole,” and you start putting these names together. “I think these cats would make a great record.” Well, some of those dreams came true and still come true on these jam sessions, where people have always dreamed of this cat performing with this musician, so the fans are just getting a treat.

NC: Right. It’s like “Yeah, I wonder what those guys would sound like together?” And I hear this sometimes: “Have you ever thought about you and Norman [Brown] doing something together?”

Smitty: Mm-hmm.

NC: “Come on the cruise. Me and Norman do a lot together.”

Smitty: (Laughs.) Absolutely, and I gotta say that you add another dimension that is just quickly becoming just one of the most talked about things about the cruise. It’s your standup comic act. (Both laugh.)

NC: You needed to go there, right? Now you sound like my mother: “Why don’t you quit playing and be a comedian?”

Smitty: (Laughs.) Come on, man, I mean, I was in the San Francisco Airport about three months ago and I bumped into one of my beloved artists and we were discussing this past cruise, and I mentioned you and she said “You know, I love him. He could be a comedian. He’s so good.” (Laughs.)

NC: And you know what kills me about that, Smitty, and like my manager Carol (Ray), she’s always like “Man, you know, you can be really funny.” I’m like “Sometimes I’m not trying to be funny. I’m just saying what’s on my mind at the time.”

Smitty: And that’s what great comedians do. I mean, they’re that spontaneous. And you have the elements because like you said earlier, you love to be spontaneous, you’re an improvisational artist, so all of that just rolls off the tongue, man, and I mean, it’s like it quickly goes from the heart to the mind to the tongue, and when you have that kind of vibe within yourself, it’s gonna be cool.

NC: Sometimes I’ll be at home saying to myself “Why did I just say that?”

Smitty: (Laughs.)

NC: “Ah, I guess it’s all right.” But there are cats and there’s all these people that wanna mess with me, you know? If you see anything, somebody always gotta start a conversation with me from the audience.

Smitty: Yeah, well, you know what? And I’m sure you’ve done this, and I noticed it on this past cruise more so than ever before, when you finish a song, everybody’s cheering and having a good time, but then they’re waiting to see what you’re gonna say.

NC: (Laughs.)

Smitty: Their smiles are wide and they’re laughing. It’s like “Okay, we know he’s gonna say something funny.”

NC: Yeah, I don’t know. Sometimes I’m being serious and people are thinking it’s funny. I’m like “That ain’t funny. I’m serious.”

Smitty: Well, it’s a very cool thing because I think we live in a world today where people look for opportunities to laugh and they don’t have as many opportunities as they used to, if you know what I mean.

NC: Yeah. I come to the gig to have fun, though, you know?

Smitty: I’m there.

NC: And I try to amuse myself. (Both laugh.) It’s like, hey, how silly can I be? But I’m trying to amuse me and have fun and hope people are having fun with me, man, because I basically just…I like people, I love performing, I love the people out there.

Smitty: And they love you.

NC: And we as musicians sometimes take everything a little too serious and I’m like “It ain’t that serious, man.” When this stops being fun, ya’ll be listening and saying “Well, Nick Colionne done hung his guitars up. It ain’t fun no more.”

Smitty: I totally feel ya, man, because what you have, Nick, that is rare or are two things that are good for the soul: great music and the ability to make people laugh and have fun, and I think when you have those two together…because let’s face it, people totally feel the healing effect of music because it makes them feel good.

NC: Right.

Smitty: And when you can make a person laugh, man, it just doesn’t get any better than that.

NC: And that’s what music is about, man. It’s that feeling. You go up there, you start playing and you get engrossed in what you’re doing. Of course, I laugh a lot while I’m playing because sometimes I just tickle myself.

Smitty: (Laughs.)

NC: Sometimes I might play something and I say to myself “I know I just didn’t play that.” You know, it’d be funny to me.

Smitty: Oh yeah, man.

NC: But I like to get up there and just really do it, you know?

Smitty: Yeah, well, and I know you already know this, but you have always been one of my favorite cats to hang out with because I know we’re gonna have some fun (Both Laugh.)

NC: Oh yeah, you know, me and you, we’re gonna clown wherever we go.

Smitty: We do. I’m laughing before we even say a word because I know we’re getting ready to cut-up.

NC: Yeah, I come looking for you as soon as I get there. I’m like, “where my man?”

Smitty: But that’s one of the cool things, and I wanna go back to the record because I wanna say that the record brings all of those elements, because people feel your music. They don’t just hear it, they feel it. And I think when people can elevate to that level of listening to music, then they’re really getting the full import of it.

NC: Yeah, and that’s always been important to me, is that you hear me with your heart instead of your ears, because anything that you hear with your ears goes in one ear and out the other one for the most part.

Smitty: Absolutely, yeah.

NC: But if I can reach down there and touch you where you hear it down inside of you, you won’t forget it.

Smitty: Right.

NC: Because you’re feeling what I was feeling when I was creating the song and that’s what the whole thing is about, is me coming up with a song and when I perform the song on a record or live, you can feel and hear what I’m trying to say and feel what I was feeling at the moment that it was created, whether it be a happy song, a sad song, or a get out my face song or whatever.

Smitty: Absolutely.

NC: It’s what I was feeling at that moment and that’s what I’m trying to bring to you so that you can feel that.

Smitty: Yeah, man, and two of the songs that really remind me of that on this record are “Steppin’ Back” and “Headin’ Wes Before Dawn.”

NC: Yeah.

Smitty: Whoo! That’s killer stuff, man.

NC: Actually, “Headin’ Wes Before Dawn” was something I was practicing real late at night like usual and the little lines started coming to me and I was like, man, and I was thinking about Wes [Montgomery] and I was like “How would Wes approach this,” you know? In this day and age if he was here to do it.

Smitty: Exactly.

NC: And so when I finished doing the tune, like here at home, the preproduction that night when I was writing it, I didn’t have a title, and I looked outside and the sun was starting to come up. I was like “Headin’ Wes Before Dawn,” okay.

Smitty: That is too cool, man. Now, the record’s drop date is what, July 8th?

NC: July 8th is the street date, yes.

Smitty: Whoo, man, if people only knew what they have coming at ‘em with this record, there will be long lines like there was a new state-of-the-art cell phone on sale, you know what I’m saying? (Both Laugh)

NC: It’ll be nice if they can line up for the record like they do for the video games for Christmas.

Smitty: I’m telling ya, this has gotta be one of the top three records of the year, in my opinion, because it’s got everything. It’s got something for everybody. If you had ten children, there would be a song here for every Child and Mom and Dad.

NC: That’s it. That’s what I was trying to get to.

Smitty: Yeah, it’s that good, man.

NC: Thanks, Smitty. It means a lot, man, coming from you. Because I know you hear a lotta music all the time, so to hear you say that, man, touches me deeply, believe me.

Smitty: Mm, well, the record touched me deeply, brotha. (Both laugh.) That’s why I said that, I’m serious, I mean…

NC: Maybe me and you just got that vibe, period.

Smitty: (Laughs.) Hey, man, well, we’ve got that great vibe in common. Radio will embrace this record. I already know that.

NC: Well, I think a lotta the guys out there, programmers, you know, will hear that I’m trying to bring it from a little bit different place this time.

Smitty: Exactly.

NC: And you know me. My whole thing is just trying to keep the music growing, especially the things that I try to create. I try to expand upon whatever I did the last time and not become a one-dimensional artist. So that when you buy a Nick Colionne record you don’t feel like you’re getting the same record you bought the last time. I don’t wanna keep making the same record over and over again.

Smitty: Exactly. That’s like serving barbecue every night.

NC: You know what I mean?

Smitty: Yeah, you’re gonna bring something different to the table.

NC: Bring some hot links or something.

Smitty: That’s what I’m talking about. (Laughs.) Or some hot wings!

NC: Got the whole plate there. You got your coleslaw, your wings, your ribs.

Smitty: Well, I tell ya, with this record you’re gonna need something to wash it down because it’s hot. It’s hot, man. It’s a great record and I congratulate you on going in the studio and really doing your thing with it.

NC: Good. I’m glad you feel that way, man, because if you feel like that, then I know a lotta other people will feel that way too because I think you’ve got your hand on the pulse of what happens in the music business, you know?

Smitty: Thank you.

NC: And so I respect that, you know?

Smitty: I got my hands on a lotta stuff, man. (Both laugh.)

NC: I feel ya.

Smitty: But the other thing too, Nick, is I think the fans are gonna be even more excited too about getting the record and then getting to come out and see you do some of these or all of these songs live, because I visualized already the live show with this new music and it’s just gonna be a something to enjoy and remember.

NC: Yeah, I was telling the guys. I was like, you know, generally when you’re doing a show you take out one song and you add a new one. I was like, we’re gonna have to take out more than one song. We’ll have to take out a few because we’ve got some stuff on this record that really needs to be heard live.

Smitty: Yes.

NC: And sometimes you have a record where a lotta songs, they’re really good on the album but they don’t lend themselves really well to a live performance. They’re more for just sitting and listening to. But I think with this we know we’ve got some stuff where it will lend itself very well to the live performance and I’m really excited about the new show that we’re putting together to promote this record, and you heard a couple of songs that we did up at Berks we actually previewed the song “Melting into You.”

Smitty: Yeah, man.

NC: Just on a fluke I was just like “Man, let’s just do it.” And they were like “Hey, you sure?” I’m like “Yeah, man. Whatever happens happens. Let’s just go for it. I don’t know if it’ll work until we do it.”

Smitty: And it was received well, man.

NC: Yeah, it was. I was shocked on how well people just picked up on a tune that they had never heard before. And everybody was saying how much they liked the song. I was like “Okay, then we’re on the right track here.”

Smitty: Absolutely. Well, I think the fans are excited already now to hear that you’re going to incorporate a few of these songs into your live show, so look out because it’s that hot.

NC: I’m looking forward to doing it, man, and I can’t wait til I’m doing the show with you there.

Smitty: (Laughs.) You know I’ll be there. Yeah, it’s gonna be good, man. You know I’m gonna love it. You’ve had an exciting year already. This is your debut album on a new label. You’re with Koch Records now. Talk to me about hooking up with the Koch cats.

NC: Right. Hey, I’m the Koch Cat. I’m Koch’s Cat from the Big Windy. (Both laugh.)

Smitty: So it’s gotta be good to be over there with Dave Wilkes and those guys.

NC: And Chuck Mitchell. Chuck is actually the guy that came to me and signed me and I’m happy that we all seem to click so well and they have great plans for the record and stuff like that, which is always important, that your record company believes in a record as much as you do.

Smitty: Exactly, yeah.

NC: So when they got it, they were happy and so was I.

Smitty: Yeah, so it makes for a nice biz marriage. So let’s see now, you’ve got a nice Web site and a My Space, and they’re heavily trafficked, if that’s a word.

NC: Yeah, My Space kinda gets to me sometimes. I’m like “Who are these people?” (Both laugh.)

Smitty: I think we all ask that question. Who are these people? But they’re cool.

NC: They’re all cool, man, and I get such interesting people who contact me and want me to add them to my friends’ list, and so I feel like now, through My Space, these are my friends now because I know something about them, because they do communicate with me, not just “Oh, add me to your friends’ list.” They e-mail me and ask me what’s going on and act like they care about what’s happening with me and my career, and that’s cool.

Smitty: How cool is that? Yeah.

NC: Can’t get it no better than that because it’s a great tool for people to stay in contact with each other.

Smitty: Absolutely. All right, so I’m sure you’re lining up some dates to get out and play some of this great new music, and by the way, we still wanna hear “Keepin’ It Cool” and we still wanna hear “High Flyin’” too, you know.

NC: So you know I can’t drop those, can’t drop those.

Smitty: Yeah, man, so you’re lining up some dates and we can definitely catch you out there on the road doing your thing and sharing some of this great vibe?

NC: Oh yeah, and I’m not gonna start trying to name off no dates because I’ll have people going all to the wrong places.

Smitty: (Laughs.)

NC: They are not going to be looking for me and then people will be going “Well, who is he? I don’t know who that is.”

Smitty: Man you crack me up.

NC: Yeah, but they could go to my Web site, www.nickcolionne.com or dot crazy, either one, and my schedule is up on my Web site all the time or on www.myspace.com/nickcolionne. I’ve got my schedule on there also.

Smitty: Oh, cool. Ladies and gentlemen, Koch recording artist, Nick Colionne, his fantastic new record is called No Limits. It’s set to release July 8^th. Nick, man, I wanna say once again, congratulations on getting in the studio and throwin’ down with this great new record, and I wish you all the success with it and I certainly look forward to seeing you out there on the road real soon, and give my congratulations to the band and everybody involved, and my sweet girl Carol, and I hope to see you guys soon and all the best in 2008 and beyond, my friend.

NC: Thank you, Smitty, man, and thanks for having me and doing this interview, and you know I can’t wait to see you so we can clown. (Both laugh.)

Baldwin “Smitty” Smith

For More Information Visit www.nickcolionne.com and www.myspace.com/nickcolionne and www.kochrecords.com and www.smoothmusiccruise.com