Jazz Monthly.com Interview with najeeth najee

“Jazz Monthly Feature Interview” Najee

Smitty: Well, I must say that it’s certainly just a treat to have this next musician with us here at JazzMonthly.com. He’s one of the most melodic and soulful saxophone players in the business, with a sound that is both inspirational and totally identifiable to music fans around the world. His great new CD is called Rising Sun. Here to talk about this great record and his fantastic career, please welcome the incredible and amazing Najee. How ya doin’, man?

Najee: I’m doing good, thank you, thank you.

Smitty: Super.

Najee: You make me feel so special.

Smitty: Oh, man, you’re a special cat. Come on!

Najee: Oh, well, thank you, thank you so much.

Smitty: When we think about what you’ve accomplished over the years with this great music that you have produced, it is a special treat for fans around the world, and I’m a fan. (Laughs.)

Najee: Oh, well, thank you, okay. I appreciate it.

Smitty: Absolutely. You’re a two-time Grammy nominee, you have toured and jammed with some of the best in the business, you’ve had a stellar career. How did you get mixed up in this business, having so much fun? Talk about those early days. You grew up in New York, right?

Najee: Yes, I grew up in New York City.

Smitty: Yeah, and you started out with the clarinet?

Najee: That’s right. As a youngster I started out playing clarinet, but my love was always the saxophone, so when the opportunity came in junior high school, I decided to play saxophone and put away the clarinet, and then eventually that led to playing the flute and bringing me where I am today.

Smitty: Okay, was the saxophone because of the girls or what? (Both laugh.)

Najee: Well, you know what? It didn’t start out that way. I mean, I just loved the sound of the horn, the way great players played it. I mean, I was exposed to many different styles as a kid. My mother, she loved the sound of the instrument plus trumpet and she loved jazz, so she had records of Duke Ellington, Miles Davis, with George Coleman playing tenor saxophone. She was just a fan of the instrument. And as a kid, I will never forget, in elementary school this guy came into my school and played a song that I remember hearing on the radio called “Desafinado,” it was a Stan Getz song and I didn’t know the name of it back then, but I knew the melody when he played it and I was so amazed that he could play something that I heard on the radio, and that sparked my interest from there on.

Smitty: And you had some help with your brother too. I mean, your brother was inspirational to you continuing your career as well.

Najee: Oh, absolutely. You know, he’s been right there with me the whole time. He’s a guitar player. We both came up in the industry together. We both played with Chaka Khan in the early eighties and we’d been through the neighborhood bands in New York in Queens, so he’s been there right along, and as a matter of fact, he produced my most successful albums up until this point. Now he’s involved in so many other things, he didn’t have time to even contribute on the record this time, you know?

Smitty: Yeah, that’s how it is, man, you know? (Both laugh.)

Najee: Yeah, I know.

Smitty: And I’ve got to ask you about studying under the direction of Jimmy Heath and Frank Foster and Billy Taylor.

Najee: Oh, yes.

Smitty: I mean, these are legends, man.

Najee: Oh, yes.

Smitty: You know, how blessed you have been.

Najee: I was, you know? And how it all started, when I was in high school, I went to a school called August Martin High School in Queens, which was an aviation school, actually, but we had a great music department and Billy Taylor, the jazz pianist Billy Taylor, was invited to come and perform at our school to recruit some of the music students to join Jazzmobile, and before I even understood who these gentlemen were, I wanted to go study up at Jazzmobile because Billy Taylor came with Frank Wes on the alto saxophone I remember.

Smitty: Wow.

Najee: And I had the pleasure of going up on Saturdays. Myself and a few of my colleagues, we would travel on the subway train to Harlem, where Jimmy Heath and Frank Foster, Frank Wes, they taught classes, like master classes on jazz composition, jazz theory, technique of the instruments of both saxophone and flute, and actually my advancement on flute I have to say in the jazz was as a result of my association with Jimmy Heath.

Smitty: That’s incredible. Wow.

Najee: Yes.

Smitty: Now, you mentioned earlier that you toured with Chaka Khan along with Fareed.

Najee: Yes.

Smitty: Man, how did that happen? I mean, how does a person get a gig with Chaka Khan? (Both laugh.)

Najee: Man, you know what? I tell you, it was just all the planets and that’s just the way my career has always been. The planets just aligning up the right way, you know? I actually had left Boston. We had gone to school in Boston at this school called the New England Conservatory of Music and we had a really hard time in Boston because we didn’t have much money and we didn’t have parents that could afford to send us there, so we had to kind of figure it out on our own, and my brother had moved back to New York and began doing a lot of session work, so I began coming back to New York on the weekends to try to see if I can get gigs and he would find session work for me. And one evening I just happened to go into a club and sit in, just playing some straight ahead with some of the guys in the neighborhood, and her musical director, Lesette Wilson, who I grew up with, was her keyboard player and musical director, and we hadn’t touched base in a long time and we were in there playing, and then about two days later I get a call saying “Listen, Chaka wants you to try out in the horn section. If you can read the charts, I’m sure I can get you on the gig.” And of course I could read the charts, so that’s how it happened, and with my brother, he just happened to come to the rehearsal that Tony Maiden didn’t show up at and Chaka hired him on the spot and told him to plug in his guitar, so Tony wasn’t too happy when he came back and saw somebody in his seat and he had to share the bill with him, you know? (Laughs.)

Smitty: Wow.

Najee: That’s how it happened for us. It was as simple as that.

Smitty: Well, you reminded me of something that Bob James told me once. He said musicians that make it in this business are the ones that are always stay sharp, prepared and ready.

Najee: That is so true.

Smitty: Yes, and that certainly has been the case with you because not only did you tour with Chaka, man, you toured with Prince.

Najee: That’s true. We did.

Smitty: You gotta talk about that.

Najee: Oh yeah, oh yeah. But, you know, it’s interesting. Prince, for me, that happened…well, that was from 2000, I think, until 2002 I toured with him, and for me that wasn’t the most challenging gig to do, you know?

Smitty: Yeah.

Najee: As musically speaking. I mean, it was a great gig and he’s a great artist and I had a lot of fun with him, but I can’t say it was the most challenging or difficult musical situation I had been in. But it was a lot of fun, I have to say. It was definitely a lot of fun musically and I learned a lot, yeah.

Smitty: Yeah, absolutely. And then you’ve had some serious highlights in your career. I mean, you performed at Nelson Mandela’s birthday celebration in South Africa.

Najee: Yes.

Smitty: Just talk to me a little bit about how that was, going to South Africa and just seeing the beautiful people there and getting to play for Nelson Mandela.

Najee: Wow. Well, that was my very first time I had gone and I’ve been there at least five times since then. And that very first time it was amazing for me because when he was released from prison during the Clinton administration, he did a tour of the U.S. if you remember that, he and Winnie Mandela.

Smitty: Yes, I do.

Najee: And I had played at one of the functions in Boston, one of the concerts, but I didn’t get a chance to meet him or be close to him. It was very interesting to go over there and be invited as a guest along with Stevie Wonder and Chaka and a few other artists, and we actually had the opportunity to be in his home, have lunch with him and take pictures, and for me that was just an amazing moment. And the most amazing thing for me was the fact that this gentleman, despite all the struggles he had been through, you didn’t sense that he was too big of a person not to be as human as he was, you know? Just a lot of fun to be around and just a very loving man.

Smitty: Isn’t that incredible? Wow.

Najee: It was incredible for me, yeah.

Smitty: Yes, and did you get to meet Bill Clinton?

Najee: Oh yes, on several occasions. Actually, just a couple of months ago I ran into him again at an event in Atlanta, but I played at two of his inaugurations and I was invited by him and Hillary to perform at the White House, I believe it was in 1998, to perform when they hosted the Prime Minster of Ghana. Yeah, Jerry Rawlings. That was great and he’s always been a gracious man, very gracious man.

Smitty: It’s interesting that you say that because I’ve had this conversation with other musicians and I continue to give President Clinton his props because he had such a way of inviting great musicians and really just jazzing up the White House in such a classy way.

Najee: Oh yes. (Laughs.)

Smitty: I mean, he was just a very classy person about doing that.

Najee: Oh yeah, I agree. He’s one of the greatest Presidents I think we’ve had. Honestly, I really believe he’s one of them. I mean, you know, we know all the stories or the problems and all that.

Smitty: Yeah.

Najee: And I don’t believe any of the Presidents that have come through have been squeaky clean, you know? (Laughs.)

Smitty: Exactly.

Najee: It’s kind of a hard job to be that, you know?

Smitty: Yeah, exactly, but he’s always been such a friend of the arts, you might say.

Najee: That he is, yes. On a few occasions I was caught by the President and tried to give him my horn to play but he wouldn’t do it. (Both laugh.)

Smitty: However, you and I both know he can hold his own with a saxophone.

Najee: He can hold his own, yeah. You know, you play blues in C, he’ll be all right, you know? (Both laugh.) Just don’t move from that key, you know? Just stay right there, he’ll be all right.

Smitty: Oh man, that’s pretty cool. Well, let me ask you something. Every time I see you, you still look like you’re 18 years old.

Najee: Oh, you’re too kind, man, yeah. (Laughs.)

Smitty: You don’t look old enough to go in the club and play. You don’t look old enough to park the cars at the club.

Najee: Oh, you’re funny. Oh man. I wish I honestly felt that way, but I take your kind words. I appreciate that, thank you.

Smitty: Well, break me off a piece, man. What’s your secret? (Laughs.)

Najee: Honestly, I don’t have one. I’m very fortunate. I ride bikes. When I’m home I ride a bike twice a week if I can and then I don’t really do anything. I don’t drink, I don’t smoke, you know? Pretty much all the things that make a person age quicker. I’ve been fortunate not to have an appetite for those things.

Smitty: I feel you, brotha. (Both laugh.)

Najee: You know?

Smitty: That’s cool. That is so cool. I want to talk about this new record.

Najee: Sure.

Smitty: Wow, I mean, one of the things that I said after I listened to the entire project is that I love all the songs. I don’t get to say that…

Najee: Oh, well, thank you, thank you.

Smitty: Yeah, I don’t get to say that a lot, you know, but I love all the songs.

Najee: Oh, well, thank you.

Smitty: Yeah. Talk to me about Track 7, “Moody’s Mood for Love,” because, see, I am a huge James Moody fan.

Najee: Oh, that’s great, that’s good, yeah. Well, I’ve always loved that song. It’s always been one of my personal favorites that he’s done, and for jazz that’s probably a real pop song, if you will.

Smitty: Yeah.

Najee: As a youngster growing up in New York, there was a DJ named Frankie Crocker and every night he would end his show with that song when he went off the air, so it became somewhat of a New York anthem, if you will, and so young saxophone players would try to learn to play the song and I really wasn’t reminded about it until I was in a woodwind shop in New York City and I was just trying out some flutes and he walked in as I was playing, and this guy comes up to me and starts asking me questions and I’m like wait a minute, this is James Moody! He’s asking me questions about the flute? Come on, you gotta be kidding me here, you know? I was so honored. He was such a gracious man. I said you know what? Let me just do something as a tribute to him because we always mention all the greats, Trane and all those guys. He’s the other man who’s had a major influence in the industry that nobody seems to take the time to give the recognition to. And I was just praying that I did the song some justice.

Smitty: Oh, yes you did, and I’m sure if James has heard it, I’m sure he’s proud of what you did with that song. He’s such a gracious man and a great person, and at his age he is still out there doing his thing and doing it strong.

Najee: He sure is. As a matter of fact, at that time when I was talking to him, he said “Yeah, I’m on my way to Japan.” I was like “Okay, man.” (Both laugh.) You know? He’s still hitting the trail, you know?

Smitty: Yeah, and that’s love from the heart for the music when you’re doing that.

Najee: Oh yes.

Smitty: Yeah. Well, that was so cool that you did that song. And “Child at Heart,” now is that part of the secret, man, to your youthfulness?

Najee: (Laughs.) Well, I don’t know. To be honest with you, I wrote that song a couple of years ago and it was one of those songs that just sat in the can that I didn’t know what to do with, and I brought it back and decided that it needed to be a little more harmonically elevated. So I brought in Phil Davis to help me, who’s a great piano player, and then we decided to just keep it a simple song and that’s what we did. Acoustic bass, drums, and myself and Phil on piano, and that was it. We just kept it as a very organic track. The only electric thing on there was some of the electronic strings, but everything else was just us playing together.

Smitty: Yeah, that’s a beautiful song, man.

Najee: Thank you.

Smitty: Yeah, I’m glad you pulled that one out of the can, brotha.

Najee: Oh yeah. (Both laugh.)

Smitty: And one of my favorites is “Still in Love.” That one should go to radio first, by the way.

Najee: You know, I sent it. I think they chose something else. I think they chose “Come What May,” the one that I wrote with James.

Smitty: Yeah, which is nice, too.

Najee: Yeah, but generally Heads Up, they send like four songs to radio and then they make their recommendations as to what they would like, you know?

Smitty: Right. Well, I love “Come What May,” but “Still in Love” kinda grabs me differently and it’s just a beautiful song.

Najee: Yeah.

Smitty: And you gotta talk to me about Chris “Big Dog” Davis. He’s a bad boy, isn’t he?

Najee: He really is, man. He’s one of those underutilized producers and artists that I think, you know, his time is coming, but he’s beginning to work with a lot of different people. He’s produced Maysa, he’s produced Kim Waters, I believe Marion Meadows is going to work with him.

Smitty: Yeah, cool.

Najee: Yeah, he’s one of those guys…he worked with Will Downing for many years and Brian McKnight as a keyboard player. Yeah, so he’s one of those great guys.

Smitty: He’s got some serious talent.

Najee: Oh yes, oh yes.

Smitty: And then you got my East St. Louis homeboy Phil Perry on here. (Both laugh.)

Najee: Oh yes. You know what? I gotta tell you, man, that was a total fluke because I had called Chris Davis “Big Dog” up in Connecticut and I said “Listen, man, I need one more song, just one,” that’s a little classic type thing that I do. He said “Man, I’ll take care of you,” and I didn’t know what he was gonna come up with. I just went up to his house and he began playing a song and here’s Phil’s voice on there. I was totally surprised! And it just so happened that Phil had been up there working with him and came up with that track and they both wrote that together. I was like “Man, that’s…man, what a blessing,” you know?

Smitty: How cool is that?

Najee: Yeah.

Smitty: Oh, you know, there are so many surprises and beautiful things that happen when you’re out there making great music like that. You have beautiful people around you and so many wonderful things like that happen and, I tell ya, I love this track. Phil threw it down on this one.

Najee: Oh, he sure did. He went to that old school thing, man. I was like you gotta be at least in your forties to understand it, you know? (Both laugh.)

Smitty: Absolutely, absolutely. Let’s not give away too much here.

Najee: Hey, you know?

Smitty: Yeah. And something else, man, that I really love is as we’re talking about the record….your live performances are just incredible and I notice audiences just gravitate to the point of almost just wanting to get on the stage with you when you’re playing, and that’s a beautiful thing when you can reach people that way with your music.

Najee: Oh, thank you so much, man. Yeah, well, to me it’s about the people, you know? That’s always been my philosophy. Maybe it’s because I played in the show bands when I was a kid. And it was always about making the people wanting to come and see you, and so that tradition of that is really—I used to hate when I was younger. You’d go to a jazz concert and you’d hear a great player, but the people walked away not remembering anything. Nothing memorable that made them talk about the concert other than the people who understood the music and appreciated that point of it, but generally I used to sometimes watch shows and people just wouldn’t walk away remembering anything about the artist that made them say “You know what? I’m coming back to see this guy.”

Smitty: Yeah.

Najee: I mean, over the years now that’s changed and that’s always been my thing is to bring a show where people would want to come back, and over the years I’ve seen a lot of audiences now get better at that.

Smitty: Absolutely.

Najee: Now you’ll go to shows and you’ll see artists dancing and playing the horns and doing what they do now, but…

Smitty: Yeah.

Najee: And the game has changed so much.

Smitty: Yes it has and that’s a beautiful thing to see, you know, artists interacting more with the audience and just pulling them into the whole event.

Najee: Yeah, I agree. I think that’s the key.

Smitty: Yes, absolutely. Talk to me about one more song here.

Najee: Sure.

Smitty: And that’s “Smooth Sailing.” I mean, you’ve got one of the longstanding great guitarists, Ron Lawrence.

Najee: Yeah.

Smitty: And once again “Big Dog” is right there. (Both laugh.)

Najee: Uh-huh.

Smitty: That’s a beautiful song, man.

Najee: Oh, thank you.

Smitty: Speaking of audience interaction and that kind of thing, that’s a song that the entire audience can get up and just dance their heart away with.

Najee: Yeah, to me that’s like a classic Smooth Jazz track that Smooth Jazz radio might listen to, you know?

Smitty: Yeah, with the alto sax.

Najee: Right, with the alto, and Ron is a great guitar player. As a matter of fact, he started his career playing in my band. My first album, Najee’s Theme, when I went out and did my first tour, my first band I put together, Ron Lawrence and Alex Bugnon were both the musicians in my band along with Poogie Bell on drums and Artie Reynolds on bass.

Smitty: And look at those cats now.

Najee: And look at them now. Isn’t that something? That’s nice.

Smitty: They’re doing their thing, you know?

Najee: Oh yes.

Smitty: So now you used every instrument you own on this record, which is beautiful.

Najee: Oh, thank you.

Smitty: Do you have a favorite? The soprano? The alto? The flute? What’s your favorite?

Najee: No, I can’t say I do, man. I love playing all of them. I mean, I really do. It really depends on the song. I’m grateful that I—I think one of the greatest things that I got from Jazzmobile with Frank Foster and Jimmy Heath and Frank Wes is they conditioned us to become woodwind players or multi-instrumentalists as opposed to just saying “I’m just a saxophone player.” Because back then you still had the Broadway world with live musicians playing in the pits and commercials, if you got called for that, those guys would always be multi-instrumentalists. They’d come with clarinet, bassoons, the whole bit. Of course, that’s changed now, but because I come from that school of thinking, I never saw myself as just being a tenor player or an alto player or a soprano player or a flute player. I always thought that I enjoyed the idea of being a multi-instrumentalist and just trying to play all of them proficiently.

Smitty: That’s very cool.

Najee: Yeah.

Smitty: And it goes back to being prepared and being ready and versatile, you know?

Najee: Oh, yes, yes.

Smitty: Absolutely.

Najee: Well, it’s worked to my benefit for sure.

Smitty: Yes indeed, my brotha. I tell ya, this is a great record. I love the whole black and white theme of the album liner notes. It’s pretty cool.

Najee: Oh, thank you.

Smitty: And it’s got a very nice eclectic mix of photos and you doing your thing.

Najee: Uh-huh.

Smitty: And it very well complements the music, you know?

Najee: Well, thank you. You know, I can’t take credit for that. That’s actually Kim Fields. Are you familiar with Kim the actress?

Smitty: No it’s not her.

Najee: Yeah, yeah.

Smitty: Oh, is that who that is? You know, I was gonna ask you and I said “Nah, it can’t be.”

Najee: Yeah, it’s the same Kim Fields. She’s actually done three of my album covers. Yeah, the first album she did for me was Embrace in 2003 and then she did My Point of View in ’05 and then this one. I mean, she’s just got an eye for that stuff, you know? Me? I had to trust her on that, honestly, because I’d never done a black and white photo shoot, so I just had to trust her, so I guess she was right. (Laughs.)

Smitty: Yes, she was, man. Well, we must give her some serious props.

Najee: Oh yeah, oh yes.

Smitty: Because it’s beautifully done. Well, see, every now and then I learn something too. (Both laugh.)

Najee: Oh, bless you. That’s great.

Smitty: Yeah, it keeps me humble. Wow, well, Najee, I can’t say enough about this great record, man, and what you’ve done with it, and all of your past projects as well. I mean, you have been one of the most consistent, elevated performers in the business and I have to put the title of entertainer on you because that is who you are.

Najee: Oh yeah, well, I like to think of myself as a multi-instrumentalist but, yeah, I mean, to me, you shouldn’t come to a show and not be entertained.

Smitty: Absolutely, my friend.

Najee: That’s probably worse than coming to a show and falling asleep. (Both laugh.)

Smitty: I don’t think that’s gonna happen at one of your shows.

Najee: Well, I hope not.

Smitty: There’s too much happening at your shows for that to happen.

Najee: Oh, well, thank you.

Smitty: Well, now the record comes out--?

Najee: Yes, on the 14th.

Smitty: 14th of August. Nice. And tell me about your Web site. I know you’ve got a great Web site.

Najee: Well, yeah, we’re actually in the process of rebuilding it now. Right now the old one is still there, but in the meantime we’ve been posting concert dates and stuff at www.myspace.com/najeeonline.

Smitty: Yeah.

Najee: Yeah, so we’ve been doing that and that’s been good because I get direct communication with everybody. They leave their comments and pictures and stuff. And the new Web site is gonna be www.najeeonline.com.

Smitty: Right. All right, my friend. Najee, congratulations on this fantastic new record, Rising Sun. It’s just a great mix of music and I can say that every song on here deserves not just one listen, but this is sort of a repeat album. And I must say to you, man, just keep doing what you do, keep making great music, and keep your flava strong, my brotha, and all the best in 2007 and beyond

Najee: Thank you so much, Smitty. Same to you, my friend, I really appreciate it.

Baldwin “Smitty” Smith

For More Information Visit www.najeeonline.com and www.headsup.com and www.myspace.com/najeeonline.