“Jazz Monthly Feature Interview” Darren Rahn
Interview by Baldwin "Smitty" Smith

Jazz Monthly:   Well, my next guest at JazzMonthly.com is one of the most fantastic sax players that I’ve ever seen.  He is “Groove Du Jour,” serving up some ultra funky grooves and some seriously phat melodies.  You’ve got to hear this cat’s latest offering.  It is called Once In A Lifetime, he’s got some incredible players on there, and as you will see, he’s not only a great musician, but he is a fantastic producer.  Please say hello to my friend, the incredible and amazing Mr. Darren Rahn.  Darren, how ya doin’, my friend?

Darren Rahn (DR):  Great.  That’s quite an intro there, Smitty.  I’m honored.

Jazz Monthly:   Well, the honor’s all mine, my friend, because it’s funny how paths cross in such strange ways.

DR:  Mm-hmm.

Jazz Monthly: Before I heard your music ever, I kept getting compliments of you from people across the country and across Canada.

DR:  Aha!

Jazz Monthly:   Yeah, so it’s just been a cool thing and it’s just great to finally sit down and talk with you and really express my appreciation for the great things that you’re doing with music both on the stage and in the studio.

DR:  Well, thank you very much, Smitty, we have a lot of mutual friends in the industry and same thing to you.  I hear so many great things about you and what you’re doing with your Web site and, of course, I’ve read all the interviews too. You’re just doing a fantastic job, so hats off to you too, my friend.

Jazz Monthly:   Well, thank you very much.  That’s a great compliment and that’s quite a compliment coming from someone like yourself because I know you are a friend of the groove and you know every note there is out there, and I tell ya, you have been a part of some of the most fantastic music I’ve heard over the past 20 years, so I take that as a seriously cool compliment from you.

DR:  Very cool.

Jazz Monthly:   Yeah, man.  Now, you have been somehow saturated with music practically all your life, haven’t you?

DR:  Yeah, I grew up around music and my parents were always into music, and it started as doing music together as a family in church.  Our family had a little gospel group. We traveled around and did little gigs here and there, and as we got older, my mom really encouraged us kids to learn piano.  We each took a couple years of piano lessons, which at the time I wasn’t too excited about, but in retrospect, I’m very glad that happened, because that’s where I learned to read music. When I joined band in grade school I already knew how to read music, so that was a great way to start.  Having taken those couple years of piano really paid off. Then in high school when I began to study jazz, I was learning jazz on both the piano and on saxophone. Back then I never knew that I was going to be a producer and need that piano background—it just happened—and now I’m very grateful that those keyboard skills were in place because I use them every single day.

Jazz Monthly:   Well, that’s kind of interesting and I think that’s a very cool thing.  Now, for the up and coming artists out there and the aspiring artists that are five, six years old, ten years old, that are now being told to sit down at the piano and take lessons and that kind of thing, what would you say to them based upon what you just talked about with your past?

DR:  Well, it’s important.  If you want to have a future in music, I think we live in a day and age now where you have to be very versatile. People who can play several instruments and have a wide variety of skills will have greater opportunities down the road.  I would say I see equal importance in learning to read music, understanding music theory, and developing your ear.  There’s a lot of people that don’t have both of those skills.  They’re either strictly kind of technical from the reading side or they have great ears, but can’t do both, and for me both have been crucial.  Playing-wise and production-wise it’s invaluable to me.  I’m very grounded in theory and have good ears, but lately I’ve been working to strengthen my ears even more. I have some friends in the industry that have incredible ears.  Guys like Jeff Lorber or Eric Darius, they can hear anything and just boom!  Play it right back to you instantly no matter how difficult it is.  Their ears are just unbelievable.

Jazz Monthly:   Well, I’m sure Eric and Jeff certainly appreciate those compliments, my friend.

DR: They are insanely talented.

Jazz Monthly:   True that.  The other reason why I asked that question is because what you mentioned earlier about taking lessons and not really liking it at the time and didn’t see how it would even be of any value to you later on. I think that’s what a lot of individuals are thinking at that age.

DR:  Right.

Jazz Monthly:   And to encourage them to stay with that format or that mode of learning is key, and so to hear that from someone like yourself who is very accomplished and relying on those skills that you obtained at an early age, I think it’s great for individuals at an early age to hear what you just said.  I think that’s a very cool thing.  I’m glad you mentioned that.

DR:  Yeah, I can also look at a friend of mine like Mel Brown, who we both know, who is also one of the most gifted musicians I’ve ever had the opportunity to work with, and I know Mel can speak to that very directly too because he started out learning a lot by ear and as he got better and better, he saw that the missing component for him was a total understanding music theory and really strong sight-reading. He devoted himself to that and really mastered those skills.  Those skills propelled him to a whole new level. I remember shortly after I met him, he got a call to do Michel Camilo’s gig, and he had to show up and sight-read that book. I’m sure you’re familiar with Michele’s music, that’s a heavy, heavy gig to sight-read.

Jazz Monthly:   Yes it is.

DR:  It was one of the first gigs that really put his reading skills to the test, and because of his diligence and hard work, he passed that test with flying colors, but that’s an opportunity that probably wouldn’t have been there for him otherwise.

Jazz Monthly:   Right, and I think Mel can pick up anything that he wants to anyway, you know?  He’s just a great and a gifted cat as well, yeah.  Well, now, talk to me about how you came from a devoted gospel musician to jazz.  I know that when you were in school you started to study jazz, but I’m trying to bridge that gap in how you gravitated to jazz, which is a cool thing.

DR:  Sure.  I did a lot of gospel music as a kid. In grade school I played clarinet in band and in junior high there was an opening in the jazz band and I wanted to join, so I taught myself saxophone. The first time I had the experience in jazz band, I mean, it was unlike anything I had ever done before.  I knew at that moment that, hey, this is something that I really wanna do.  I guess that was in seventh grade. That’s when I started practicing hard. Then I think it was my sophomore year in high school, I ended up getting a really great band director that knew more about jazz.  He started teaching basic improvisation and I remember standing up and I was getting ready to play my solo and he pulled the music away and made me improvise. I was the single most terrifying moment of my musical life, but when it was done, the feeling of having created something spontaneously on the spot was also the biggest musical rush I had ever had up to that point, and once I experienced that, I was hooked and I knew that that’s the route I wanted to pursue.

Jazz Monthly:   Yeah, well, that was a great way to win you over.

DR:  Yeah, he didn’t leave me much choice.  I have to say I was a little upset when I saw him pull the music stand away because it was a moment of great vulnerability, to go from being confident in how to play an instrument technically to creating spontaneously. It is so much more than just understanding the technical aspects of your instrument.  It’s that spontaneous creation right on the spot and it was.  It was very terrifying at the moment, but by the time that experience was over it was total exhilaration.

Jazz Monthly:   Yeah, it kind of reminds me of the story that a lot of people tell about when their dad threw them in the swimming pool and said “Go do it.”

DR:  Uh-huh, yeah, just throw you right in.

Jazz Monthly:   Yeah.

DR:  And I had a couple key experiences like that that changed me.  I also remember later that same year the same band director had encouraged me to try out for All State Jazz Band. I tried out and I was accepted and I was playing lead tenor in the All State Jazz Band here in Colorado. It was the day of the performance and the whole week we had been rehearsing and I had learned the chord changes and I had the chord changes in front of me, but I had kind of created this little solo that was working for me. The All State Jazz Band director was frustrated with me because my head was still in the page. 

I had kind of created a solo and had started to improvise a little, but it turned out being kind of a pre-planned thing, and all week the director said “Get away from the music.  I don’t want you looking at the music,” and I resisted and I resisted and I resisted…. It came time for the concert and there was about a thousand or more people out there—up to that point it was the biggest concert of my life—and I stood up and I went to reach for my music stand to raise it and it broke and my music flew onto the ground, and at that point I had no choice.  I had to get my head out of the music and it was a life changing experience for me.  It was another moment of terror that led to another moment of exhilaration, and after that experience I understood.  I don’t know that my music stand breaking was an accident.  I think maybe it was a divine intervention.

Jazz Monthly:   Either that or a setup.

DR:  Right, right, right.  It very well could have been a setup!

Jazz Monthly:   Well, it just sounds like your training wheels came off.

DR:  Yup, you got it.

Jazz Monthly: Well, that’s a very cool thing.  I can just imagine some music instructors reading this and saying “Hmm, think I’ll try that.”

DR:  Yeah, that’s a good idea.  The director may have done it or maybe not, but it worked.

Jazz Monthly: Well, that’s very cool.  All of that has led to some very cool accomplishments by yourself and some very cool experiences.  The music has taken you places that you never dreamed of before.

DR:  Mm-hmm, absolutely.

Jazz Monthly:   And that’s always a very cool thing and I have to say starting with your latest CD, which is Once In A Lifetime, has a lot of those memories deeply entrenched in it because I can hear the great improvisational vibe of Darren Rahn in this great record.  Yeah, man.  And I gotta tell ya, I’ve been totally diggin’ on “Groove Du Jour.”

DR:  Oh, cool! Thank you. That’s one of my personal favorites on the record.

Jazz Monthly:   Yeah, and “Simple Song.”  I’m sort of a rebel when it comes to what’s on the record, so if I like something really cool, it may not be what everybody else likes but, see, I’m feeling something different.

DR:  Right,  sure.

Jazz Monthly: I gotta feel it, man, you know?

DR:  Yeah, when I did that record, that was a lot of what I was going for. I have a very diverse musical background and so on that particular record it was kind of my national debut.  It wasn’t my first record—I had already done a record a few years before that—but this was the first time that it was really gonna be out there on a large scale and so I wanted to kind of bring a lot of those diverse influences into the record and not just have the same kind of song all through the record.  I wanted some variety and some different vibes, different styles on the different saxophones, so I really appreciate that.  That’s a great compliment.

Jazz Monthly:   Well, yes indeed, my friend.  And I guess that’s sort of the import of Track No. 1, “Breakin’ Out.”

DR:  Absolutely.  That was the first single and kinda “Hello, here I am” and it’s where it all started for me as an artist on a larger scale.

Jazz Monthly:  Yeah, and I gotta tell ya that I really love the cover track, “Take My Breath Away.”

DR:  Oh, thank you.

Jazz Monthly:   Yeah, that song brings back some very cool memories and to hear your groove on this is really cool.  I mean, it’s a great production and it’s the kind of song, and the way you did it, it’s like it creates the memories of that time but this is truly Darren Rahn.

DR:  Thanks a lot.

Jazz Monthly: :  You know what I mean?

DR:  Yeah, and of course I was thinking back to my high school days.  I remember when Top Gun came out, the movie, and I was trying to find a cover that would appeal to kind of a broad audience, and I always liked that ballad and just kinda wanted to put my own spin on it and I’ve had a really good reaction to that track.

Jazz Monthly:   Yeah, and I don’t think I’ve heard too many versions of this, at least from a jazz point of view, of this song, so I thought that was a really cool selection.

DR:  Oh, thank you.  I know it’s definitely more on the pop tip and I think sometimes jazz artists refrain from getting too far into the pop world, but my musical background is pretty diverse.   I really love it all, anything from straight ahead jazz to pop music, R&B, gospel, soul, all of it.

Jazz Monthly:   Yeah, and tell Jason [Rahn] I said he’s a bad boy with the acoustic guitar on that track.

DR:  Oh, I will, I will.  That’s my twin brother, he’s really mainly a trumpet player, but he cut some really nice guitar tracks on there and he’s actually gonna be featured on trumpet on my new record that’s coming out next year.

Jazz Monthly:   I can’t wait to hear it.  That’s gotta be a seriously ridiculous groove, man.  That’s nice.  And “Sax a la Funk,” man, you know, I’m listening to these really deep percussive grooves that you’re doing on this project and then we come to “Sax a la Funk” and it’s like okay, this is a whole different world.

DR:  Thanks Smitty. An interesting note about that song - everything on that song is saxophone except for the bass guitar.

Jazz Monthly: Yeah, right.

DR:  There’s no drums, there’s no keyboards, there’s nothing except my sax and bass guitar.  Some of them are samples of different sounds on my horn and some of them were performed, but everything in that song is just pure saxophone except for the bass.  I couldn’t really find a hip way to incorporate bass on the sax.  I tried playing bari sax but it kinda took it out of the zone that I was looking for, so I had Mel throw down some electric bass on that and he took it to a whole ‘nother level.

Jazz Monthly: And besides, we can’t sample or duplicate Mel anyway.

DR:  No, no, you can’t imitate that.

Jazz Monthly:   I hope he hears us.

DR:  Indeed.:  Well, you know, Mel has really been an important part of my career, both as a player and as a friend. We’ve been friends for years and when we started out in this crazy business we decided that we were gonna stick together and see where it took us, and it has taken us a long way. We’ve had so many incredible opportunities together and individually, and we still get to do music together this many years later. I feel so very, very blessed.

Jazz Monthly:   Well, it’s funny you mentioned that because when I talked to Mel on the show, he basically word for word said what you just did.

DR:  Very cool.

Jazz Monthly:   Yeah, I mean, word for word, and so I’m starting to wonder if there’s not triplets instead of twins, you know what I mean? But great friendships in this business is a beautiful thing.

DR:  Yeah, I’m so, so fortunate.  He is an exceptional human being and a real friend. I mean, Mel was the first bass player I played with out of college and, I mean, I was just spoiled for life because I stepped out of school and boom!  My first gig is Mel Brown, one of the greatest bass players on the planet. I was spoiled… I don’t even think spoiled is the right word.  Having him laying that foundation on the bass took my playing to another level.

Jazz Monthly:   But he just raised the level for you.

DR:  A handful of guys in the world that play like that and he’s one of them.

Jazz Monthly:   Yeah, yeah, you’re right by a handful.  Yeah, there’s only a handful and he’s right there in the mix, that’s for sure, yeah.  I gotta talk about my friend Jeff Lorber.

DR:  Yes.

Jazz Monthly:   When I heard that he was on your project, I knew then that it was a slam dunk too because let’s face it, he’s the Shizznik, you know?

DR:  Man, Jeff is the man.  That was a dream come true for me. I can’t say enough about him musically and as a person, he was just so cool and he cut the tracks and he took those tunes to a completely different level.  Those tunes were never the same again after he played on them and I’m very grateful to him for that. In fact I was so fortunate to have all three special guests—Wayman Tisdale, Jeff Lorber and Dave Koz—I grew up listening to these guys.  I mean, heroes of mine, and here all of a sudden they’re on my record and it was amazing.

Jazz Monthly:   Yeah, and I really love what Wayman did on “On the Rebound.”

DR:  Yeah, that song is totally Wayman.  Wayman was my so-called first.  Before Wayman, I was just a guy struggling to get a gig and I had been asked by Rendezvous to come out to L.A. and they wanted to meet me.  They had heard some of my music and really liked it.  And I got out to L.A. and through a series of just extraordinary circumstances Dave Koz and Hyman Katz and Frank Cody asked me to produce the single for Wayman, “Ain’t No Stoppin’ Us Now.”

Jazz Monthly: Yes, I remember.

DR:  And after that happened, my career completely changed and so I gotta give Wayman a lot of credit.  Not only is he the dearest of friends, but he really he opened the door for me and to have him on my record on “On the Rebound” was another dream come true.

Jazz Monthly: Yeah, he’s such a cool cat and he’s just got it, man.  He’s on another shelf.

DR:  It just comes straight outta him.  There’s no manufacturing.  You better hit record because it’s coming out.  That’s the way Wayman is.

Jazz Monthly: And you know he’s gonna come right.

DR:  That’s right, that’s right.  Right out of the gates, he’s on it.  It’s coming straight from the heart and, yeah, I mean, I sent him that track and he had that thing done so quick.

Jazz Monthly:   That’s him, yeah.  And the title track with Dave Koz is just fantastic. It’s a fitting track to title the entire project, it really is.

DR:  Yeah, I didn’t know what I was gonna call the album and I was almost finished with the record and I was writing, I had a couple tunes left to write, and that whole experience with Rendezvous and Wayman Tisdale—of course, Dave Koz was in the middle of all of that and he kind of befriended me and it was just such an amazing experience, a once in a lifetime experience, hence the title of that track. I wrote that track for my wife and soon to be born son. Dave is the consummate professional and a true friend.  He’s one of the nicest guys I’ve ever met in my life and he, again, is one of the guys that I had been listening to for years and years.  I remember back in high school listening to him – what an incredible talent.

Jazz Monthly:   Yeah.

DR:  And dreaming of doing something like that someday, never realizing that I was gonna get to meet him and gonna get to become friends, and then all of a sudden, once again, here he is on my record, so that was like Dream Come True No. 3 for that record.

Jazz Monthly:   Yeah.  Now, just kinda switching gears, a lot of fans know you as a great sax player.

DR:  Mm-hmm.

Jazz Monthly:   And I want the world to know what a fantastic producer you are and you kinda touched on that when you talked about doing the track for Wayman, “Ain’t No Stoppin’ Us Now.”

DR:  Mm-hmm.

Jazz Monthly:   But talk about how you got to that whole notion or vision of being a producer.  I know that that started early on.

DR:  Sure.

Jazz Monthly:   But how did that all transpire?

DR:  Well, I never planned on being a producer.  I always planned on being a saxophonist and I had no plans to become a producer.  I was in grad school and this was about the time I was almost getting ready to leave school and pursue music full-time professionally, and I was in school doing an album, it was a jazz fusion album, and we went to a nice studio with great gear and a good engineer and had really good guys in the band. We went in to record the record, and I remember during the recording process I was totally intrigued with how to create the different sounds on the record and how to do this, but in the end, because of my lack of ability to express what I wanted, I ended up with a record that I was not overly happy with, and I was not able during that process to really figure out how to creatively express myself in the studio. 

What was in my head didn’t end up on tape.  And so it was at that point that I decided, you know what?  I really need to start learning this so that the next time around I’ll have more knowledge, so I bought a little mixer and a little microphone and I started working on stuff myself and it just kind of evolved from there.  I kinda got the hang of it and when I started getting better results I thought, wow, I’m really happy with this, and so I thought, well, if I practice hard, maybe I can produce and record my next record. In order to improve my skills, I offered to produce, record and mix some tracks for free for several friends.

Jazz Monthly:   To practice.

DR:  Yeah, I had nothing to lose.  That helped hone my skills and before too long I was at a point where I felt comfortable trying to make my own record. So I started producing records of all sorts for several years – all different genres. I never planned on being a producer full-time.  It just happened.  The pivotal point was the meeting with Dave Koz and the guys at Rendezvous. I was flying out there and they were looking at the possibility of signing me, and so I thought I was gonna be the artist first, but it didn’t happen that way. They didn’t have a place on their roster for me as an artist. They liked the production on my record and asked me, “Hey, we really like your stuff, if we need you for some production, would you be open to that?” 

I said “Sure” and three days later I was in the office meeting Wayman Tisdale, getting ready to produce that “Ain’t No Stoppin’ Us Now.”  So in other words - I didn’t choose producing. Producing chose me.  And I’m grateful.  There’s always that side of you that always wants to be out in the spotlight and I’ve had many chances to do that with my saxophone, but I have to say that in this instance, it wasn’t so much about what I wanted, it was more about what I was meant to do.  And now, of course, with the production opportunities that I’ve had, the artist thing is really starting to take off for me, so it’s really worked to my advantage more than I could have ever dreamed.

Jazz Monthly:   Well, I think this choice that was bestowed upon you is quite interesting because as we speak, you have four productions in the R&R Top 10 and you have two at No. 1 and No.2, and let’s see, they are who?  Eric Darius…

DR:  and Dave Koz.

Jazz Monthly:   And Dave Koz.  So now here are a couple of incredible musicians.

DR:  Yeah.

Jazz Monthly:   And this “backing into” opportunity has become quite the spotlight of who you are.

DR:  Well, first of all, I have to say that I am so incredibly ecstatic about what’s going on right now and I feel so blessed for these opportunities and, yeah, I realize now if I had been stubborn and just pursued being a sax player, I could’ve easily overlooked these opportunities and I wouldn’t have these incredible things happening right now so, I mean, I don’t even really know what to say.  You can work hard and you can do your best, but I never planned on having four songs in the Top 10.  It just happened that way and all I can take credit for is doing the work.  The timing of four hitting at the same time is kind of mind boggling and every one of those singles was a blast to do. 

Last week Dave Koz was No. 1, this week Eric Darius is No. 1, so I get two of my favorite players and favorite people at No. 1 and it’s back-to-back – and I also got to mix both those tracks too. I’m stoked! And then I’ve got Wayman and Tim Bowman in there who are so incredible and some of my dearest friends on earth so, gosh, it’s hard for me to even—I’m kind of as surprised as everyone else.  I’m just buckling down and doing the work to the best of my ability, I could have never expected all this. I’ve been very blessed to have some amazing people to work with also.  We’ve already talked about Mel, but there’s also my dear friend Frank Selman, who is just an amazing artist and guitarist in his own right.  We’ve done so much music together over the years. Both Mel and Frank are playing on all four of those singles.

Jazz Monthly:   Right.

DR:  And then my twin brother Jason is doing the horn section stuff with me. He’s on three of those top tens right now.  So this group of people that I have around me, I can’t say enough good things about them.  They are certainly a big reason for the success of those tunes.

Jazz Monthly: Yeah, absolutely.

DR:  And then there’s the artists:  Dave Koz, Wayman Tisdale, Eric Darius, Tim Bowman.  They all have incredible star power.  You hear each of those guys and within two notes you know who they are.

Jazz Monthly:   Absolutely.  And I wanna go back to something you said.  I think you’re spot on with what you just said, but I’m thinking back to something you said a few minutes ago.  You said that you weren’t quite happy with the way you were able to express yourself with your own music and so that desire was there because you went out and bought a cheapie little mixing board.

DR:  Mm-hmm.

Jazz Monthly: And you honed your skills and you continued to evolve, as you mentioned, to where you are now.  So there was a seed planted back there a long time ago and it was the desire that you had to really professionalize the sound and to really express yourself from your heart, and I think when musicians look to their heart, the race is over.

DR:  Absolutely.

Jazz Monthly: The hard part’s over, it really is.

DR:  When you combine passion and heart and soul with hard work, the cream is gonna rise to the top.  I had a lot of tough years.  I went for 10 or 12 years with no notable success, just pounding the pavement, playing clubs every night, playing any gig I could do, and there, of course, were moments of frustration, but I was relentless about wanting to do this because I loved it so much. I wanted to let that love and passion that God gave me for music come through in the music, and I think anyone that can combine passion with hard work and be relentless about your passion, I think it’s gonna happen. I thank God that it did happen for me and I hope I can continue every time I do a record to bring that same kind of love and passion into the music.

Jazz Monthly:   Somehow I think you will, my friend, and there’s one other thing that really made all of this possible, is way back then you listened to your mom.

DR:  Good old mom. Yup…. She’s the best. Thanks for making me take those piano lessons mom!

Jazz Monthly: When she said she thought you guys ought to pursue music, you did.

DR:  Yeah.  Well, she was adamant about us kids learning piano and she even told us.  She said “You know what?  Just take piano for two years and if you don’t wanna do it anymore, you don’t have to.”  And so we did.  I took it for two years and at the end I stopped taking piano lessons, but then I never knew that I was gonna start again, and when I started again it really took off, and I can’t thank her enough for that.  And then the other component is outside of music. I have so many amazing people in my life.  My wife, my son, my parents, my brother and sister, my mother- and father-in-law—the support that I’ve gotten from all of them has been key.  It’s been instrumental.  Without the support of my wife, there’s no way I’d be doing this right now.  In the early years, she sacrificed a lot for me to do music full-time and thankfully now that has paid off, so I can’t even say enough how appreciative I am about that.

Jazz Monthly:   Yeah.  So now how can people get this great record?

DR:  Well, Once In A Lifetime is available in most stores like Circuit City, Best Buy, Borders—or you can also go online and visit iTunes and Amazon.com. There’s also previews you can check out on my website at www.darrenrahn.com and also the record label I’m signed to, www.thenugroove.com.  I’m really excited about this new relationship with NuGroove and David Chackler.

Jazz Monthly: The Chackster?

DR:  The Chackster, yup.  He brings such a wealth of experience and he’s such a good guy.  It’s been a very, very positive experience.  They’ve done a great job with this record and we’re really very close to releasing the new one, which is gonna be at a whole different level from my last record, so I’m just super excited about it, and there’s been a couple cool and interesting NuGroove situations going on lately.  I just did some work for a new group on the label called Dénaté,  a singer named Deborah Connors and keyboardist/producer Nate Harasim – both very talented.

Jazz Monthly:   Yeah.

DR:  Within the last couple weeks, actually, I’ve been invited to be the third member of the group.

Jazz Monthly:   Nice.

DR:  Yeah, I’m really excited about that. I produced and mixed their new radio single.  It’s a cover of the old Eurythmics tune “Sweet Dreams.”  My collaboration with them on that single led to me joining the group.

Jazz Monthly: Very nice, man.

DR:  Yeah, that’s going to radio I think next week already, so tons of things going on and I feel just fortunate to be a part of all of them and just grateful that I get to do what I love, my passion.

Jazz Monthly:   Very cool.  Well, Darren, I gotta tell you, man, I’m totally diggin’ the vibe and I’m really loving the record and can’t wait to hear the new one.  Just promise me you’ll come back and we’ll talk about the new one when you release that one.

DR:  Absolutely.  I’m gonna hold you to that, Smitty.

Jazz Monthly:   Hey man, I’m there.

DR:  Okay, cool.

Jazz Monthly:   Very cool.  Well, I want to congratulate you, man, on so many levels for so many things that you’re doing in the industry, because you are definitely making an impact.  I want you to know that because you are not only making records for yourself, but you’re also producing so many great musicians out there right now and you’re making them better than what they were before.  I mean, and that’s not taking anything away from who they are now, but you have added a very cool mix to what they’re doing and that’s a priceless thing, and that’s not an easy thing to do.

DR:  Well, thank you so much, Smitty.  I have to say I’m totally and completely humbled by that.  That’s my desire whenever I work with someone, whether it’s on my record or for someone else’s record.  My desire is just to let the natural kind of interaction and collaboration flourish and hopefully it’ll come out the other side being even more than it was to start with, so that’s a huge compliment and I really appreciate that.

Jazz Monthly:   Hey, it’s my pleasure, man, and I just want to say keep doing what you’re doing, keep your flava strong, and keep making great music, my friend.

DR:  I will and you too, Smitty.  Keep up the great job doing what you’re doing over on your side of things.

Jazz Monthly:   All right, man, I will and it’s always a pleasure to talk with you and it’s an honor to be a part of what you’re doing and I just look forward to more great things from you in the future. 

DR:  Thanks Smitty, the pleasure is all mine and the feeling’s totally mutual, my friend.

Jazz Monthly:  All right, we’ve been talking with NuGroove recording artist Mr. Darren Rahn.  His latest record is called Once In A Lifetime.  It is just saturated with the groove that we all love and appreciate.  Darren, thanks so much, man, and all the best to you with the new record coming out and everything else you’re doing in 2008 as we roll into 2009, my friend.

DR:  Great.  Thank you so much, Smitty.

Baldwin “Smitty” Smith

For More Information Visit www.darrenrahn.com and www.thenugroove.com

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