Ronny talks about his own favorite Ronny Jordan track, the impact of his music on Acid Jazz and Smooth Jazz, and shares some stories about George Benson.
Ronny Jordan Interview
Alan Bryson: I think of Charlie Christian and Wes Montgomery as iconic figures in jazz guitar, and if I'm not mistaken, Wes was the first guy who had something that the horn players didn't have, in that he had a multi-string approach to soloing.
Ronny Jordan: It was really Charlie Christian when you think about it. Once the electric guitar was in his hands, people started to notice the jazz guitar, and Wes came and kind of took it to another level. But make no mistake, it started with Charlie Christian. Wes and Grant Green studied Charlie Christian and they took it to another level.
And of course George Benson came along and he went even further. My thing when coming onto the scene was not to repeat what those guys did, but to keep that spirit, and use a modern vein, with hip hop, to bring jazz back to the street. You know, make it fun again.
Alan Bryson: Ronny, just how popular were to albums like the The Antidote and Quiet Revolution?
Ronny Jordan: Huge, just huge.
Alan Bryson: They were like in pop territory right?
Ronny Jordan: Yes, they crossed over. I didn't go overboard with the improvisation, I didn't want to alienate the listeners. Basically I wanted to spoon feed them, because a lot of them were young people. And those young people who were buying The Antidote and Quiet Revolution, it was their first introduction to jazz. Then they started getting into Miles Davis and Wes Montgomery, so yes those albums were very popular, they got into the charts.
Alan Bryson: If someone asked me my favorite Ronny Jordan track, I would have a tough time answering. Do you have a favorite?
Ronny Jordan: My favorite would have to be After Hours, and I'll tell you why. It wasn't supposed to make the album. I had the final list, and one day we were at a session and the melody was in my head and it had to come out. I had to lay it down. So I said, let's just lay it down for the hell of it, and let the chips fall where they may. So we laid the beats, we laid the chords and I laid the melody. And we were looking at each other, and we were both like – wow!
So the record company guy came by, and he heard it and he was floored. We all agreed that it had to be on the album. So they asked me what the title was, and I said After Hours because one night I was going home and I just couldn't get it out of my head. It was late, the early morning hours, I love night time because that's when my creative juices get going.
After Hours from the album The Antidote -- Ronny Jordan
After Hours broke here in America, the album The Antidote was highly influential on the Acid Jazz front, and the track After Hours was influential in smooth jazz, so that album did two things all at one time. I was surprised, because I thought So What was going to be the track that would launch me in the US, but it wasn't, it was After Hours. At that time on smooth jazz radio all you were hearing was saxophone, Kenny G, Grover Washington, Gerald Albright and guys like that, and if you were hearing any guitar it was George Benson's Breezin, or some Larry Carlton, Lee Ritenour, you might even hear Wes Montgomergy's “Bumpin' on Sunset.” You had much more sax records than guitars, but I'll tell you, once After Hours came out, it revolutionized radio. It put the guitar right back on top.
Then you started to hear a lot of guitarists trying to sound like me. It's funny because my style is influenced by Wes Montgomery, no question, and I'm not calling any names, but you'd hear some rock guitarists who were putting their distortion pedals down, buying a Gibson L-5 and trying to sound like Wes Montgomery. (Cracking up) It was funny.
George Benson is like an uncle to me, a big brother uncle. We would go out for drinks, or go out to dinner, or hang out at the house. Once we were driving and we were listening to the radio and we were laughing because we were hearing guys who were trying to sound like me. (Laughing) And George said, “Check it out, this guy is tryin' to sound like Ronny Jordan!”
Alan Bryson: What has always impressed me with your music is that you are like Miles Davis, not in terms of notes and melodies, but you are able to paint a mood with music.
Ronny Jordan: Miles was always a major influence in terms of that, and the concept of “less is more.” So I'm not a singer, and doing instrumental music I am trying to communicate in clear precise terms, so people can understand exactly where I'm coming from. So singing will always be the ultimate, so when Celine Dion sings, my heart will go on. Or the McCartney's' “Yesterday” or “Hey Jude” or John Lennon's “Imagine” – you understand every line.
So I'm trying to make the melody as strong as possible and memorable. A fan told me the other day, “Ronny your music is timeless.” I take great pride in that, and I like to think of my music as timeless. Someone wrote and said he couldn't believe The Antidote is over 20 years old, because it still sounds fresh today. In a way, it was really ahead of its time, you know the break beat thing was so popular, and it's revolutionized the music world. Hip hop used to be an underground thing, now it's in the mainstream.
A nice tribute to Ronny Jordan. After Hours done a few months after his passing.
If you are a Ronny Jordan fan, you can listen the remaining 45 minutes of the interview on my site, here's the link
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