By Dee Dee McNeil
June 1, 2026
Rickey Woodard admits he was a quiet, shy little boy who liked playing baseball, but he wasn’t much of a sportsman. Where he really came alive was when he played saxophone in his father’s family band.
“There were six of us. I’ve got two brothers and three sisters. When I was growing up in Tennessee it was segregated. We went to an all-black elementary school, then an all-black junior high school and an all-black high school. My dad got us started in music. He played the piano and the organ. When we went on the road, he took his organ. Both my brothers played saxophone. Ray played alto and tenor sax. My brother James played the alto sax. My sister Vicky played the electric bass. I had an uncle that played the drums. I had another cousin in the family, who lived with us. He played the saxophone too. So, it was a family band. There were a couple of times when some trumpet players in the neighborhood wanted to join the band. But my dad didn’t like trumpets. So, we had three or four saxophones up there on stage. We played Top 40 music, all the hit songs you heard on the radio, like Motown and Wilson Pickett,” Rickey told me about his early introduction to music.
This journalist remembered the days when Rock and Roll Shows were performed at the FOX Theater in Detroit. You could pay one entry fee to hear four or five of the top groups in concert. I heard Motown groups like Smokey Robinson and the Miracles on the same stage with The Royal Jokers, and Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers. Frankie Lymon was like the first teen idol before Michael Jackson. I shared my memories with Rickey Woodard.
“Yeah, George Bohanon used to tell me about those shows,” he recalled. “He was from Detroit too. In my father’s band we covered all those Motown hits.”
Before Rickey was even in his teens, he recalls listening to David ‘Fathead’ Newman on Ray Charles records. At home, his parents played a lot of Ray Charles. That’s when Ray had big hit records singing, “I Got a Woman, way cross town who’s good to me” and hits like “I Just Love Her So.”
I remembered. Back in Detroit, all my teenaged friends were dancing to “Drown In My Own Tears” and “Ain’t That Love?” released on the Atlantic Record label. Rickey Woodard’s parents were listening to Ray Charles too, in Nashville, Tennessee.
The whole world was being introduced to a merging of gospel music, jazz, and a twang of country/western music wrapped up, like a warm hug from the Ray Charles band. Rickey told me he was greatly influenced by Ray’s star saxophonist, David “Fathead” Newman. Although he was playing Top 40 gigs with his dad’s band, Rickey had a love and passion for jazz early on.
So, it was funny how Rickey Woodard wound up playing in the very Ray Charles band that he grew up listening to as a child. The video below pictures Rickey, front row with Ray Charles.
Ricky explained to me how he relocated to California. “I came out here the first time in 1975. I just got in my car and drove out here, ‘cause I wanted to check it out. I always wanted to play jazz. My dad had a lot of records, so we always listened to jazz at home, folks like Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Fletcher Henderson, my dad had all those records. At home I listened to jazz, but we played Top 40 in the band.
“So, I came out here, I was about twenty-five. I met a few people. My dad kept sending me money, but that third time I called him for cash, he told me, ‘I’m gonna send you this money so you can gas your car up and bring your butt home. (laughter) You know, Dee Dee, I met a lot of people when I was out here, a lot of musicians. People heard me play around town.
“So, I go home to Nashville. It just so happened, Ray Charles and his band were coming down to Memphis. One of the guys who was playing with Ray, I think it was the organist and pianist, James Polk who also conducted for Ray Charles, he might of recommended me. He told Ray I was in Nashville and that I was a good little player. I got the call to come down there to Memphis when one of their guys got sick and didn’t show up. I was so scared. I didn’t have any rehearsal or anything. I arrived and played that same night,” he explained.
“Afterwards, the band leader, Clifford Solomon told me, ‘Well, the old man likes you. He wants to know if you want to join the band and come out on the road with us?’
“He asked me how much time I needed to join them and I told him, I was ready to go right then. I had my suitcase and my saxophone. That’s all I needed. I was so excited I didn’t even ask how much the gig was paying.” (laughter) “My mom was happier and more excited than I was!” (more laughter).
“That’s amazing cause I know you said that horn player with Ray influenced you a lot,” I responded.
“Dee Dee, did you know Rudolph?” Rickey asked me.
“Sure. I knew Rudy Johnson. He played on my first album, ‘Where Can Our Leaders Be?’ He used to ride a motorcycle, right?”
“Yeah – he rode a motorcycle. He was a beautiful guy. When I was out here in California the first time, I took lessons from Rudy. I took lessons from him in 1975. So, between he and James Polk, that was the reason I got in the Ray Charles band,” Rickey told me.
Ray Charles was a mentor. Rickey admitted, at first he was over-playing on most of his solo efforts with Ray. He just wanted to be his best and to impress Ray. One rehearsal, Ray Charles called him over to the side.
“He called me ‘New Boy’,” Rickey remembered the nickname Ray gave him. “He said ‘New Boy,’ when we get to the solo part on that, and it’s a ballad, I want you to just take your time on that and play it slow and just talk it out to me. I told him I had been trying to give each song everything I had. But he said, No! Just talk it out to me. By listening to Ray Charles every night and how he could sing a ballad and lay the beat back, I learned what he was talking about. He didn’t criticize me on the up-tempo tunes, but when I played solo on a ballad, he gave me advice and counsel,” Rickey said during a Graham Dechter interview.
Woodard took that advice from ‘the genius’ to heart. He worked with him for over eight years. Other influences were Stanley Turrentine, Hank Mobley, and Dexter Gordon. Listening to them made Rickey want to play long tones and master his technique.
There were plenty of places I used to enjoy hearing Rickey Woodard play. One of them was in San Diego with the Jimmy and Jeannie Cheatham band. When they weren’t touring, the Cheatham’s had a Sunday afternoon jam session at the popular Bahia Hotel in Mission Bay, San Diego. In fact, that jam session helped break the color stigma for that exclusive hotel. It promoted a mixed crowd that came to hear the jazz, no matter what color the musicians were.
“Yeah – I was in that band with Curtis Peagler, Nolan Shaheed, Clora Bryant, Dinky Morris and I cut a couple of records with them too. That was the Sweet Baby Blues Band. For Concord records we recorded “Basket Full of Blues” in 1991. We followed up with “Blues and the Boogie Masters.”
I first was introduced to the great talents of Rickey Woodard through saxophone icon, Charles Owens. Dwight Dickerson (pianist) and I opened the first jazz club in downtown Auckland, New Zealand. It was 1983 when we featured our premiere American guest, none other than tenor saxophonist, Rickey Woodward.
During that 3-month gig, Rickey told me he experienced one of the oddest things that ever happened to him on the road.
“Dwight Dickerson and I were on the bus, coming back to the house from a rehearsal, when all of a sudden the bus started rolling to a stop. It pulled over to the sidewalk curb with no bus stop in sight. We wondered what was going on. The driver swiveled in his seat and spoke to the bus riders,” Ricky explained.
“Looks like we’re out of gas folks, and there are no more busses running. You’ll have to make other arrangements.”
“Well, Dwight and I looked at each other in shock. A bus running out of gas was unheard of in America. We were laughing when we exited that New Zealand bus with a stream of other passengers. Dwight and I both loved to walk, so we started doing just that. We laughed, walked and talked all the way back to our beach town residence. That was something I had never experienced before or since,” Rickey laughed as he told me that strange story.
Coming off that international tour, I’m proud to say that was the first time Ricky Woodard was featured as “the star” of a major jazz performance overseas. Once he returned to California, it was time to settle back into the local jazz scene and find a gig.
“My gig touring with Ray Charles continued. I had met Jeff Clayton when I first came out to California in 1975. We became good friends. People knew I had been out on the road with Ray for a while, but I couldn’t do it anymore. It was a little too much for me. Jeff and I kept in touch over the years. So, Jeff knew the Frank Capp band needed a saxophone player. Jeff recommended me to Frank Capp. They were playing somewhere and Frank called me and gave me the third degree.
“Frank had a bunch of questions. He wanted to know how long I’d been playing? Do you know Count Basie’s music? I said yeah, I came up on Count Basie. He was trying to see if I could read the charts or if knew big band music. Oh, he was real skeptical. Finally, he invited me to do a one-nighter. So, I played that first gig with him. After that, I was part of his band. I recorded three albums with Frank Capp. I did two small group records with him. One was called, The Frank Capp Trio Presents Rickey Woodard on Concord Records,” Rickey told me.
In 1991, Rickey released “California Cooking!” featuring his old friend from the New Zealand gig, Dwight Dickerson on piano, bassist Tony Dumas and Harold Mason on drums.
These album releases were followed by “Night Mist” featuring Eric Reed on piano, Dumas on bass and Roy McCurdy on drums. In 1992, Woodard released “The Tokyo Express” featuring James Williams, Christian McBride and Joe Chambers. In 1994, On the Concord label he released “Yazoo” this time featuring Cedar Walton on piano, Jeff Littleton on bass, Ralph Penland manning the trap drums and trumpeter Ray Brown.
The good music just kept coming. One unexpected opportunity surprised Rickey. He was contracted to do a gig with Frank Sinatra at the Beverly Hilton Hotel. At the time, that was a building owned by Merv Griffin and known for hosting various high-profile events.
“I played with him at the Beverly Hilton. Funny thing, he just kind of took a liking to me. At the Beverly Hilton, he had these guys, like bodyguards around him. They wouldn’t let anyone come near him. We were doing soundcheck rehearsal and nobody was there from the public. So, on a break, I walked over closer to Frank Sinatra, smiling my best smile, hoping to get a chat with the famous singer. Those guys around him stopped me. That’s when Frank said, it’s alright. It’s alright. He let me walk up to him. I introduced myself, told him what I played and how happy I was to be working with him. Some small talk followed. But I could tell, Frank took a liking to me. After that, he took me with him on a few gigs he had up North.
“The other great experience I had was playing with Ella Fitzgerald. We did the Hollywood Bowl and then we did something in the desert and something up by Oxnard, California. At the Hollywood Bowl, something weird happened. After she finished her set, I noticed that the Master of Ceremonies didn’t take to the microphone to introduce her as she exited. I was so upset by that lack of respect for this great lady’s performance that before she completely left the stage, I ran up to the microphone and shouted, Ladies and Gentlemen, the great Ella Fitzgerald!
“Ella paused during her exit, turned to look at me, and blew me a kiss. Wow! That’s a moment I’ll never forget! There were those three icons who really made an impression on my life: Ray Charles, Frank Sinatra and Ella Fitzgerald,” Rickey affirmed.
Meantime, the music kept pouring out of Rickey and finding its way to the ears of the people. In 1995, Concord records released “Quality Time: Frank Capp Quartet Featuring Rickey Woodard.” They also released in 1996, “The Silver Strut” with Rickey as the leader. Then “The Tenor Trio in 1997, with Rickey, Ernie Watts, Pete Chrislieb, Gerry Wiggins, Chuck Berghofer and Frank Capp.
From 1989 to 2014, Rickey recorded a dozen albums with the Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra. During those sessions, he interacted with some of the most gifted and talented musicians on the planet. He played with Ernestine Anderson, Milt Jackson, Diana Krall, John Pizzarelli, Charles Aznavour, Trijntje Oosterhuis, Ernie Andrews, and Barbara Morrison to just list a few.
There is one thing about Rickey Woodard’s tone and presentation that has always reminded me of the great Gene Ammons, one of my favorite saxophonists on the planet. I shared that with Rickey.
“Dee Dee, Gene Ammons is one of my favorite players. I love Gene Ammons. Charlie O and I both love Gene Ammons. He’s one of those players who just has that sound. He can just walk into your front room, take his horn out, and have a conversation with you.”
Another icon that Rickey Woodard toured with and recorded with was the legendary Horace Silver. I asked him what it was like playing with Horace.
“I did about two or three records with Horace. I went on tour with him. I think he came to one of my gigs and asked me to come attend one of his rehearsals. I went. Afterwards, he asked me to come on tour with him. We went on-the-road, and I recorded a couple of records with him. Red Holloway was on one of those albums along with James Moody, Eddie Harris, Bob Maize on bass and Carl Burnett on drums. O.C. Smith was on vocals. They released that record in 1994 called ‘Pencil Packin’ Papa.’”
That same year Rickey was on the session for the Kenny Rogers album “Timepiece” as a sideman. It was a studio session, where they handed the musicians their charts and cut the tunes. But Rickey recalled a tour where Rogers and Ray Charles performed in concert on a double bill. The two super stars appeared on several TV shows like the Dinah Shore Show in 1979, where they sang together, and Ray appeared on “A Special Kenny Rogers” TV taped tribute.
By now, Woodard was a popular, in-demand reed player. He appeared on the Fujitsu Concord 26th Jazz Festival. They recorded it and released “Seven Sensational Saxophones” on an album that included Rickey Woodard, Frank Wess, Bill Ramsay, Chris Potter, Ken Peplowski, Gary Foster and Jesse Davis. Rickey went on to back Nnenna Freelon on her 1996 album “Shaking Free.” I’m honored to say he played with me on my “Storyteller” album released in 2014.
Rickey Woodard’s current album is another feather in the cap of this master musician, composer and popular artist.
“My newest album is called “You Gotta Shake It.” I got that title from a little song that Horace Silver did called,“You Gotta Shake that Thing.” I liked the song, so I just named my album “You Gotta Shake It” and we put Horace’s song on the record. I wrote about four or five of the tunes on the album. I’ve written so many songs, well over 400 compositions. John Clayton is on this record with me. He wrote one of the songs. … We recorded a Horace Silver song and a couple of Hank Mobley tunes. We actually recorded this album about three years ago, but in the last couple of months they released it.
“All these years in the music business have always been good to me, because I’ve got my horn. I can sit here and write my songs and play my music. I just love to play! To this day, I still take my horn out every day and I play it,” Rickey affirmed.
I know he’s telling the truth because years ago, when he joined me and Dwight Dickerson in Auckland, New Zealand, we all lived in the same rented house a block from the ocean. The house had a Mother-in-Law apartment attached with its own entrance. We used that space to house our guest musicians. Every morning, Rickey’s beautiful tenor saxophone songs would start my day. He would practice for about three straight hours, non-stop and with gusto!
Woodard’s dedication to his craft, his axe, his career, and his emotional attachment to his horn continues today. He shares his love of music with his doting audiences. He’s passionate and sincere with every breath he takes to play his tenor saxophone.
Rickey Woodard is another Southern California living legend who continues to share his love and appetite for jazz, blowing it like celebratory confetti from the bell of his horn.
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Pictured above is David Leach, Kye Palmer, Larry Nash, Angie Wells, Yvette Devereaux, Paul Kreibich, Rickey Woodard and Richard Simon at a Los Angeles gig with bandleader Nash.
Jazz will abound and will be very much alive on the Los Angeles Coast for the inaugural SANTA MONICA INTERNATIONAL JAZZ FESTIVAL. It coincides with the 100th birthday of the historic Route 66, which ends in the city of Santa Monica. Curating the major jazz event is none other than the legendary bassist, multi Grammy-winner, NEA Jazz Master and now Artistic Director/Producer, Stanley Clarke. He’ll be included in the lineup for two of the festival’s four concerts that start on May 1st with keyboard wizard Hiromi at the downtown Los Angeles Orpheum Theatre.
The Artistic Director assembled other colleagues such as cosmic saxophonist Kamasi Washington to headline on May 9th at Tongva Park, along with his group, consisting of longtime friend, former Police drummer, Stewart Copeland, hip-hop/jazz/electronica pianist Kiefer and dreamy trumpeter/vocalist Keyon Harrold. Electronic/funk KNOWER (full band show), fusion ensemble Miles Electric Band, and composer/song writer Sam Smylie will also be on the lineup that day.
The day before, May 8th at the Broad Stage, SMIJ will present a tribute to John Coltrane, commemorating his centennial. It will feature fast ascending saxophonists Isaiah Collier and Lakecia Benjamin, along with Tenor Madness. That group comprises legacy players: Hubert Laws, Marvin “Smitty Smith, Eric Reed, Aaron Shaw, Emilio Modeste and Clarke. Additionally, on May 3rd SMIJS will host a free concert on the Third St. Promenade, encompassing Elijah Fox, Genevieve Artadi, Duffy XUhlmann, Billy Mohler, Instant Alter, Varad Sahasrabudhe, Aidan Farrell and the Samohi Jazz Combo.
“It’s going to be fun,” Clarke commented by phone from his home, “music is interesting and kind of a spiritual part of me.” The legendary bassist has lived in neighboring Topanga Canyon for about 30 years and made his first appearance at the Santa Monica College adjacent Broad Stage in 2017. It was founded and sponsored initially by super philanthropists and art patrons, Eli and Edythe Broad, and opened in 2008. Remarkably, the venue’s artistic team immediately bonded with the extraordinary bassist and local resident, and claimed him as their own.
That was the beginning of the astounding relationship between them, and Clarke performed there biennially. In 2023, he began a three-year residency that involved teaching (one of his biggest loves) and working with Santa Monica College and Santa Monica High School students. They took a giant leap in 2024, by producing The Future Sounds of Jazz one-day festival. It included appealing up-and-coming artists such as, Cameron Graves, Connie Han, Ruslan Sirota, Jahari Stampley, Judith Hill, Gretchen Parlato with Gerald Clayton, and THE GEMINI PROJECT with Isaiah Collier and Jeremiah Collier. Additionally, the mega-bassist performed with the SMC Jazz Combo and Jazz Residency Students from Santa Monica High School.
Rob Bailis, Artistic and Executive Director of the Broad Stage assessed, “That went incredibly well. We learned a tremendous amount from that pilot and the thing we took away from it was the end of night jam with Stanley anchoring. That’s when we completely saw the magic and vibe of what was completely different about doing festival work [compared to a concert].”
The mega bassist responded, “It was really nice and touching to see these kids do their thing. I told them (the creative team), I will do this for you, but on the third year, you’ve got to go bigger—off campus.” That was a confluence of thoughts for Clarke, because he had strolled around the Third Street Promenade and Santa Monica pier area. After dining and/or shopping many times there with his wife, he would say to her, “This reminds me of Nice, France. I can’t understand why they’ve never had a festival here.”
Clarke proposed putting on a big festival that “wasn’t too big or small” to the Broad Stage Board and Creative Team. It would be in the style of European jazz festivals, whereby the city, neighbors, tourists and people who never been to a jazz festival would get involved. Bailis noted, “When Stanley joined us as an Artist-in-Residence, he shared with us this vision he had been dreaming of for many years. He also wanted build it in the context of the arriving generation receiving their cultural inheritance in full.”
Remarkably, there has never been a full-fledged jazz festival held in Santa Monica, a destination known for being picturesque, casual, having accessible beaches, fine dining, and its’ popular Promenade and historic pier. The closest thing to one was Jazz at Santa Monica Civic ’72, which included a historic box set, initially only sold through mail order until 1991, when it became available in record stores as a three-disc set. It encompassed icons: Ella Fitzgerald, The Count Basie Orchestra, Oscar Peterson and many others. Additionally, Santa Monica has had several summer concert series such as, Jazz on the Lawn and The Santa Monica Pier hosts Jazz Night, along with short-lived clubs The Ash Grove on the Pier and The Vic.
Unlike those previous efforts, The Santa Monical International Jazz Festival’s main objective includes attracting younger audiences and families. In that regard, Clarke stressed that early in the day when the festival shows first open up, (except the Orpheum) “we’re going to have high school bands and soloists who are taking a shot at becoming professional musicians, and we hope people will bring their kids. I would love to see people from Santa Monica, LA, Compton or wherever to take a drive over. There’s going to be lots of food, [music, kid stuff and good times]—it’s a real, real festival and it’s for them.”
Bailis added that Clarke’s involvement ensures that the artistic caliber of the festival will be high. Also, it has three producing groups, the Broad Stage, City of Santa Monica and SM Productions (Clarke and Martin Fleischmann). Bailis, closed saying, “The City is 100 percent behind the festival and coming in as a full partner by offering the Third Street Promenade (between Arizona and Santa Monica Blvd.) and Tongva Park, which will be sealed off as a ticketed location. This is really an amazing gift they’re giving us to keep the venues safe and everyone as comfortable as possible.” For more info go: www.smjazzfest.com, stanleyclarke.com/ and broadstage.org.
By Dee Dee McNeil
On March 16th, a warm California Sunday evening, I attended the concert of KEM. What a riveting and exciting experience.
Kim Lamont Owens is a soulful singer, an artist simply known as “KEM.” His voice and music cross borders and genres. He’s often classified as an R&B soul singer, but his style and songwriting could easily be interpreted as smooth jazz.
KEM’s roots are planted deeply in today’s USA music capital of Nashville, Tennessee. He was born there. However, KEM moved to Detroit, Michigan (another music capital of the world) at five years old. There, he was raised in both Southfield, Michigan and in the city of Pontiac, just outside of Detroit.
KEM’s first gold record was his debut album as an artist, called “Kemistry.” He sponsored the recording himself by working as a wedding band singer, waiting tables, and using his American Express card.
As an independent artist, KEM’s music was so unique and infectious, it received plenty of attention and airplay. People loved his sound. Consequently, the resulting popularity teased Motown Records. Here was an independent artist who could make the ladies swoon like Marvin Gaye, but also had a jazzy edge, a tone similar to Al Jarreau. Motown wanted him on their label.
When Motown re-released his debut album, it sold more than 500,000 copies and was quickly certified Gold by the RIAA. But that was just the beginning.
His next release hit the airwaves in May of 2005. It was certified Platinum. You may remember his hit single, “I Can’t Stop Loving You” that rose up the adult contemporary radio charts. It was so popular, he won the Billboard Music Award for “Top Adult R&B Single of the Year.”
This unique artist has continued to write and record music, while gaining international notoriety. In 2026, he continues his legacy with a brand-new album titled “Alkemy.” When I heard that KEM would be performing at the Los Angeles Blue Note Club, I was excited to see him “live” in a small club venue. I find these intimate settings to be much more conducive to experiencing an artist than the large arenas, especially when it comes to jazz.
Photo © by Maricea Muhammad
The BlueNote Los Angeles holds 200 people. It was sold out. We arrived half an hour early and almost all the seats were full. A deep, navy blue hue hung over the excitement in the room. Because of the intimacy of the club, there were no bad seats. KEM’s quartet took to the stage. Then, the artist appeared. He looked amazing in a three-button dress suit, (a single button in the middle and two beneath it on either side of the jacket). The vocalist looked stylish and cool when he entered the room from a backstage door. His butter-smooth voice melted over the expectant crowd as he opened his show with, “You’re On My Mind.” KEM immediately captivated the crowd.
On stage, the silky-smooth vocalist made his audience feel comfortable. He spoke to us as though we were old friends or family. The singer and composer shared a story about meeting his mentor, Al Jarreau. He told us the KEMestry LP had just been recorded. To make ends meet, he was waiting tables at the Ritz Carlton hotel in Detroit, Michigan. That’s when he heard that George Duke, Roberta Flack and the artist he admired, none other than Al Jarreau, would be performing at that hotel. He had a couple of copies of his still unreleased (but pressed up) independent album with him. His plan was to meet and greet George Duke and Al Jarreau, and to give each one a copy of his newly recorded music.
As fate would have it, KEM spotted Al Jarreau standing in a quiet part of the hotel, smoking a cigarette. Hesitant but determined, he approached Jarreau. They shared a conversation. Al was warm and receptive. Before KEM could tell Al that he was a singer and had a debut project that would soon be released, Al began to tell him a story about how a tune he had recorded called “Blue in Green” developed from a relationship between the iconic pianist and composer, Bill Evans and jazz legend Miles Davis. The stories that Al Jarreau shared captivated the younger artist. KEM was stunned and happy about meeting his inspiration and impressed with how laid-back and cool the superstar had been. He even forgot all about giving Jarreau a copy of his new album.
The next time KEM ran into Al Jarreau was when he opened for Jarreau at the Long Beach Jazz Festival. It was like reuniting with an old friend. Al Jarreau embraced KEM and remembered him. They shared another conversation. This time Al Jarreau suggested that he and KEM record an album together. He said they should call it “AlKEMy,” a combination of their names, their original music, and a blend of their voices. Sadly, the world lost Al Jarreau on February 12, 2017. But the dream KEM had of recording with his vocal mentor lived on.
Nearly a decade later, this dream album is coming to fruition. When KEM met with Robert Glasper, a Grammy winner, an in-demand record producer, pianist, songwriter and musical arranger, Glasper suggested they re-arrange KEM’s trademark hit records “Love Calls” and “I Can’t Stop Loving You.”
KEM gave Glasper free range as his producer for this Motown project. He performed it for us during his BlueNote performance. Another beautiful song from this new album was “In My Dreams.” It had a rich, lovely melody.
KEM performing at BlueNote with bassist, Al Turner and Ron Otis on drums. Photo © by Maricea Muhammad
All those wonderful background voices you hear on record were played on the synthesizer by Demetrius Nabors, KEM’s talented pianist and keyboard master A sweet saxophone solo opened the next tune “I Think About Us” played by Jamal Mitchell.
The crowd reacted to each and every song, shouting encouragement and pleasure from the audience. Their voices raised in appreciation when he began singing “How Did You Find Your Way Back Into My Life.” During the instrumental break, KEM left the stage and walked comfortably through the audience, finding couples and challenging various men to sing the line “…back in my life…” The audience loved it and so did the spouses who were being sung to.
KEM talked about feeling gratitude and empathy. Those emotions thread their way through his musical productions. He chuckles when he tells the attentive crowd that he had wanted a record deal for years. Finally, at age thirty-five, he was offered one. It came after paying years of dues. But he admits, it was the perfect time. By then, he was at an age when he could really appreciate success.
The other thing that completed his circle of life was love. He met and married his current wife. Together, he told us, they completed their family with eight children.
In tribute to Al Jarreau and the project they had talked about doing, KEM includes some of Al’s original music during his ‘set.’ One of Jarreau’s huge hit records was “We’re In This Love Together.” It was a crowd-pleaser. Everyone started singing along with KEM.
Ron Otis was dynamic on drums all night, punching the rhythm and instigating the funky grooves. Randy Bowen was super talented on guitar, adding strength to the tight rhythm section. Al Turner added his magic, locking hands with the drummer, playing both electric and double bass, with Demetrius Nabors on keyboards. KEM’s band was fire!
This talented artist offered us his whole heart and soul during the performance. KEM will be touring worldwide to promote this new album. When he comes to your city, try to catch him ‘live.’ It’s a wonderful experience.
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