Dwayne Kerr : The Inspired Funky Fluteman October
24, 2007 - If you attend a concert of the Neo-Soul
Diva Erykah Badu or listen to one of her CDs,
you have better watch out for one of her musicians,
who has recently come to light, Dwayne Kerr, an
extraordinary groovy flutist. Sax giant Kirk Whalum
said of his debut CD "Flutation" (2003)
that it was "melodic and inspired".
And the musician comes back with a second album,
"Higher Calling", a brilliant piece
of work. Let's get into Dwayne's world!
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Akbar
Nour : Hi Dwayne,
you have been touring with the Neo-Soul Diva
Erykah Badu for the last five years. I assume
that this amazing experience has forged your
groovy flute sound. Could you tell me more about
it?
Dwayne Kerr : Well, actually I've been
with Erykah now for 9 years. I would say that
I've always had a tendency to lean more towards
the R&B, Soul sound, but I think my experience
with Erykah has definitely given me a sophistication
and a maturity that I could've only aquired
through playing with Erykah. I've been exposed
to excellent musicians and producers over the
years while working on tours and recordings
with Erykah which has helped me to grow as a
musician and an artist! Not only that, Erykah's
music is very organic and approachable. What
I mean by that is Erykah's music comes from
the heart and meets you right where you are.
She doesn't try to go over the listeners head
instead she draws the listener in because the
music is real and heartfelt and not some contrived
formula musical production.
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Akbar : On your first album "Flutation",
you already blended jazz, R&B, soul and
funk styles. And you use the same successful
recipe with your latest great album "Higher
Calling", featuring guest Erykah Badu and
sax giant Kirk Whalum. What are the ingredients
of you recipe?
Dwayne : "Higher Calling" was more of a planned
out process than "Flutation". With
"Higher Calling" I was focusing more
on the grooves of the songs and vibe of the
overall project rather than my flute.My goal
was to create a funky CD with sophistication,
which would create a musical backdrop for me
to play over while appealing to the average
listener. I wasn't trying to make a flute CD
per say, just a CD that people would enjoy listening
to whether they listened to much flute or smoothjazz
before.
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Akbar : You seem also to be a kind of "musical
chameleon" (laughs!), with this amazing
cover of Herbie Hancock's "Chamelelon",
where you display your unique flute playing
and human beat box skills.
Dwayne : Oh yeah! "Chameleon", that's an
interesting story.I'd been working on the beatbox
sytle which incorporates beatbox, overblowing
(a flute technique) and humming into the flute
simultaneously.I wanted to somehow include the
beatbox style on "Higher Calling",
but I didn't know how I should go about it.Then
one day while I was praciting, the melody of
"Chameleon" just came to me. So I
started playing around with the idea trying
to figure out a way to do a loose interpretation,
where I could play enough of the melody so that
the listener would recognize the song yet do
something different enough where I could make
it my own and emphasize the beatbox sytle.
Akbar : This album
draws its title from a verse of the Bible. Could
you tell me more about this choice?
Dwayne : It comes from the book of Philippians.3:13,14
the chapter is talking about the High Calling
GOD has provided for mankind through Jesus Christ.
After thinking about it for awhile I decided
to name my CD "Higher Calling" as
my personal acknowledgement of GOD'S mercy to
us all.
Akbar : Now you
have embarked on a solo career. What are your
future musical projects? Do you intend to play
with Erykah again?
Dwayne : Right now I'm comitted to Higher Calling and
trying to get my music out there to the smoothjazz
world. Hopefully I will be able to do some shows,
maybe get added onto some jazz festivals in
2008.
I'll continue to play and record with Erykah
as long as l can.
Akbar : Dear Dwayne, thanks for your
time and all the best with Erykah and the promotion
of your album.
Akbar : You seem also to be a kind of "musical
chameleon" (laughs!), with this amazing
cover of Herbie Hancock's "Chamelelon",
where you display your unique flute playing
and human beat box skills. 
