He Just got off the road with Russ Freeman and the Rippingtons and before that there were the gigs with longtime collaborator Chick Corea. Saxophonist Eric Marienthal first entered the Smooth Jazz world in 1988 with his "Voices of the Heart" CD, the first of seven albums on the GRP label. His new CD "Sweet Talk" on Russ Freeman's Peak Records is a collection of infectious, positive, toe tapping tunes. We talked with Marienthal via phone on October 9, 2003.

John Beaudin - Hi Eric, thanks for finding the time to do the interview.

Eric Marienthal - No problem, it's great to do this.

John - You know the first time I saw your name in print it was in a Los Angeles newspaper, might of been the L.A. Times. It was 1988 and they mentioned that the saxophone was going to be tops in the format and they mentioned Kenny G, Nelson Rangell and You.

Eric - (laughing) It shows how old I am.

John - I started playing "Voices of the Heart" back then thinking that the paper might be right.

Eric - (laughing) Well, thank you.

John - "All I Am" is my favorite song on there. It's a great drumming song so I love it but the way you go back and fourth on guitar really works for me. It's my favorite Smooth Jazz song right now.

Eric - Wow.

John - It's not the first single is it?

Eric - No, it's not.

John - Yeah, Smooth Jazz programmers stay away from the kick-ass tunes.

Eric - Yeah, I know.

John - I know your keyboardist Dave Kochanski wrote it. I've been on my kit trying to get the drum part down but Gene Lake who you used on that track is such a smooth, fluid player.

Eric - He's such a versatile guy and he's so much fun to watch. We recorded most of this record in New York and I'm glad we did because he's one of the guys who live out there and he's played with the Brecker Brothers and David Sanborn among others. He didn't need a whole lot of rehearsing (laughing) he got a hold of it and never let go. I'm glad you like that one. Yeah, Dave Kochanski wrote it and he was a long time keyboardist in the Rippingtons. Believe it or not that particular song was written for my last record and we just never got to it you know. It came a little late in the process but I'm just so glad that we kept it around so we could get to it this time.

John - One last thing about "All I Am." One day last week when I was driving to the radio station I was having a really rough day. An hour before I was trying to get something done on Photoshop and it just wasn't happening and in the car listening to that made me feel like going back to drumming lessons and just simply getting better. I love when music makes me want to just give everything else up.

Eric - (laughing) Yeah!

John - By the way, stop inspiring me. I got some work to do! (laughing).

Eric - (laughing) Sorry, it won't happen again.

John - So what's the deal with the Wave in L.A. being taken over by Saxophonists as hosts? Dave Koz has a show on there and so do you. How long have you been doing that?

Eric - Actually, for about a year and a half now. I think Dave is a little bit more involved than I am. (laughing) Our show is called "Saturday Afternoon Live" and I have a different guest artist each week. If I'm out on the road we just don't do the show but more often than not I'm around and so we do it. We've had the Rippingtons on and next week it's Phil Perry and Wyman Tisdale. The following week also on the way is Lee Ritenour and then Joyce Cooling.

John - You've got the "A" list crowd there, you're doing okay.

Eric - It's going good and we've really had a lot of fun because we have everyone on there such as Peter White, Rick Braun, Kirk Whalum and Craig Chaquico

John - The song "Secrets" from the new album kind of brought me back to early Contemporary Jazz of the seventies and eighties.

Eric - You know with that one the chorus just had hook filled chord changes which Jeff Lorber came up with. He and I as you know have been friends for a long time. He and I have collaborated on a lot of tunes. That was one that he played for me over the phone and it sounded good so we got together and worked on it and that one was a lot of fun. It was kind of a paint and canvas kind of thing where we came up with a little bit here and a little bit there. It's a fun tune it's one of my favorites on the record.

John - Jeff's name come up a lot on this site. I've talked to him for a feature here and I'm always pleased when people have nice things to say about him.

Eric - He was one of the guys that started this genre in my opinion He was out there doing fusion Jazz with his Jeff Lorber fusion. I was on the road with Chick Corea years ago and I was getting ready to do my fourth record and I was talking to John Pattituchi about whom to get together with and perhaps do something more contemporary and Jeff's name came up and I called him for the first time from Germany. He was very cool and very into it and he said, "Yeah, send me some tunes that you're working on." and that's how we got together. That was my fourth album and now I'm on my tenth so he and I have always worked on at least one tune together. He's not only an incredible musician but he's turned into a great friend also.

John - When I interviewed him I really appreciated his honesty.

Eric - Oh yeah, Jeff's a straight shooter. He'll tell you what he thinks good or bad which is great from a working standpoint because if you come up with something that's crap he'll let you know. So, you always know where you stand with Jeff that's for sure.

John - I like how on your website you mentioned that making an album is "kind of like having a new baby and showing it to people for the first time and hoping they don't think it's ugly!"(laughing)

Eric - Well, you know it's always like a mixed blessing. When you make records you've worked on and then it's finally finished and before anybody else hears it it's this baby and you've taken it to such a point where you've done all the recording on it , written all this music, played as well as you can and mastered it. So, you want people to hear it but then again you're afraid that people won't like it so it's a double edged sword. Having said that let me just say it's a great opportunity for me to make records.

John - Ok, I'm curious with "Voices for the Heart." For instance, can you listen to that album and be pleased?

Eric - Yeah, sure but it's been a little while since I've listened to that record though. (laughing) It is a record I'm proud of for sure. Most of that playing is live and it was a lot of fun to do. Chick Corea produced it but he really put a lot of the production on my shoulders and he let me make a lot of the decisions.

John - The first song that we've played from the new album here in Calgary is the title song that was co-written by you son Robert. He came up with that first right and then brought it to you?

Eric - Yeah, he actually did and it was an interesting story. I came home one day and he was playing this tune on his guitar and he was just working on the hook of the song. My wife Leanne heard it first and she said, "Go back in his room and check it out. He's playing this great little melody with a great set of changes." So, together we created this Smooth Jazz tune. I'm sure as a thirteen year old he didn't think that he'd be writing a Smooth Jazz tune but it was really neat.

John - That's really nice.

Eric - Yeah, it's a nice story because we took it from this little guitar riff and added little bits to it and it's a favorite on this album I have to say.

John - Was Robert ever a sax player?

Eric - No, he never was. Now he's fourteen so in high school playing guitar is it and playing saxophone and Jazz just isn't it but he does come to see me play quite a lot and now that we've written this tune together he and I have performed it on stage a few times. It's hilarious seeing this fourteen year old kid scared to death up there. (laughing).