Smooth Jazz Now.com :

Guitarist Steve Oliver can't really remember a time when music wasn't part of his life. Having picked up the guitar at an early age Oliver a self professed "songwriting-aholic" has a few new tunes in his head at all times. His latest success is "Positive Energy" his second album featuring the big Smooth Jazz hit "High Noon." Combining striking guitar riffs and his unforgettable vocalize style the song has been one of the biggest hits for the format this year. We chatted with Oliver via phone from his home in California on July 31, 2003.

John Beaudin - Hi Steve, how are you?

John - You know you're a big star here in Calgary. "High Noon" is our biggest instrumental song.

John - Yeah, here in Calgary guitar music is more popular than Sax and in Calgary you're it.

John - Things are really moving for you and this second album really took off when you recorded it. Did you have any idea that it would connect so well?

Steve - Well, you know I was hoping (laughing) with each project you just got to give it your best shot and I was really crossing my fingers. I really loved the material on it. I wanted it to be an upbeat album that's why I called it "Positive Energy."

John - You know it does the cheapest, easiest segue for an announcer. We play "High Noon" and say its lively and positive hence the title of the album.

John - When I heard the album for the first time I was thinking there's no way this guy was depressed in the studio.

Steve - (Laughing) Not at all. I never am really. I'm always upbeat and feel good anyway, so it's kind of my personality.

John - You played with a lot of big Smooth Jazz names before we knew you as a front guy. People like Rick Braun, Peter White, Marc Antoine, Everette Harp and Larry Carlton.

Steve - The first guy I hooked up with was Steve Reid. I kind of met everybody through Steve because I was playing and writing music for him. We did this tour called Jazzatopia and I was in the group Bamboo Forest at the time with Steve Reid and we were the backup band for Everette Harp. There was Marc Antoine in there so I ended up touring with all these guys and I think that was in 1996-97. From there I started playing with everybody and started playing with different people and I was still doing my thing at the same time so it was all great.

John - I would think you and Marc Antoine would have the same fans, you're both guitarists and you definitely have a similar style that's very positive.

Steve - Absolutely, I love Marc. I really love his music he's great. He's from France and he's very European so he has a lot of European influence which I totally dig. He brings in that World music vibe.

John - I think that whole Latin flavor really mixes up Smooth Jazz in a good way. Sometimes the format sounds a bit stale. I really like it when the format had a little New Age in the mix also.

John - I know you're a Chris Botti fan he seems to have a New Age feel in his music. His Christmas album for instance is mostly Smooth Jazz of course but it has nice elements of New Age music. Some of the songs are so beautiful and moody.

Steve - Yes, absolutely. On my next album that's what I'm going to try to do nice cool moody pieces and my first thought was I have to get Chris on this.

Steve - Yeah, I've done a couple of things. He sat in with my band a couple of times. Chris is great. We played together on the same stage in San Diego. We're going to try to get him on my next project. He's a good friend he's really turned into a good friend over the years. He's a real music guy and that's what I like. He loves it. He eats, sleeps, breaths music just like me so I love that.

John - What's the timeline on the new album? Do you have any songs written for it?

Steve - Yeah. I'm a songwriting-aholic. In fact, I'm writing more stuff right now. I have hundreds of tunes both lyric and instrumental. Right now it's just a matter of choosing and going through them. I like variety on albums so that's what I go for. I always say, "Hey lets do a Latin tune here or maybe an artsy tune." I like something with Latin, World, Samba, maybe a little R&B. I like to spread it out musically.

John - I like it when an artist ventures out. My favorite example of that is always Bruce Hornsby. I love that he reinvents himself but I've been following him for so long I can usually pick him out of a crowd even though it can sound completely different.

Steve - That's great. That's why I do the vocalize thing (starts harmonizing to "High Noon") adding the vocals there and it separates the sound from an instrumentalist.

John - I know you like Bobby McFerrin so you're a fan of that vocal stretching. I love when Pat Metheny does it since it really adds another layer. He sometimes has a Canadian back up vocalist David Blamires. I think it adds a refreshing layer to the tune.

Steve - Oh big time. That's what I love about Pat. It adds a whole other dimension. It's using the voice as an instrument instead of just using it in the usual way it's the big part of the sound.

John - Are you familiar with Bobby McFerrin's "Circlesongs?"

John - When I meet a true music fan who doesn't like that album it makes me scratch my head.

Steve - Oh Yeah. Another album that is great by him is "Bang Zoom."

John - I've got that one. I actually programmed three tracks from it on my Vancouver Smooth Jazz show Night-Lite.

Steve - The album is basically a combination of the Yellowjackets on the whole album. That's why I got Will Kennedy to play on "Positive Energy" and I asked him about that album because I just love it. The album is a band thing along with Bobby's voice. I like that approach which is similar to my approach of using the voice but with the nylon guitar vibe and the electric guitar too but I really love the combination of those two sounds.

John - Will there be more vocal tracks on the next album? Your two vocal tracks, "Show You Love" and "Come on Home" sound just like hit singles.

Steve - We'll probably do three. I love writing lyric tunes. I don't want to do a whole vocal album because it might throw things away. We have to tread on thin ice because of the Smooth Jazz thing because they will not play new vocal tracks from new artists.

John - That's sad about the format. Don't get me started on that. Let's get back to the album. I like the way you segue "Days End" and "Horizon" on the album.

Steve - It was actually a sunset vibe. The sunset was coming down here in California so it was a musical visual. That's how it works with me it's always a lot of visuals. I think of things and I hear a song. Steve Reid who played percussion on most of the album said that's one of his favorite tunes that he's ever played percussion on.

Steve - Yes, we engineered it and we mixed it together at his studio where he's recorded so many people. All the Rippingtons earlier stuff was done there like "Tourist in Paradise" and "Weekend in Monaco." Steve mixed those albums.

John - It sounds like you have a great relationship with Steve Reid. He's really made a difference in your life.

Steve - (Laughing) Well its funny my wife knew Steve before I knew him. The person who actually introduced us was Marc Antoine and now we've been married for five and a half years.

Steve - It is, it's real separated and it's the one format that you can still kind of be creative in, with the other formats it's controlled. They don't want you writing your own tunes, it's a formula you have to use these songs, this producer. There isn't the control in Pop or Rock as much as there used to be.

John - And here you are a relatively new musician producing your own music. I say this all the time in some segment of pop it's hard to find virtuosity.

Steve - Yeah, exactly and I think that's what's being missed. I've been sensing a lot of people turning towards the

Smooth Jazz format because everything is kind of trendy so I think people want to hear substance not just glitz and glamour thrown in your face. That's music? I think people want to feel music again and I think it's really missing. I think that's what this format really offers because it has more substance and more vibe and you can still be creative in it. I love it.

John - He was basically saying he doesn't like it at all. He said "It has no huevos, no vitality or vibrancy." I wonder how much of the stuff he's heard because some Smooth Jazz can knock your socks off.

Steve - Oh yeah, exactly and especially in the live sense because when I perform live it ain't smooth (Laughing). People are at the show having a great time, they're really listening and they're dancing because you can dance to this music. It's very uplifting and the fans are just awesome.

Steve - It's the same as Country music in that way. The fans will buy your album when you come out with a new one regardless if they've heard it.

Steve - Yes definitely. It's great because I encourage them to bring their kids and I've been seeing a lot of people bringing their kids. It's one place they can go where there aren't any problems at the show.It's still hip music. It's not like it's boring at all interestingly when kids hear the word Jazz they get totally turned off. When they hear it live though their interpretation completely changes. When I'm signing CD's after the show kids will come up and I'm really surprised and they'll comment "This is the first Jazz concert I've ever been to and it's been great, a lot of fun and my friends loved it."

John - That say's a lot about your music. If you look at airplay in Canada at least both the younger and older folks love you. Hey, I've listened to "Positive Energy" a zillion times and I still love it. (Laughing)

John - Let's talk about the Vocalize thing. How did the singing evolve, were you always a singer?

Steve - I've always been a singer. I was a singer before I played guitar basically as a kid, you know it was just part of me. A lot of times when I was rehearsing in bands in high school and intermediate schools I would always sing the parts to the other musicians. (he starts singing) I would sing the bass lines or the rhythms. So yeah, I would just sing the parts to convey the idea. It just seemed so natural to do and it just developed into this sort of sound. I started realizing instead of using a sax player I'll just sing the section where the sax should be. It's just using the voice as an instrument instead of saying, "Hey lets get a horn section or a sax." It started as a young kid and I just developed it over time and one day it just hit. I thought lets use the voice in instrumental music so it won't just be a guitar album it'll be a vocal album as well.

Steve - All the time. As a matter of fact, sometimes I'll walk out into the crowd and do an a cappella song and I get everyone to sing a long with me.

Steve - Oh yeah, it's a big part of my show. It's a good entertaining factor.

Steve - Oh absolutely. It's all I've ever done. I've never really done anything else. Music's always been there, so yeah its home. (laughing)

Steve - Oh boy, I always sang. Fourth grade stands out in my brain, I don't know why. In fourth grade I wrote this song on guitar, I sang it in front of my fourth grade class so that was the first time I performed an original piece of music. (laughing)

John - An original piece of music at that age. That's pretty cool. (laughing)

Steve - Yeah. No Kidding. (laughing) Well, the kids clapped so it wasn't too bad. (laughing)

John - At the recent R&R convention there was talk of skewing the format a bit younger. I would think your sound is a good way to do that. It's very hip and you've found that out first hand.

Steve - Oh majorly. A lot of times we'll get booked in places where there is not necessarily a lot of Smooth Jazz listeners and I love to venture out that way. I love playing fairs where there are just all walks of life. I'll just play and the kids are intrigued. No one is telling them lets go to a Jazz or Smooth Jazz concert, it's right in front of them. So we're playing and I'm seeing that they're interested. They may walk by and they stop and listen and think oh, this is kind of cool. I definitely see that the kids would love it if it's presented to them but sometimes I don't know what stops them maybe its peer pressure I don't know.

John - I certainly had that growing up in the seventies. I had "Captain Fingers" by Lee Ritenour or Bob James "3" and none of my friends knew it. Benson's "Breezin'" was acceptable because it was top 10 but not much else was.

John - But all those old Larry Carlton or Lee Ritenour albums which are classics now.

John - Well, I was a fifteen and I agree with you. Though I don't think teens will ever tear down walls to hear it but there is a new audience there.

Steve - I think if it's packaged right more fifteen year olds would love this music. Yeah, that's what I'm talking about and it's great. I was listening to all that stuff at age of ten and loving it. The Lee (Ritenour) stuff and I saw Pat Metheny in high school and all my friends loved him but right now I don't think the education is out there. I think we're so inundated with the MTV thing so that's all they think is out there. Of course Jazz doesn't have the budgets and the record companies don't have the budgets to presents this to the younger audience because it costs a lot of money to do that.

John - Well, you know what they say it's still at best five percent of the audience out there sales wise but it needs to start somewhere.

Steve - Yeah, I believe it's definitely growing and growing because people are getting older all the time and they're not going to listen to what they heard as kids so I think they're going to want to expand. (laughing) I don't think they're going to be listening to rap music while having a nice dinner when they're older. They have to go somewhere musically and expand. I think if it's done in a hip way and it's not too aggressive or whatever I think it could totally work.

Steve - It is and that's another thing I love about it, all the artists are just great. It's like a big camaraderie we all just get together and hang out and everyone knows everybody else. I've been doing a tour with Boney James and it's been great getting to know Boney and the band. You know we're all trying to keep this alive we're all doing what we can to make this format grow. Were always talking about that kind of stuff you know.

Steve - He's really cool. He's actually kind of quiet. We don't get to talk a whole lot because were kind of in work mode a lot. We're always being pulled especially if you are at a Jazz festival. We're always being pulled in different directions by different people. The only time we get a chance to really talk is when we get picked up at the airport going to the venue then we're actually in the same car together. Then he does his sound check at a different time that I do my sound check. You know unless it's a really big Jazz festival with eight acts then we'll get to hang a little more but I love Boney we've had some great times together.

John - I was talking to Jeff Lorber a little while ago and man he's such a nice person. Like you, his music I'm sure strikes a chord with young people. It's funky, it's catchy and man his chops!

Steve - Absolutely. He's very forward thinking. Yeah, I'm always thinking like that maybe I'm thinking lets bring a little electronica into Jazz or let's just bring something new to this and Jeff is definitely that way and so is Chris Botti. I like his "Night Sessions" album so much because it's forward thinking and it sounds so great sonically. I love that stuff.

John - I'm sure you want to be like maybe a Jeff Lorber in twenty years where you're still pushing it, pushing the envelope.

Steve - Still making music, that's all I ask for. As long as I can be making music, writing music and touring I'm the happiest man alive. (laughing)

John - What was the first concert you ever went to?

Steve Oliver - I think it was 1978 and I went to Oakland for this concert called "A Day On The Green" and it was a rock concert with Triumph, Blue Oyster Cult, Boston, REO Speedwagen and Sammy Hagar.

John - You know Rik Emmett the former driving force behind that band is now doing Smooth Jazz?

Steve - I really love him and I've been following his career. I love his solo albums after he left Triumph.

John - I'm curious at that first concert for instance were you checking out what Rik was doing on guitar?

Steve - Oh yeah, absolutely. I was trying to figure out how he was doing things and I was blown away, absolutely floored. I love Rik Emmett because he's so versatile. At that rock concert he was doing Flamenco, Classical, Jazz and then Rock.

Steve - I was at the Greek Theatre in Berkely California and I saw Pat Metheny in 1981. It was outdoors under the stars and it was beautiful scenery so the atmosphere and the music together were simply amazing. The best part of the show was when Pat played solo. It was just him out there.

Steve - No the middle of the show was just him. First he was with his band the Pat Metheny Group but later he played this sort of harp guitar and it had this amazing sound and to this day I can't get it out of my brain it was so moving.

John - He's just so damn inspiring. I saw him in the summer of 1989 when I first moved to Vancouver and like you the show has stayed with me. He inspires many out there.

Steve - Without a doubt and it's because he's inspired. He's such a real music guy and he eats, sleeps and breathes it. He really gives it his all.

John - Sounds like you're doing this all the time as well. You're such a prolific writer so the music is with you all the time.

Steve - Oh man, it never goes away I'm constantly thinking about concepts or styles and thinking of ways to combine this and that. It's so evolving and there's just so much you can do with it.

Steve - My craziest thing is I'll just go to CD stores and just buy tons of albums. That's as crazy as I get. (laughing)

Steve - Kevin Gilbert he passed away about six years ago. He is unbelievable and he did it all. He sang, he wrote, played guitars, keyboards, drums and bass. He was also an engineer and he was a poet. He wrote one liners that just said everything. Some people can't even say anything in a whole page but what Kevin Gilbert said in just one line was just so amazing. He wrote an album about the music industry called 'Shaming of the True' (A Rock Opera) which he wrote just before he died. He was discovered by Patrick Leonard, Madonna's producer and he's actually from the bay area where I was born and raised. I used to do progressive rock so I loved Yes and Genesis and Kevin were doing that at the same time as well.

John - So did you know him?

Steve -Yeah, we kind of crossed paths. In 1989 after Patrick Leonard had done a few albums with Madonna he wanted to form a band and he formed Toy Matinee and when he saw Kevin he thought oh my god! This guy is incredible. They just recorded one album which is still available on Warner Brothers. It's really amazing and to this day it sounds like it was recorded yesterday. Kevin Gilbert sang and wrote all the lyrics and played keys and guitars. He still has a website and it's Kevin Gilbert.com and you can buy all his solo albums there.

John - I knew him by name along.

Steve - Asphyxiation. It was kind of an accident. It was a real drag. It was such a tremendous loss. He actually wrote Sheryl Crow's first album. He wrote "All I Wanna Do" and Sheryl Crowe auditioned for his band before she was even discovered and Kevin brought her to the whole Patrick Leonard camp. That's how Sheryl's career got started, through Kevin.

John - I'm going to look up his website, I'm really curious now. What was the first album you ever bought?

Steve - "Well the first album I really wanted was Iron Butterfly "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida."

John - Yeah a few days ago. Sorry to be the one to tell you. I know you're a big Genesis fan and the last time Daryl Stuermer and I talked he let me know that Don Grolnick had died and I had no idea. He did some nice Jazzy things on the Windham Hill Jazz label and of course was James Taylor's musical Director and Producer. He's played with everyone. Anyway, he died in 1996.

John - Yeah, we've been trading morbid stories on this site I guess. What's your favorite album of all time?

Steve - "Oh God that's hard. If you'd see my CD collection you would understand. I have thousands. I'm a CD fanatic. I buy CD's weekly. (laughing) Trying to pick one is impossible for me. I really listen to so many types of music.

John - Is there something in your collection that you bought as a kid that you still listen to alot now?

John - To me that's the best Beatles album. I love the acoustic guitar feel on it.

Steve - Oh yeah, it's so organic and so experimental and it has a little bit of everything. I remember my babysitter had it and I just couldn't get enough. She also had some Santana stuff that was fantastic. I was listening to the "Abraxas" album as a kid and fell in love with it.

John - The instrumental songs on there are great. On my Smooth Jazz show in Edmonton in 1986 I used to play "Aqua Marine." "Summer Lady" was pretty catchy.

John - Alex Ligertwood was such a great vocalist for them. Such a distinctive voice.

Steve - Yeah, Alex Ligertwood I sang with him. We did a duet together. He lives here in Los Angeles.

Steve - Oh yeah and he is good! We were at a Jazz Fest for a radio station and it was an all star thing where everyone plays together. Jimmy Sommers the Sax player was there and said "I'm doing the Boz Scaggs tune, do you want to come up and play it?" We were up there kind of trading off and jammin'. I saw Alex back there and I got him up there as well. I just grabbed him backstage. (laughing) He has real personality.

Steve - There are so many. (laughing) I have tons of Steve Reid stories. (laughing) Well, this is more of a life threatening story. We were in Colorado in an RV pulling seven thousand pounds worth of gear. It was me, Jeff Kashiwa, and Steve Reid. Here we were going down the Rock Mountains and the breaks went out. We were desperately trying to find an exit and our bass player was driving the bus and he was yelling "the brakes aren't working!" I was right behind him thinking this is the end. Finally, we found a hill and tapered off. We all got out totally relieved to be alive. Then Steve Reid gets out of the RV looks at all of us and says "Well, we're twenty minutes from the venue and it's all uphill - we do not need brakes!" (laughing) It was pure comedy.

Steve - So nice talking to you John. You're such a great guy. Can't wait to see it on the website. Thanks