Ken Navarro - Is He the Savior to the Format? Sept 17, 2008 - Ken Navarro represents a breed of Smooth Jazz musicians that could possibly save the format or at least be one of its hero’s to bring it back in case it disappears. Navarro doesn’t play the R&B/Groove machine that some say is killing the format. The guitarist simply shots from the hip and soul. His music is honest with the qualities of some of the best instrumentalists on the globe. We chatted with Ken about his new album ‘The Grace of Summer Light.
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John Beaudin – Hi Ken, it’s great talking to you again on Smooth Jazz Now.com. I loved your latest album ‘The Grace of Summer Light.’ Again you stayed away from that R&B groove that a lot of other Smooth Jazz guitarists have attached themselves to. Why?
Ken Navarro – I remember when the R&B grooves that I grew up with came into fashion in Smooth Jazz and I loved it! And I made quite a few CD’s beginning with some of my earliest CD’s like "Labor of Love" to some of my more recent CD’s like "Love Coloured Soul" that prominently showed off that side of my playing and composing. But I felt that I had explored that potential pretty thoroughly and so I was determined to very much expand on the many styles and types of other rhythms that I love with "The Grace of Summer Light".
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Check Our Sister Site Rock History Book Expect updates on Classic & Modern Rock. Also interviews and reviews. Check out the new site right now. www.rockhistorybook.com.
John – I think a lot of fans would call your sound, more Contemporary Jazz, it’s positive; it has a sense of motion. How did you approach this album? Was it different from any other as you started its process?
Ken – Yes, for me it was like going into an occasionally visited room in your house that had always been there, but was now finally ready to really live in. I set the bar quite high for myself on this CD, deciding early on that I was going to write songs that were almost albums within themselves with many different connecting sections and a linear story telling quality.
John – I think a lot of artists try in vain to have the sound of an album actually relate to the title but your CD actually sounds like summer. Here’s the ‘chicken or the egg’ questions – did you name the album ‘The Grace of Summer Light’ because the songs sounded like summer or did you start out trying to capture the sounds of summer?
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Ken – I named the CD after the 10 songs had been written, though the title track did have the name "The Grace of Summer Light". I actually played a demo version of the title track for one of my oldest friends - an English literature professor! - And he suggested the title. He really nailed the way the song felt and it was then that I realized that all of my new compositions were coming from that summer place, a summer place from my childhood, in the 1960s.
John – I heard a little Pat Metheny in ‘Blue Skies, Bright Dreams’ was that conscious?
Ken – Only to the extent that I wanted to write a piece of music that had a compact, memorable signature phrase at the beginning, middle and end of it and the very first Pat Metheny Group song I ever heard inspired that concept, a song called San Lorenzo from their very first album.
John – I like the way my favorite songs of yours usually have what I like to call a ‘zest for life feel’ they make me think of driving, of flying, with or without a plane. I consider most of your music true spiritual music not in the sense that it sounds New Age but it just simply sounds positive and uplifting. Please don’t tell me you ever get depressed recording or you’ll ruin the image.
Ken – Well, I certainly don't get depressed in the recording process but I do become stressed sometimes. It took me 3 months to write this music, 3 months to record it and 2 months to mix and master it. You can't help but feel stress when you are working that long and hard on something which is so important to you. But the cool thing about "The Grace of Summer Light" CD was that I would find myself just listening to the music sometimes as I worked on it and my stress and worries would float out the window. I knew that was a good sign.
John – ‘Perfect Circle Sun’ does have that New-Age feel that the Wave used to play in the late 80’s and early 90’s. I like that sound. Tell me about the tune?
Ken - The challenge for me with that one was to write a piece that used nothing but guitars. It has 2 acoustic guitars, 5 electric guitars and another electric guitar tuned down so it could play the bass part. I am proud of the way that the sun "comes up" at the end of the song, I was really going for that effect as the pay off at the end of the piece and I think I got it!
John – You and I have talked about radio in the past. Let’s catch up. Many say the state of Smooth Jazz is scary. I’ve been programming the music since 1986 and I think the majority of what I get has too much groove and no soul. How do you feel with first radio and the music that you’re hearing?
Ken – Man, it's hard for me to define what radio is now. I mean, there are so many choices and thankfully I think it's starting to come back to more soul and less style chasing. Smooth Jazz radio is certainly in a transitional state as is all of terrestrial radio. I do find myself listening to radio in many forms now - terrestrial, cable, satellite, internet - whatever is playing music from the heart and soul and has originality and isn't part of the pack. An awful lot of Smooth Jazz music being produced these days is just more of the same from artists following the pack.
John – ‘On My Way to Somewhere’ does feature a sampled voice, right? At first I thought it was real but it’s a keyboard ?
Ken - Yes, it is a sampled classical vocalist which I used as a temporary sound when I was writing the song and creating the demo. I always thought that I would replace it with a "live" singer but there was something about the quality of that voice that was so compelling to me and I ended up working with it. I spent some time really getting it to sound just right, using equalization and compression to create a "floating" quality about it.
John – I know the first time we ever talked was just before the last election and here we are again. How do you feel about the election coming up in November?
Ken – Go Obama! I am so excited about the possibility of him becoming president. An intelligent, engaged president is vital for the US right now, especially if we are to recover from the numerous failures of the last 8 years. He is exactly what we need.
John – Do you think they have gotten to personal with Sarah Palin?
Ken – No. It seems that she has been hoisted up as some kind of popularity contestant anyway so let's take a hard look at her.
John – Do you think most people really know the issues or are they stuck on stature, confidence or simple likeability of a candidate?
Ken - It feels like our elections are being run like American Idol, like infotainment. But we can't afford to be lazy and make the wrong choice this year. Many people in America are interested in the issues of the economy, global warming, health care, and the war. But I think that they are waiting for the candidates to really dig deep into their plans on these things. Hopefully the debates will be a venue for details on these issues to be expressed and explained and an opportunity for the American voters to see who has the goods and who is just pushing personality etc.
John – Ken, what do you do to find peace in your life?
Ken – I take long walks with my wife and I like to travel to quiet places near water.
John – Just curious are there TV shows that you never miss?
Ken – I love "Mad Men" and I always catch Larry David's show "Curb Your Enthusiasm".
John – You don’t do the nine million specials guests on your album but tell me if you had to hire a whole new band and you could have anyone who would you pick?
Ken - Well, I have to say first that drummer Joel Rosenblatt (formerly of Spyro Gyra) and acoustic/electric bassist Tom Kennedy (Mike Stern, Al DiMeola) were fantastic on this new CD. And my long time keyboardist Jay Rowe just killed me with his work on these new pieces. I considered a lot of musicians for this new CD including a couple of Methane’s former drummers Paul Wertico and Danny Gottlieb as well as bassist John Patitucci but Joel, Tom and Jay were the absolute right musicians for this music. They "got it" on both a technical level and more importantly, on an emotional level.
John – You have a huge body of work in your discography, how many more albums do you think you still have in you? Are there certain themes or musical styles that you really want to tackle?
Ken – I very much want to see where I can take it after the large steps that I believe I took with "The Grace of Summer Light". As to how many records I have left in me, well, I take them one at a time. If I am lucky, I will continue composing and recording my music until I'm gone.
John – Tell me why you’re lucky or do you even believe in luck?
Ken – I am lucky for so many reasons - first because I have a fantastic, loving family from my great parents to my wonderful wife to my son and daughter who make me so proud and fill me with a sense that life is good. Secondly, I have been able to pursue a lifetime of playing and writing music - learning and discovering everyday something new about something I love. To have found this love early in my life and to have been allowed to pursue it as a career for so long is an incredible blessing and for that I feel lucky.
John – What’s been the toughest day of your life?
Ken - I have been fortunate in my life to have not suffered the loss of anyone in my immediate family and so I can't say that I have ever had a truly terrible day. September 11, 2001 was pretty bad though. I had just performed at the World Trade Center site earlier in the summer of 2001 and so the memory of all the people coming out of the World Trade Center buildings to see me play and the hugeness of those 2 buildings (the stage was set up right between the 2 buildings) was very fresh. When the two buildings fell, I simply could not believe it. The loss of life was immense. For a few days, I felt a sadness that was overwhelming.
John – I loved the fact that you have invited us, the fans into the recording process of your last few albums. Is that something that you plan on continuing these previews?
Ken – Always - it's a lot of fun for me too. I enjoy sharing the good and not as good parts of the long process of making a new CD. I think that telling my fans about it also brings out the teacher in me. It also helps me to put the experience into a bit more perspective as I go through it. Sometimes I get too close to it all.
John – What was the first album you ever bought?
Ken – Meet The Beatles!
John – Ken, thanks for your time.
Ken - Great talking with you again, John and thank you for these exceptional questions - you made me think.
Oct. 29, 2008 –
Oct. 29, 2008 – Billy Joel had this great idea for special shows, ‘Master Classes’ a few years ago. He would talk as much as sing. The concert series which are widely available. 
