With her newest recording, “Wild Heart,” saxophone wild child Mindi Abair is bringing her beloved instrument into the forefront of listeners musical perception while kicking their eardrums with gritty rock beats that keep them moving and grooving through most of the 11 tracks on the record.
That’s exactly what she had in mind when she came up with the concept for “Wild Heart,” which was released on Heads Up, a division of Concord Music Group, on May 27.
“I wanted to make a record where saxophone was a main instrument like in Junior Walker’s day,” explained Abair who grew up in St. Petersburg, Fla before moving to California. “In recent years it’s just been an instrument people liked if they were Jazz fans.”
Abair is joined by some of her musical friends—playing, singing and songwriting respectively—Booker T. Jones, Keb’ Mo’, Trombone Shorty, Waddy Wachtel, Gregg Allman and Joe Perry. “Wild Heart” was produced by Abair and West Coast production trio, The Decoders (Adam Berg, Itali Shapira, and Todd Simon).
“I’ve had all these friends in rock and pop for so many years. I’ve been a part of their music and careers but I never quite knew how they could fit into my career,” she said. “Going into this record I just wanted to write songs that allowed the sax to get out of its cage and to be a different animal.”
Abair had a lifetime of “on the job training” to draw from for “Wild Heart.”
Her paternal grandmother was an opera singer and her father was a saxophone and B3 player in a band called The Entertainers, which kept the family on the road for the early years of her childhood.
“My dad’s band never got really famous, but I was on the road from the time I was born until I was 5 years old. I was raised by the roadies and it gave me an appreciation for music and for traveling,” she recalled. “I wanted to have fun and subconsciously I wanted to have fun on stage like my dad. I grew up around soul music. It was really mixed. My dad worked with so many Black musicians that we had a cross burned in our yard. I didn’t understand what it meant at the time. These guys were my dad’s friends and my surrogate fathers.”
Abair first picked up the saxophone in fourth grade and took part in every band program that was offered in elementary and high school. After a year at the University of North Florida, she transferred to Berklee College of Music and graduated Cum laude with a degree in woodwind performance.
She soon moved to the City of Angels in search of her big break.
Abair landed tours with Teena Marie, John Tesh, and Jonathan Butler. When she wasn’t on the road, she’d book her own band at any club that would have them. When she couldn’t score a club gig, the determined blonde bombshell would play her horn on the streets of Santa Monica.
“I didn’ t want to wait tables when I had a music degree from the foremost contemporary music school in the world. I came here to play,” she said. “I’d take my horn down to third street promenade and just play. I paid my rent for quite a few months doing that.”
Abair released her first album, “Never Quite the Same” in 1999 while touring with the Backstreet Boys. By the beginning of the new millennium, Abair had found her identity as a performer and was ready to tackle the world. She signed with Verve in 2002.
“I really knew who I was as an artist. I knew what I wanted to say, and every artist I’d toured with on the way here helped me shape who I was,” she said.
Her major record label debut “It Just Happens That Way” was the beginning of a string of chart-topping solo recordings on Verve that included “Come As You Are,” “Life Less Ordinary,” and “I Can’t Wait For Christmas,”
For two seasons Abair was the featured saxophonist on “American Idol” 2011 and 2012. That led her to joining rockers Aerosmith on their 2012 Summer Global Warming Tour. Clarence Clemons’ death led to her touring with Max Weinberg and a night at the Beacon Theater with Bruce Springsteen.
“I got off those tours and I had a burst of electric energy to make some music of my own. Those tours really affected what I was feeling and what I was writing. I had spent so many nights on stage with those guys who were sweating and bleeding and giving it all for their audience. I wanted that strength and that abandon on my record and I was inspired to make that happen,” Abair said.
While creating “Wild Heart,” she joined fellow musicians and friends Dave Koz, Gerald Albright and Richard Elliot for the “Summer Horns” record and tour, which paid tribute to great horn bands of the late 60s and early 70s including Earth Wind & Fire, Sly & the Family Stone, Tower of Power and Blood Sweat & Tears. The subsequent recording scored a Grammy nomination for Best Pop Instrumental Recording.
The foursome performed their Summer Horns set in Pittsburgh last summer and tore the house down with their phenomenal musical prowess and sincere friendship.
“I was bowled over by the great artists in Pittsburgh,” Abair said. “I’ve got to come to Pittsburgh more often.”
Although “Wild Heart” does not pay homage to her surrogate fathers, you can hear visages of what she learned throughout the album. “The Shakedown” features guitarist Waddy Wachtel and drummer Max Weinberg and has Clemons spirit and licks throughout.
“I’ll Be Your Home” is a sweet ballad featuring Keb’ Mo’ who plays guitar and tambourine on the song. She is happy to have her long-time friend on the song.
“Keb’ and I have been playing on each others records for many years. We started playing together in LA clubs when maybe eight people would come to see us. We were nobody at the time. So it’s been fun to watch his career take off in the years since and be a part of each other’s lives and music. He’s one of my favorite human beings and musicians.”
The closing song on “Wild Heart,” “Just Say When,” is Abair’s favorite track.
“It was actually Gregg’s idea to write something together. I went to his house for three days to write with him and we bonded so much and delved deep to come up with this song,” she said. “I played with him last year and felt this electricity singing and playing with him. He’s all heart and vibe. What a gift to have him write, play and sing on this record.”
(For more information on Abair or “Wild Heart” visit www.mindiabair.com.)
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