Grammy Award-winning saxophonist Gerald Albright had the 2023 Pittsburgh International Jazz Festival crowd bobbing and moving during his set that took the audience on a musical timeline.
Albright spoke with WBGO's Doug Doyle following his festival performance.
"It was a great feeling. The people were right there with me. They remember the music. That's the greatest compliment for me to be 22 records in and they've been following the records ever since the inception of my career in 1987."
Performing at outdoor festivals is obviously nothing new and Albright stresses his approach never changes.
"It's really all about the people. We love playing anywhere from crowds of 20-25 thousand to the most intimate clubs around the country. It's really about touching the people. I play with my eyes closed anyway so I never know who I'm performing for (chuckles)."
Albright says he and his friend and fellow festival headliner Bob James enjoy sharing the stage with young musicians.
"It's an honor spending time with those young kids because they're thirsty just like I was back in the day. We get excited about that kind of stuff. We're so passionate, even at our age, to just get on stage. When the emcee announces your name, you're just revved to get up and go."
Born and raised in Los Angeles, Albright was already an accomplished saxophonist by the time he enrolled at the University of Redlands, but he switched to bass after he saw Louis Johnson (of the Brothers Johnson) in concert. A few months after graduating from college, he joined jazz pianist/R&B singer Patrice Rushen, who was in the process of forming her own band. Later, when the bassist left in the middle of a tour, Albright replaced him and finished the tour on bass guitar. Playing both sax and bass, he became the consummate session and touring musician in the 80s, working with everyone from Anita Baker, Ray Parker, Jr., Atlantic Starr, The Temptations and Maurice White to Les McCann, Teena Marie, the Winans and Whitney Houston.
He launched his solo career in the infancy of what became the smooth jazz format, with Just Between Us in 1987 and has been a core part of the genre with chart-topping albums, countless radio hits and as a member of many all star tours, including Guitars & Saxes and Groovin’ For Grover. In the late 90s, he fronted a big band for and toured with pop star Phil Collins and did a dual recording with vocal great Will Downing called Pleasures of the Night. Between his last two Grammy-nominated solo albums Pushing The Envelope (2010) and Slam Dunk (2014), he enjoyed hit collaborations with two huge hits – 24/7 with guitarist Norman Brown and Summer Horns by Dave Koz and Friends (including Mindi Abair and Richard Elliot), which were also Grammy-nominated for Best Pop Instrumental Albums. He toured with Brown and Summer Horns, and most recently has been on the road with South Africa gospel/jazz singer and guitarist Jonathan Butler. Albright’s other albums whose titles perfectly reflect their flow include Smooth (1994), Groovology (2002), Kickin’ It Up (2004) and Sax for Stax (2008).
The Pittsburgh International Jazz Festival ran from September 14-17.
