CP:<\/strong> What have you been up to lately?<\/em><\/p>\n CL:<\/strong> There have been quite a variety of things happening in the last two years. I\u2019ll be coming into Anthology this time around with an organ based project from my CD called, Plain \u2018n\u2019 Simple. I did a whole bunch of touring with the same kind of band last summer in Europe. The CD came out in July and I was on tour in Europe doing the music from this project. Actually, let me back up a little bit. My other project that I\u2019ve been involved with for the last two years is playing with Fourplay with Bob James and Nathan East, a native San Diegan by the way, and Harvey Mason. Actually, the last time I was at Anthology was with Fourplay. So in between all of that time, although I had this CD out in July, I was touring with Fourplay so much that I hadn\u2019t really had a chance to go out in the states with the organ project.<\/em><\/p>\n CP:<\/strong> Ah, that makes sense.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n CL:<\/strong> Yeah, so we did the tour in Europe, and never did it back here. So now I\u2019m focused on bringing the organ project around the states.<\/em><\/p>\n CP:<\/strong> Awesome. It sounds like you\u2019ve been just running around like crazy for the last two years!<\/em><\/p>\n CL:<\/strong> Yeah. It\u2019s been a crazy, good crazy of course, but a busy period of time. Basically I\u2019m trying to hold down 3 or 4 jobs at the same time (laughs)! But I really like it that way. I\u2019m guilty of being a little bit of a workaholic in the music business. It\u2019s what I love doing, so I can\u2019t complain.<\/em><\/p>\n CP:<\/strong> For sure. Now we know you\u2019ve been doing your solo thing and playing with Fourplay, but you\u2019ve also done some film and TV and tons of other stuff. I feel like there\u2019s really nothing in the music business you haven\u2019t done, I mean with jingles, commercial projects, producing other artists\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n CL:<\/strong> (Laughs) That\u2019s probably true!\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n CP:<\/strong> Have you been taking some time to do some of that as well?<\/em><\/p>\n CL:<\/strong> I have actually. The latest production project I did was actually for the saxophone player who is going to be with me at Anthology, Eric Marienthal. We finished up his CD about a month ago, around the end of November. That will be coming out at the end of this month, so we actually may be playing a little bit of the music from that project too since we were both so involved in it and he\u2019ll be there. That was a really exciting project. It\u2019s called \u201cIt\u2019s Love\u201d, and it just came out great. It\u2019s a romantic record, and I\u2019m really one of Eric\u2019s biggest fans. When someone like him asks you to produce their record, it\u2019s really an honor and a thrill. I\u2019m looking forward to that record, I think people are really going to enjoy it.<\/em><\/p>\n CP:<\/strong> I\u2019m sure they will, and I\u2019m sure we will when you guys come down here!<\/em><\/p>\n CL:<\/strong> Yeah, we do a lot together. The tour I was talking about before actually, he was on that. We do a lot of stuff together, a few things a year usually.<\/em><\/p>\n CP:<\/strong> I\u2019m curious to hear a little bit about this next topic from you especially because you do such a wide range of work. Do you have to approach your commercial work and your production work or work on your own music differently?<\/em><\/p>\n CL:<\/strong> Yeah, I do. In the last few years, the commercial work has really taken a back seat. I\u2019ve been fortunate enough to have most of my work in the last few years really be purely creative music. Last month I worked on a movie, but I was playing someone else\u2019s soundtrack. But in terms of production, I\u2019ve done much more TV and live touring than I have commercial work recently. But there is definitely a different mindset.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n For example, writing for a different artist, like writing for Eric, you have to think like a saxophone player in a way. With my instrument primarily being a guitar, it\u2019s quite different than a sax. There\u2019s the breath involved, and you have to treat it like a vocalist almost.<\/em><\/p>\n CP:<\/strong> Sure, it’s a matter of what can you actually breathe and play!\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n CL:<\/strong> Exactly, so you have to put that hat on and empathize with their situation and figure out how it\u2019s going to be. It\u2019s inspiring too. For example, my wife is a singer. She and I work together on her projects. I usually help with the production and play on her things. So I have to get into the mindset that it\u2019s sort of different to play wide intervals as a guitarist that would be almost impossible to sing. You have to always put yourself in someone else\u2019s shoes. I really like that. It\u2019s a challenge, and I think it\u2019s always good to be challenged.<\/em><\/p>\n CP:<\/strong> For sure. It\u2019s great to learn something new all the time.<\/em><\/p>\n CL:<\/strong> Absolutely. I think we tend to, as artists, pull from our arsenal of knowledge and tricks of the trade, but it\u2019s good to keep stretching the envelope and learning new things each time. That\u2019s especially been the case with Fourplay. The guys have really pushed me to think outside of the box a lot, which is good! They want to be challenged, and in return I have to challenge myself and then challenge them. It really gets the creative juices going.<\/em><\/p>\n The other thing is that you know, someone said once, \u2018There\u2019s nothing like a call from a producer to create inspiration.\u2019 I\u2019m not sure who said that, but it\u2019s true. We\u2019re getting ready to do the next Fourplay CD; I think next month we\u2019re starting. For me, when I close my eyes and listen and think about what Harvey or Bob would play, it really gets my creative juices flowing. That acts as a stimulant for inspiration for coming up with new music.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n [Chuck and I had a brief exchange regarding his time spent at Berklee here- hey, I was curious! Jumping back on following that!]<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n Loeb & Marienthal working on Marienthal's latest release.<\/p><\/div>\n CL:<\/strong> This is going to sound funny, but I really like to do crossword puzzles, word games, stuff like that. I like solving things. That\u2019s probably why my music isn\u2019t really avant-garde or really far outside. I like the logical side of things. I guess the epitome of that would be Bach, where every note leads to another note, and there\u2019s a logical conclusion.\u00a0 There\u2019s a logical tension and release.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n So, for me, it makes sense. Now, for someone else, it might be too restricting to think about it that way and think about that side of it, but for me, it works. For my style of writing, arranging, composing, and playing, it works really well.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n CP:<\/strong> Going back a little bit, talking more about your latest record, I know the last two years have been really eventful for you. Was this record different for you than most in the past because of your recent experiences?<\/em><\/p>\n CL:<\/strong> Yeah, this record was definitely a whole different experience. There are two obvious things that are different about this project. The first is that for about twenty years or so, my own projects and productions have been very focused on what people know as smooth jazz. I\u2019m proud of it. I know some people don\u2019t like that label, but for me, the advantage of being involved in that idiom is that I\u2019ve been able to reach a really wide audience.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n We haven\u2019t talked too much about my roots, but just to give you a little idea, I grew up listening and learning pop and rock music. I grew up in the 60\u2019s listening to and learning to play guitar to The Beatles, the Stones, Stevie Wonder, Jimi Hendrix, Motown, all of that stuff. That era was where I learned my basics, and then I was introduced to jazz. So the combination of that with the sort of R&B and pop production with jazz improvisation that becomes smooth jazz, that was really perfect for me.<\/em><\/p>\n When I got into jazz, I was really heavily steeped in straight-ahead jazz, a lot of bebop.\u00a0\u00a0 A lot of the earliest influences were the bands that had organs, Wes Montgomery and Jimmy Smith; also, Wes had an organ in his original trio. George Benson, Pat Martino, all of those guys had organs. So this album, Plain \u2018n\u2019 Simple, is a departure because I really got away from the smooth jazz production that I\u2019m usually involved with, and I really got back into my early roots, and that influences I had. It gave me a chance to really show off my chops as a player. This project is the first that\u2019s on my own record label, Tweety Records. I had the freedom to do what I wanted because I didn\u2019t have a record company executive that was telling me that they needed a radio hit or whatever else. It was up to me, and I took the opportunity to do something different. I\u2019m very happy with the way the record came out. I was a little concerned about what the smooth jazz fans would think, but the reaction has been really positive.<\/em><\/p>\n CP:<\/strong> What precipitated your decision to start your own label and start self-releasing?<\/em><\/p>\n CL:<\/strong> The business model has changed so much over the years. The parental role of record companies is slipping further and further into the rear view mirror in the last few years, and especially in jazz. You have these really big record companies that want to put their eggs in the basket of their biggest sellers. They want those American Idol, pop, hip-hop, R&B, you know, all of the things that they can bank on. The research and development part of that industry has slipped away.\u00a0 There are still jazz recordings of course, but the large labels like Columbia and Warner Brothers, they used to still diversify and support the artistic side. They don\u2019t really do that as much anymore.<\/em><\/p>\n Also, now it\u2019s become more democratic with the technology. People have studios in their houses, and you don\u2019t need a lot of money to make a great record anymore. Artists, especially in the jazz world, are really just saying, \u2018Hey, I\u2019ll do this myself!\u2019 I may not sell as many units as I would with the big company, but actually, the way it works out, I actually make more money now selling less units on my own, which is very ironic. But because of the technology, the ability to sell it on the internet, and also to promote it on the internet, it\u2019s completely changed the game. It\u2019s a different game now.<\/em><\/p>\n CP:<\/strong> Absolutely, and congratulations on launching your own label!<\/em><\/p>\n CL:<\/strong> Thank you. It\u2019s been a really great thing.<\/em><\/p>\n CP:<\/strong> What are you most looking forward to about coming to Anthology?<\/em><\/p>\n CL:<\/strong> I love playing Anthology. It\u2019s such a great club. It\u2019s beautiful, comfortable, and the audience there is always really really cool. I\u2019d love to say to the fans out there reading this blog that I\u2019m really looking forward to coming out there and seeing them again. Come on down! Let\u2019s have a party!<\/em><\/p>\n CP:<\/strong> (Laughs) Sounds good!<\/em><\/p>\n Special thanks to Chuck for his time! Be sure to preview his latest release, Plain \u2018n\u2019 Simple<\/em>, at our Spotify link below, and grab your tickets for his upcoming show!<\/p>\n Chuck Loeb: Plain ‘n’ Simple<\/a><\/p>\n WHAT: <\/em>Chuck Loeb Organ Trio ft. special guest Eric Marienthal<\/strong><\/em> An Interview with Chuck Loeb by: Casey Pukl Guitarist, producer, writer, and all-around smooth jazz powerhouse, Chuck Loeb, is taking a new direction. Inspired by his earliest influences in more straight-ahead jazz and bebop, Loeb’s latest solo release, Plain ‘n’ Simple, takes a trip back to the organ trios of the 60’s. I had the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1442],"tags":[11512],"class_list":["post-4347","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-artists","tag-artist-interviews"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/anthologysd.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4347","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/anthologysd.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/anthologysd.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/anthologysd.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/anthologysd.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4347"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/anthologysd.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4347\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":32954,"href":"https:\/\/anthologysd.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4347\/revisions\/32954"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/anthologysd.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4347"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/anthologysd.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4347"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/anthologysd.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4347"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/anthologysd.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/01\/normal_Chuck_Loeb2.jpeg\" "\\"normal_Chuck_Loeb2\\"")
<\/a>Guitarist, producer, writer, and all-around smooth jazz powerhouse, Chuck Loeb, is taking a new direction. Inspired by his earliest influences in more straight-ahead jazz and bebop, Loeb’s latest solo release, Plain ‘n’ Simple<\/em>, takes a trip back to the organ trios of the 60’s. I had the chance to speak with Chuck about everything from his current position in Fourplay to his formal music education, and even his most recent decision to start his own record label.<\/p>\n<\/a>
\nWHEN: <\/span>Thursday, March 15, 2012, 7:30pm <\/strong><\/em>
\nTICKETS: $11-$47 <\/span>Buy Tickets<\/a><\/em>
\nMORE INFO: <\/span>Artist Profile<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"