In the fall of 2009, Nate Najar and his band took the stage at the Clearwater Jazz Holiday near his Tampa area home in front of thousands of contemporary jazz fans who thought they were just going to be killing time with a support act before headliner Al Jarreau. Instead, the versatile guitarist electrified the crowd and had everyone wondering, “who is this guy? where has he been? And where can I get a CD? “
The 28-year-old Najar brought to that performance an incredible history in the traditional jazz world, leading the Nate Najar Trio everywhere from Washington D.C.’s Blues Alley to the Kennedy Center, where he performed as part of a show dedicated to the jazz history of D.C. led by Dr. Billy Taylor. The trio has performed with Clark Terry, Ken Peplowski, Ray Kennedy and others, in addition to releasing three independent trio recordings (Live At The Side Door, Christmas with The Nate Najar Trio and The Nate Najar Trio – I’m All Smiles). But Until Now, the name of his eclectic, dynamic new collection and first foray into contemporary, pop and urban influenced jazz, he’s been holding back on embracing all of his influences on a single recording.
While he and his trio of bassist John Lamb and drummer Chuck Redd continue to bring the Latin/Brazilian vibe of the late legendary D.C. guitarist Charlie Byrd to audiences in the Beltway area and Najar’s native Florida, 2010 has also been an exciting breakout year for him in contemporary jazz circles. Until Now’s grooving, in the pocket debut single “It’s A Good Day” hit the Top 40 on the www.smoothjazz.com charts and has been in rotation for nearly half a year on the Smooth Jazz Network’s New Music Hour.
Najar is also a busy and versatile sideman. In addition to being a semi-regular member of saxophonist (and fellow Tampa Bay musician) Eric Darius’ band—including a headlining show at Long Beach Jazz Festival last year--Najar has played with a virtual “who’s who” of the smooth jazz world: Brian Simpson, Marion Meadows, Shilts, Jessy J and Jackiem Joyner. Najar is leading his own band at the CD release party for Until Now July 2 at Spaghettini’s in Seal Beach, one of Southern California’s premiere contemporary jazz hotspots.
While he grew up a hardcore fan of the instrumental groove music that became known as “smooth jazz,” Najar was pretty much a traditionalist playing acoustic guitar in his professional career until he picked up the electric and started making funkier music around St. Petersburg with R&B groups like The Shawn Brown Band. While conventional wisdom says that up and coming artists should play it safe and record albums that stick to one genre, Until Now is a bold, joyfully schizophrenic collection that taps into classical, jazz, R&B, gospel, Blues and Brazilian music.
Considering the coolly diverse result—which features a split down the middle mix of acoustic and electric guitar driven tracks--it’s ironic that Najar’s original intention was to record a very radio friendly smooth jazz date all the way through. Highlights of Until Now include: “Samba De Noite,” a percussive samba with an infectious four on the floor dance beat under the exotic rhythms; the straight samba “Django and Mowgli”; the gospel-blues flavored “Sunday Serenade” the simmering rock ballad “She’s The One For Me”; and a whimsical acoustic guitar driven cover of Michael Jackson’s timeless “Human Nature.”
“Fortunately, I didn’t succeed with that limited goal and instead ended up making a record that sounds a lot more like me,” Najar says. “Until Now couldn’t be any more me than it is, in fact. I grew up playing a lot of Brazilian music and that’s a huge part of what I like to play live. So it’s incredible to have Duduka da Fonseca, the premiere Brazilian percussionist in the world on the project. There’s also a church feel and bluesy influence, plus the ‘pocket’ vibe that comes from playing with so many powerhouse R&B musicians. And the beautiful tune at the end ‘One Day At A Time’ features a beautiful piano solo by Ron Reinhardt (from Richard Elliot's band) on an intimate jazz quartet piece.
“It was a wonderful experience being able to express so many of my musical influences on a single album, he adds. “I’m really looking forward to getting out there and performing more of this new music live. As much as I enjoy writing and working in the studio, something magical happens when you get in front of an audience and share your energy with them. John Lamb once said to me, to make music, it takes a composer, a performer and an audience. If you don’t have all three elements, you’re not making music.”