Listen while you read. Click artists name for a curated playlist
Chieli Minucci
Kayla Waters
Catapulted seems like the best way to describe keyboardist Kayla Waters’ career path. Or perhaps “splash” in honor of the theme of her current album, Presence: the healing power of water and feeling of serenity brougth by being close to the ocean. “I Am” – the first single from her 2017 debut, Apogee, went to the top of the contemporary jazz charts. A string of equally successful singles followed. “Full Bloom” from her second album, stayed at #1 on the Billboard chart for a record breaking six weeks.
Her latest release, Presence, has already deliverd two hit songs and the album is a gold mine of potential chart toppers.
“It’s my passion-purpose to compose meaningful music that shares God’s love through notes of healing, joy, optimism and peace,” she says. “God has blessed me with
a unique ability to masterfully weave in and out of different ‘musicals keys’ to compose each song that flows through my fingertips. I embrace my calling, there’s depth and purpose behind it all.” The classically trained pianist who started formal lessons at six grew up in a jazz household. Her father is Urban Jazz pioneer Kim Waters. Her parents recognized her innate passion for music before she could even walk. She said in an interview that she would play like she was playing her dad’s piano when she was a toddler and could barely reach the keys.
She credits her father with being a profound influence both personally and musically. “My Dad is a wonderful father, inspiration and honestly my best friend! It is an honor and a privilege to be his daughter…I’ve seen my Dad sustain in the music industry for close to 35 years and that is an immense blessing. His tenacity, endurance, and ability to prevail through any circumstance with grace is very inspiring and commendable. My Dad’s musical prowess is unmatched—he is truly a MASTER at melodies, music composition and music production. It has been such an honor to work collaboratively with him on every album I’ve released.”
Of her lastst release she says “This album is my heartfelt offering of life-giving pieces, created to replenish the hearts of humanity. Water is a key element of nourishment; and as one listens to this work, an undercurrent of oceanic motifs are harmonically woven in. It is my hope that all will peacefully bask in the Presence of this spiritually rich journey.”
Jeff Ryan has said that he called his debut album Embrace because he wanted people to embrace the music and the feelings he was expressing through it, and that he wanted them to be embraced by the music. Well, we have and it does. His debut single the energized “Up and Up” went #1 on the Billboard chart as well as most other genre charts, The next two singles went top 10 and other honors followed: 2020 Billboard #1 Smooth Jazz Artist of the year, JazzTrax debut artist of the year, Smooth Jazz Network Breakout artist of the Year. His second album, Duality, continued the trend with three hit singles so far including Smooth Jazz Network song of the year “Sentimental Soul.” Since then he has released a series of successful singles and wowed concert and festival audiences across the country.
So who is this guy who seemingly came out of the blue and managed to catch so much attention so quickly in the midst of a massive amount of releases by new and established artists? He came from a musical family, his father was a classical pianist and composer, His mom and grandfather were also musicians. He began playing piano at age 6 and violin shortly after that. But at around age 10 he fell in love with the Saxophone when he heard a Richard Elliot song on a radio station compilation CD. He started listening to everyone from Elliot and Gerald Albright to contemporary and straightahead heros like Michael Brecker and Dexter Gordon. He said that as a kid he had no social life and spent all his time practicing. From that time on he has put in a lot of practice time balancing skill and techniuqe with finding his own voice and expressing his artistry on a very personal level. And he had fun. He spent his teen years “cutting his teeth” with traveling soul bands and weekly performances at rowdy bars with a not-so-legal ID. “It was a lot of fun playing those early bar shows,” said Jeff, “I had to stay on the down low about my age, but the nightly experience performing for engaging crowds really helped pave the way to the performer I am today.
Born in Walnut Creek CA, he also spent some time in Asheville NC. He was in jazz ensembles in jr. high and high school. He started college in Concord CA then attended the prestigious Berklee College of Music. He returned to the San Francisco Bay Area and established himself while playing in jazz, blues, and rock bands, appearing at regional festivals, and opening for smooth jazz stars. His star began to rise with the opportunity to record his debut album working with hitmaker keyboardist, songwriter, and super-producer Greg Manning. Collaboration is one of his favorite parts of the creative process and he expanded on that with his second album, working with Manning, Darren Rahn and Adam Hawley. He has also been featured on top 10 singles by multiple artists over the last two years by Hawley, Lisa Addeo, Kim Scott and others
The words that define him as a performing musician are authenticity, connection, musicianship, charisma, and again, authenticity. I was able to see him do a solo set and play wiht Greg Manning then sit in with several other muicians and take the stage for a straightahead set during a weekend event. THe way he compliments and connects with other musicians when sharing the stage during their sets is amazing. If you have a chance to see him live don’t miss him.
Chieli Minucci is a jazz star, he is also a rock star. Anyone who has seen him live with his core group of backup musicians, the Special EFX lineup, Special EFX All Stars, with Lao Tizer’s bands and basically in any configuration he shows up in, will tell you he’s one of the most exciting and versatile guitarists out there. See him live at an outdoor setting and you’ll see people just passing by stop, listen and come close to the stage. Contemporary jazz fans first got to know him as part of Special EFX. He continues to release Special EFX albums but he also tours with others, does soundtrack and session work, and any of us who have written and recorded commercials may have come across some of his work in the music library they use for commercial and narration backgrounds. To steal a riff from a movie title he does everything everywhere, (seemingly) all at once.
At this point in time he has a new single scheduled for release on June 1 and three recent projects already available – “Return to Budapest With Love”, the archived, 1990 live concert recording of Special EFX from their early days on tour in Europe, solo project, and mainly acoustic “Someone’s Singing”, as well as his 40th anniversary Special EFX CD, “Twenty Twenty 2”. This is following Chieli & Special EFX’s previous release which saw the title track, “Deep as the Night”, win Billboard Magazine’s 2018 top honors, best-song-of-the-year. Minucci found music, or vice versa, early on. His dad was a composer, pianist and he was working in the A&R department at Columbia when Chieli was in elementary school.
Minucci found music, or vice versa, early on. His dad was a composer, pianist and he was working in the A&R department at Columbia when Chieli was in elementary school. Minucci started piano lessons when he was six, fell in love with the guitar shortly after that and by 14 he was in a band and performing local gigs. Like most guys with guitars at that time he was into the Beatles and the emerging progressive rock scene. While attending college he played in a lot of jazz ensembles and the influence of fusion guitarists like John McLaughlin, Al DiMeola, and Alan Holdsworth kicked in. After attending Ithica college in New York he was kicking around the New York music scene when he met George Jinda and they became the nucleus of Special EFX.
Special EFX released their debut album in 1984 on the prestigious GRP label. The nucleus of the band were percussionist George Jinda and guitarist Chieli Minucci, who had met in New York shortly after Minucci’s college graduation a few years before. Contemporary jazz was creating a lot of excitement as an emerging genre and radio stations were jumping into the music as they chased the musically adventurous boomer generation into the 25+ demographc advertisers were embracing. That was the beginning of the band’s influential and prolific lifespan which is now well into the 4th decade. With a series of successful albums under their belts Jinda and Minucci both released solo albums in the mid 90s while continuing to record as Special EFX Masterpiece, released in 1995, was the last recording featuring Jinda and Minucci, Jinda released Here To Stay in 1996 as Special EFX, Minucci put out Renaissance shorlly after that, then Masterpiece came out in 1999 billed as Special EFX featuring Chieli Minucci. Butterfly followed, delivering one of their most popular songs, Cruise Control. Minucci has continued to release albums under the Special EFX name as well as solo projects and star studded collaborations with some of the best players in contemporary jazz.
Chieli is also a gifted television and film composer. He has won 3 Emmy Awards and been nominated 10 times for his eclectic compositional work on CBS’s “The Guiding Light”, which holds the record as the longest running TV show in American history. He has written music for well-known programs such as Dancing With the Stars, American Idol, Good Morning America (theme), Bloomberg Radio (theme), Access Hollywood,, and others. He also contributed music to the soundtracks of Bowfinger (1999 Universal), Legally Blonde (2001 MGM), and Panic (2000 Artisan) as well as the live stage shows for popular children’s characters Dora The Explorer and Thomas and Friends Live.
With the three recent releases, a new entry into his soundtrack/commercial library, and an album in the works we can continue to expect more innovative and exciting music from him for years to come.
visit his website at chielimusic.com