Part Two of Night is Alive’s exclusive interview with Lonnie Plaxico
We’re back with part 2 of our chat with Lonnie Plaxico, whose album Radiance is receiving critical acclaim!
Night is Alive: When did you first become involved with Night is Alive?
Lonnie Plaxico: I got called to play in the session with Christie Dashiell, on the Christmas album. It’s fun, the sessions with Kathy Salem’s label always go well.
NiA: You’ve been a part of many Night is Alive albums. Which one has been your favorite?
LP: All of them. I mean because to me it’s all connected, it’s just another opportunity to make music. I don’t have a favorite, they’re all special.
NiA: Could you tell us more about your album Radiance, which came out last summer?
LP: When I started playing jazz, we had to learn the music of the elders, which was the pop music of their time. So, the music that I’m playing on this CD is for the young musicians. We’re the elders now. For a 16-year-old kid, playing music from the 70s, that’s grandparents’ music. For me, playing jazz was like playing my grandparents music, so for this album I wanted to do some music that my parents know. That made it special for me. Because sometimes we play original music and don’t nobody have a connection to it. So, I wanted to play some songs that the average person can listen to, and think “hey, I know that song,” and have a connection to it. And also, my brother–I got into music through him and he really don’t play jazz, so I was willing to do something that he’s comfortable with, that we grew up having the same musical experience with. The piano player, he grew up with this music too. The singer, Camille, she’s much younger, so it’s like we’re bringing her in to our culture, and what we grew up on, and that’s what all the musicians have always done with the younger musicians. We’re pulling them in, and that’s how we learn from the elders.
NiA: Was there a specific moment that inspired you to create the album?
LP: Well, I’ve always loved 70s music and early 80s music and sometimes I feel like I’m starving to play it, because a lot of young musicians play more original music and I don’t feel they connect to the audience. And I know that when you play something people know, it’s a whole different connection. I wanted to play some music that would connect with the people because when I grew up, musicians loved playing for people. But now, most musicians go to college and just want to play their own original music. And we don’t listen to the radio like we used to, so nobody has hit records, so the music, I feel like it doesn’t connect with the audience. And I grew up in a time when you didn’t write original music, you performed in clubs what you heard on the radio. People didn’t write original music until they got a record deal and it was very hard to get a record deal in the 70s. You had to get “discovered” and until then you played what was on the radio, played strictly for the audience, and I used to love doing that because people knew the music and we made them happy.
Check out Night is Alive’s albums page for the very best in jazz, including Lonnie Plaxico’s Radiance.
Learn more about Lonnie Plaxico at http://www.lonnieplaxico.com/
written by Jacqueline Knirnschild
photo from https://www.facebook.com/lonnie.plaxico1
