Interview with Marlon Saunders


Q: Please tell me how you came up with the idea to A Groove So Deep.

Marlon Saunders: I was traveling on the road with my band and my keyboard player Joe Scott and I were talking about creating music and growing as musicians and he said "Ya know we should be recording our rehearsal because there is a lot of great moments that happen in rehearsals that need to be documented." After reflecting on this I thought it would be great not only to document it for me and the rest of the band but it would be a great way to share the music with my fans.

Q: Why did you want to record a live session album with new and old material instead of a simple studio album?

Marlon Saunders: I just felt that the music that I had been playing with my band Mood control from Enter My Mind had grown and found a new space, and I as an artist had begun to understand the music a lot more and I felt very happy and excited about this. I too also loved the idea of recording something live, organic, raw, just like back in the day. On the road we tend to listen to a lot of music from back in the day. I feel it helps us when we take the stage to hear how they were putting it down. It is all so human, so real. Also I feel like you really get to hear the band play on A Groove so Deep. I mean these musicians are incredible and you hear their talent on this recording. You get to hear us in our true element.

Q: How did you meet/pick the musicians of your band Mood Control? And what musical vision do you share?

Marlon Saunders: The musicians are players I have known for a while. I have worked with a lot of them from Jazzhole and other I have known since college. We all believe in making great music and sharing our talents with each other in a really spiritual environment where it is all about creating. There are no problems in terms of ego trips or folk not willing to give of themselves. It is a musical family where everyone loves and respects one another. I am not just saying this because of press it is really the truth. Mood Control is not only incredible musicians, these folk are incredible human beings!

Q: I'm really impressed with your cover of I Wanna Get Next To You. Please tell me how do you approach and choose a cover version to add a new dimension to the song.

Marlon Saunders: Well thanks you very much I am glad that you enjoy it. I usually try to find a song that folk may remember but it was not necessarily a huge hit. In this case I always thought I Wanna Get Next To You was a great song. I felt as though my approach had to be slower so that folk could pay attention to the lyric and I could enjoy singing the melody in a soulful way. I sat with my producer, musical director and bassist Carl Carter and we came up with the arrangement in like 10 minutes.

Q: You've started as background singer in the early 90s. But it wasn't until 2003 that you recorded your debut album. Why did it take you so long to step into the spotlight with your own name?

Marlon Saunders: I really do enjoy background session work. It is a lot of fun and it was a dream of mine for a long time. I have been able to meet and work with some incredible people in the course of my career as a background singer. I mean folk that I never dreamed I would be working and singing with. Also my heroes are now people I get to sing with and can also call my friends. I mean great talents like my big brother Fonzi Thornton, Tawatha Agee, Lisa Fischer, Dennis Collins, James D-Train Williams I mean the list goes on and on. I have met most of my best friends through singing - Arif St. Michael, Biti Strauchn, Keith Fluitt, Robin Smalls - these are great singers who have come into my life through session work. I also was busy writing and producing with Jazzhole so my musical life was full. I felt like by the time I recorded Enter My Mind I was in a space to create and share the music they way I heard it. I also felt that the music industry has a space where I feel comfortable creating my music.

Q: You also have a deep love for jazz music as you've stated on your website. Will there be a pure jazz album soon? And what will it sound like? Do you like to record your own songs or do you want to concentrate on cover versions?

Marlon Saunders: I do love jazz music and spend a great deal of my time listening to straight ahead jazz if there needs to be a label placed upon this genre of music. I would love to do a recording of big band jazz standards, kind of like in the style of the greats Nat King Cole or Billy Eckstine but I think if I do a jazz recording it will be more of a project that involves original music and it would journey to more places. Maybe a standard would be nice though.

Q: What are the advantages for you to have your records released on the independent label Black Honey instead of being with a major label?

Marlon Saunders: I have more artistic freedom and there is more time to focus on developing the music. I feel like I am part of a movement in music that allows the artist to speak creatively.

Q: Are you still a part of Jazzhole? And will there be a new album soon?

Marlon Saunders: Yes, I am still part of Jazzhole and we are in the process of finishing our new CD now. It is really organic. We recorded in the studio in Woodstock, NY. We are very happy with how it is shaping up.

Q: Which musicians have inspired you in the past and which musicians are influential for you today?

Marlon Saunders: I love Miles Davis. I think he is one of the most amazing musicians I have had the pleasure to hear. Stevie Wonder is incredible. So are Joni Mitchell, Gil Scott Heron, John Coltrane, Bob Marley, Nat King Cole, Donny Hathaway. Marvin Gaye, Billie Holiday, and Chaka Khan are very honest in terms of their artistry. Love Beethoven and Basie. Bach and Charlie Parker. Voices that are incredible to listen to...Luther Vandross, Leontyne Price, Placido Domingo, Sarah Vaughn, Dianne Reeves, Lalah Hathaway (very sexy voice)...Tawatha Agee is one of my favorite voices in the world!!! I love Ledisi, and Me'Shell is my godess!!!

Q: You are also a professor of voice at Berklee College. Please tell me what does a professor of voice do.

Marlon Saunders: These days you spend a lot of time convincing students that it is indeed important to practice and to vocalize...LOL
I try to work with the students on keeping the idea of singing fun, and as natural and relaxed as possible. There are so many schools of vocal pedagogy and many things are confusing. I try to help the student make the process of breathing and singing as spiritual and whole as it relates to whatever style it is they are singing. A lot of information that I gathered by listening and sharing with great artists would have saved me lots of money and time if some of the teachers I studied with knew how important it is to treat the voice like any other instrument. By this I mean we have to know our voices like any other musician knows their instrument.

For more infos visit marlonsaunders.com, cdbaby.com and read my review of A Groove So Deep - The Live Sessions.