Cover Story

JEFF GOLUB

In the years between fusion and the era of smooth, there was a rock tinged thread that ran through the music that was soon to be called smooth jazz. It started with artists like Jeff Beck and Santana, as they moved into instrumental territory, wove its way through Steely Dan's jazzed up Aja and into the work of Lee Ritenour, Larry Carlton, Robben Ford, and a group of studio heavy-hitters like Dean Brown and Buzz Feiten who soloed front and center on a lot of influential contemporary jazz albums. Then, the focus shifted to mood music tailored for an emerging radio format and that thread got yanked. Most guitarists toned it down to easy riffing and mellow moodscapes, only cutting loose when they hit the stage. Jeff Golub has almost single-handedly kept the rock

and funk flavor alive. It's upfront on every album he's released and he's been consistently sneaking it onto the smooth jazz charts. Seeing way appreciative crowds cling to every note of his Jeff Beck inspired soloing in Stockholm, then stand up and scream when he trades sizzling funk riffs with his Guitars and Saxes tour mates is proof that the audience is ready to rock with him. Hearing his interpretations of Moon River and Groanin' lets you know that he's got his jazz chops down, too!

It's a logical progression for the guitarist who grew up with rock, fell in love with jazz and immersed himself in it as a student at the prestigious Berklee School of Music, spent over a decade touring with rock stars, then released an album that combined elements of both and launched his career as a solo artist. Growing up in the 60’s and 70’s when music was much less genre bound, he listened to everything. It was a time for musical cross-pollination with progressive rock being influenced by classical and jazz, jazz being influenced by R&B and funk, and funk getting a heavy dose of blues. He took it all in. When he heard Wes Montgomery, that clinched it for him. He knew then that he wanted to play jazz and went to Berklee to do just that. After graduation, he moved to New York intending to establish himself as a jazz musician and ended up being invited to join rocker Billy Squier's band. He thought it would be fun to get back into rock and it gave him a chance to be part of a European tour, so he signed on and stayed for several albums and a few world tours. The next rock star to call was Rod Stewart. He toured with Stewart for eight years and during that time, he became friends with Rick Braun, who was also in the band. They hit it off musically, too and began to collaborate on some instrumental songs. Braun's first CD, Intimate Secrets, was created during breaks in different cities while they were on tour. Braun left the band to pursue his solo career, then, when Golub had some break time, they went in the studio and recorded some music he had written. That project turned into Avenue Blue, which surprised them both by becoming a hit.

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