AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2026 | 17 “I’ve been so blessed with each record, as I have been fortunate to have success with radio, physical sales and streaming.” continued on page 18 Benson, like Wes Montgomery, Pat Metheny and Grant Green, is a clear antecedent for Hawley’s clean, uid guitar style, which he showcases onElectric, the best distillation of Hawley’s many talents as a composer, producer and musician. It features collaborations with saxophonists Dave Koz, Je Ryan, Marion Meadows and Harp as well as Adam’s wife, vocalist Kat Hawley, who helps him reinvent contemporary R&B stylist Tyla’s “Water.” Hawley’s lucid, sensuous pairing with his friend Koz on “Automatic” is an album highlight, but it wasn’t recorded for this album. e guitarist was smart enough to rescue the collaboration from 2024 and give it new life. “ at song came out a year and a half ago—so it precedes the album, but was never released in physical form,” Hawley explained. “I was set to appear on Dave’s Christmas tour in 2024, and he wanted to release some music to promote that tour. He said he would produce a duet for the two of us that we could use to promote the tour and play it together. I was excited, and it was a success in the show, so it was perfect to release here. I’m very proud of it.” Once again, Hawley’s wife Kat, who is a mainstay performer at his concerts, appears. e guitarist said there will be further collaborations between them on successive albums. “She does at least one song on all of my records, and you know, I produced her debut album about a year and a half ago,” he said. “Here, we did a remake of ‘Water,’ and it was fun. We wanted to break some new ground, nd a new way to approach that song than the original. “We’ve been making music almost since the day we met. We met in church just outside of Los Angeles in 2005, and it wasn’t much longer when I became music director, and she was worship leader, so we have been making music for over 20 years now.” e husband-and-wife duo have been featured throughout Hawley’s live shows. “Going back to my debut album in 2016, we had her come up onstage during that tour and sing a song, and we were like, ‘Wow, that was great,’ so I started to look for more ways to incorporate her. “Now, it’s easy because I’m on my seventh album, and she has one, so we have a lot of material to choose from,” he said. “People love it because they obviously come for an instrumental jazz guitar show, and she comes out for the fourth or h song, and it’s a nice change of pace. e show always gets a li . It’s great to keep the audience guessing and give them more than they expected. “We’ve been together over 21 years, and we have an incredible son, Adam Jr., who is 17 years old, so I feel lucky because my wife and I can work and travel the world together. It’s a blessing. I feel lucky.” Kat Hawley is one of eight acts on the guitarist’s label, MBF Entertainment, which he started a er recording his two albums on the late Maurice White’s Kalimba Music. It’s a growing venture that’s producing buzz with artists who are accomplished musicians. “I started my record label, MBF Entertainment, back in 2019, and now I have eight artists signed to the label, and it’s been an incredible experience. “I’m fully hands-on. With everyone who is signed, I work as A&R (artist and repertoire) as well as producer, so I’m producing their music, so I’m involved in getting the music released and promoted and going to radio, streaming and beyond,” added Hawley, who has produced many musicians in his career, including Blake Aaron, Lisa Addeo and Kim Scott. “It’s time-consuming, but I’ve got great artists: Evan Taylor—he’s a great trumpeter from Indiana. He’s a member of Dave Koz and Friends Summer Horns. We’re just about to drop his debut album. Jason Jackson, who spent 10 years in the U.S. Navy Band, and he comes out with me on tour a lot. “And Patrik Dimak is a great guitar player from Hungary. He came up to me when I was signing CDs in Budapest, and we kept in touch, and he sent me his demos, and they were amazing.”
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