Smooth Jazz News - October-November-Decemeber - 2024

O C T O B E R / N O V E M B E R / D E C E M B E R 2 0 2 4 | 2 5 I thought if I wasn’t on the road backing up other artists, I could have a little band so I could do some gigs around town, but there was no plan for it to be a career.” Elliot is in the spotlight now, thanks to the release of the spirited and upbeat Straight Up Down , which finds the saxophonist in a life-affirming mood. The songs on this new album demonstrate his evolving aesthetic and superb musicianship. Producers Paul Brown and Euge Groove strip away unnecessary instrumentation for a cleaner sound focused on Elliot’s lithe, lyrical saxophone work. It makes for a wonderfully melodic mix of genres as Elliot hopscotches through funky bounce, sensual romanticism, soulful grooves, and R&B. Included with the set of eight originals is a cover of Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis’ “Tell Me (if You Still Care About Me),” which breathes new life into their hit. “I definitely wanted to create a positive record—something upbeat and uplifting,” said Elliot, who is also a software engineer and entrepreneur. “If you go back to my last album, which I did during COVID, it had a different set of feelings because of what we were going through. “With this,” he continued, “I wanted to present an emergence from that with something feel-good and lighthearted—feeling free and light. That’s kind of the mindset of the new record, and the music reflects that. “I draw on the full human experience for my art—the good, the bad, the positive and the sad—so the music varies, but I always try to be honest. You can’t force it or preconceive a mood. This is about gratitude, feeling good and emerging into the light.” He collaborates with his longtime friend, saxophonist Groove, on the two most song-savvy tracks, “Very Delicious,” which begins the album on a potent note, and the supple “Driftin.’” Groove’s production gives Elliot plenty of room to breathe, allowing the songs to soar. Elliot is effusive about Groove, whom he recommended as a replacement for him in Tower of Power in 1984. “Euge and I have been friends for decades,” reminisced Elliot. “I’ve always been a big admirer of him, but we never recorded together. He was gracious enough to ask me to play on his latest release. After that, he said, ‘Hey, man, if you ever want to work together on some of your stuff, let me know.’ I was already working on mine, so we got together. It was such a fun process—he’s so good and intuitive. He lets you be you but pushes you at the same time. It was a delight.” One of the highlights of the album is the lovely ballad “Beautiful,” which is dedicated to Elliot’s wife, Camella. The saxophonist was pensive while reflecting on the song. “That is dedicated to and inspired by my wife. At least one song on every album is dedicated to her. She is the ultimate inspiration to me and the love of my life. She’s the mother of my children, and they are the inspiration behind what I’m very lucky to do to make a living.” Elliot’s road to solo success started as a sideman and studio musician for some of the most luminous artists in pop music. He recorded with The Four Tops, Smokey Robinson and The Temptations, and toured with Melissa Manchester and Rickie Lee Jones, among others. He cites joining the Yellowjackets and Tower of Power as the defining gigs of his early life, though. “My five years with Tower of Power were the single most important thing in my musical education,” the Glasgow, Scotland, native, who grew up in Los Angeles, said. “I learned more with that band than with any other group or artist I’ve worked with. I learned about being a team player, telling a story with your instrument, and, of course, being part of a horn section. Tower was my graduate school. That said, I had such a great experience playing with the Yellowjackets also.” The merging of Tower of Power’s rock- soul-R&B influence and the jazzy fusion of the Yellowjackets is evident in Elliot’s solo music, and it’s readily apparent on Straight Up Down . The saxophonist takes great pride in the many endeavors he has outside of music. He’s a devoted family man, engineer and philanthropist. Elliot is a father of five who tries to spend as much time as he can with his family. “Family is everything to me,” he said. “Parenting is an interesting thing because they are still your kids even though they are adults. We take pleasure and pride in watching them blossom and follow their passions. It’s so important to who we are.” His children are grown and doing their own things, but he remains involved. “My oldest (Candice) is 34, and she’s an entrepreneur and business owner who is doing very well. She owns a fitness facility in San Diego. My oldest son (Bub) is 30 and a business owner doing great. He owns a power-lifting gym. They both got into fitness. “My other daughter (Mikayla) is 26 and getting her master’s in clinical psychology. I have a 24-year-old son (Eli), and he’s the only one still playing music. He attends Berklee College of Music. They all started on music, but he continued. My youngest (Julian) is 19 and just finished his freshman year at Cal Poly.” When Elliot is not recording or heating up clubs and amphitheaters, he takes some free time to build an airplane at home. Most people use fine-print directions and glue bought at Hobby Lobby, but Elliot, a licensed pilot, is channeling his inner Wright brothers. “The plane is still in process,” he said, laughing slightly. “I’m seven years into it, and my wife keeps asking me, ‘When is that going “I draw on the full human experience for my art—the good, the bad, the positive and the sad—so the music varies, but I always try to be honest.” continued on page 26