Crossroads Guitar Festival Q&A with Earl Klugh

With Sonja Grimmsmann

The day before Crossroads Guitar Festival, we caught up with Earl Klugh in between sound checks, rehearsals, and visiting with the invited artists. The Grammy Award-winning guitarist spoke with us about his latest album, Spice of Life, his dream jam, life, and how he expects his acoustic guitar to compete with the electric stylings of the Festival artists. Earl Klugh has received 12 Grammy Nominations and is the Executive Producer of "Weekend of Jazz", the critically acclaimed annual event at The Broadmoor in Colorado Springs, CO.

SG: When were you invited to Crossroads Guitar Festival?

EK: Gosh, I'm trying to remember now. It was a while ago that we got the information. I was just really pleased that I didn't have anything going on at this time because I knew about the Festival. It would have really bummed me out if I got a call to perform and then I was booked so I was really excited about being able to be here and do this.

SG: How did you feel about being invited?

EK: Oh, very honored because there are so many great players. I'm an acoustic guitar player pretty much exclusively, so performing in an event that includes so many different styles I just think it's a wonderful thing. It's a wonderful way to get to know people and share music and tear down boundaries of music. Anything like this, it's just so positive and such a good thing, just one of the best things ever for me.

SG: Have you ever collaborated with any of the artists that are performing at Crossroads Guitar Festival?

EK: I'm trying to think now... is there anybody here that I have worked with before? I think the answer is no. There are certainly people here that I've met and known. I spent time with BB King some years ago and I spent time with Eric a couple of times when we both happened to be in Japan together. We went to a Tower Records store one afternoon together and he also came to see our performance in Japan one night. But basically me being a jazz player I'm kinda far and away from a lot of the players. I got an opportunity this afternoon to sit in with Vince Gill who is a big hero of mine, so I enjoy doing things that are different than what I usually do (laughing).

SG: If you had the chance to gather your dream musicians on stage, who would they be?

EK: Many of the people who are here now. Keb' Mo'. I'm trying to think of who else, the line up itself is incredible. I'm a fan of just about everybody here.

SG: If you could include artists outside of Crossroads Guitar Festival, anyone that you wanted, who would they be?

EK: Well, two weeks ago I did a show with George Benson at the Hollywood Bowl and he's very responsible for my getting signed to my first record deal and helping me with my career. Eric, of course, is one of my favorite players. Someone like John Williams, the great classical guitar player. Oh, Grant Green, Jr, great young guitar player. Leo Kottke. Martin Taylor.

SG: What kind of music would you like to play with these artists, if you had them all in one place?

EK: Oh boy, just good strong melodic music. I think that's one thing I would share with all of these players, very melodic players.

SG: You have been a professional musician for over 30 years. What advice do you have for aspiring musicians to develop a sustainable career?

EK: Very, very good question. Probably the first thing, that is the most important thing, you have to be versatile in your thinking and in your playing. You will have a long career if you can embrace all types of sounds, all types of music, to some extent in your own music, it makes it possible for you to work in many different types of genres. I've worked with classical musicians, jazz musicians, blues musicians, and it's just about keeping an open mind and trying to gain knowledge from every source possible. I think that broadens the way you look at your instrument and it gives you the opportunity to engage with musicians of all styles and genres.

SG: What advice do you have for developing a respectable career, free of tabloids - or the less savory side of publicity?

EK: You just live a good, clean life as much as you can. Try to stay away from the bad stuff.

SG: You play an acoustic nylon stringed guitar. This festival celebrates the guitar in all its variations, but appears to be dominated by electric guitars. How do you feel about this?

EK: I love a situation like this because you kind of stand out in a crowd. It's like everyone has a white shirt on except you (laughing), so you'll get noticed. For better or for worse, you'll get noticed.

SG: You are bringing a fresh jazz perspective to this festival that also includes many blues veterans. How do you expect this combination to go?

EK: I think it'll be great. I love it. Because jazz is an extension of the blues and both are original American music, so it's a celebration of a lot of different things, all rolled into one.

SG: Your most recent album, Spice of Life, is technically superb and combines many personal aspects of your life, including personal mentions in the liner notes and a dedication to your mother. How did you develop this personal exploration?

EK: Gosh, just living life and really looking at the things and the people who influence you at the time and also through your life. Those are the things that you hold on to and keep trying to move ahead with your music.

SG: I got the impression that this was a very personal project. What is it like for an artist to share so much of themselves with the public?

EK: That's a really good question. It's somewhat uncomfortable because I have a private side, but I know that people that I like to listen to their music or people I admire very much I want to know more about them. I want to know what makes them tick or what their lives are like. For music, it gives you another way to look at the music that they are making. You can relate more to what they are relating to if you can divulge enough of yourself for people to dissect.

SG: The Crossroads Guitar Festival celebrates connections and new beginnings. Spice of Life celebrates life. Are you able to make a connection between the two?

EK: Oh yeah! I tell ya, I think the Crossroads Festival, even though there are 30,000 people out there, is a very personal thing for the musicians involved. Just today, getting up and spending time, I've probably had 5 or 6 really good conversations with people that I've admired. You spend a little time together. It's really a great thing, it's really a great connection.

SG: Crossroads Centre Antigua, which provides drug and alcohol recovery programs, is a cause very important to Eric Clapton. What causes are important to you?

EK: I think that is one that is very important in a general way. The whole music business, because of the type of life you lead, it leads to some bad areas from time to time. I just think it's a wonderful thing.

SG: What causes do you support?

EK: I do a lot of things around the country with music in the schools, like public school, because when I was a kid, music was a given in school; you had choir, you had band, you had everything, and it's not a given anymore. That, to me, singly is what's shrinking everything about music. You know, there's nothing wrong with using click tracks but there's a reliance on artificial making of music just by sampling and this type of thing, that the whole thing of learning an instrument and having that connection with something like that isn't completely lost but it's not the way it was when I was young. So I try at every opportunity to go to different schools. If I'm in a city for an extra day I try to connect with the school or something so I can go and talk to the kids. And it doesn't matter, it can be first grade, second grade, junior high, high school. I just think that music will grow and grow healthier if more people invest in trying to play an instrument. You gain a connection to the music that never leaves you and you don't think of it as background or you think of it as a vital part of your life. I'm very big on that.

SG: What's next for you? Do we have to wait another 9 years for an album?

EK: (Laughs.) Oh no, I'm working on an album now and I'm actually going to do another solo album pretty soon. We're starting out on my new album now.

SG: You're on an independent label.

EK: It was Koch records, now it's IE. Same company. They're good people. They gotta be, putting in hard earned money in jazz projects like this. There's still hope out there (laughing).