Guitarist Chuck Loeb has been a popular staple on the smooth jazz scene for over 20 years. His talent for playing, writing, and producing music, for himself as well as others, has kept smooth jazz fans happy for all this time. Chuck was recently named the new guitarist for the super group Fourplay, who have also been keeping music fans happy for the last 20 years. Their latest release, Let's Touch the Sky marks the recording debut of Fourplay with their newest member. This month, Chuck Loeb talks with Smoothviews about his Fourplay debut and his solo career, among other things.

Smoothviews (SV): Congratulations on being the latest member of Fourplay.
Chuck Loeb (CL): Thank you.  I appreciate it.  It’s very exciting. I’m pretty happy about it.

SV: The album is going to release in a couple of weeks (October 25th) and you’ve already been playing some dates with the band.  How is it, stepping into a group that has the 20 year history that Fourplay has?
CL: I’ve been a fan of the band since the very beginning, so I feel a sense of pride, also, the responsibility to keep that legacy going of this high quality musicianship, as well as production value and class.  I think it’s a class group, so it’s important to me to try and keep that in mind as I make my contribution, to the extent that I can.

SV: I’ve been listening to the new Fourplay CD for a couple of days and I can clearly hear your influence on the music.  Does it change any of the writing for a group where each musician is so prominently featured versus writing your own material which would highlight your guitar playing, or writing for other people?  Does it change your focus or the process at all, with the writing?
CL: Absolutely.  No question about it.  For me, thankfully, I’m often called on to write for other artists.  When I’m writing, I always give it a lot of thought in terms of their style, and how what I’m writing is going to be interpreted by them.  There are two aspects to it.  One, is you want to try and incorporate their personalities.  The other aspect is that you would like to bring something to challenge them with as well.  Interestingly, in this case, I was certainly writing, thinking about that Fourplay sound.  You know what I’m talking about when I say that Fourplay sound.  So, I was certainly thinking about that when I brought the material that I compiled into the recording sessions.  The interesting thing is that, of the four things that I presented, they chose the ones that were less pigeon holed in the Fourplay sound.  They wanted to take my music that was a little bit different from what theirs might have been in my interpretation.  They ended up doing the more challenging of the compositions of mine that I brought in, which I thought was great.  It pushed the envelope a little bit.

SV: For your contributions, you’ve got “3rd Degree,” and “Above and Beyond.”  I keep hitting the repeat on “Above and Beyond.” I like that one a lot.  It’s a great song.
CL: Oh!  Cool!  Thank you. 

SV: I want to talk a little about the role you play at the Berks Jazz Festival.  I’ve been attending for many years, and we can always count on Gerald Veasley, Rick Braun, and Chuck Loeb.  You’re such a huge part of that festival, not just for the concerts, and the jam sessions, but with the classes and education part of it as well.  That’s huge.  How important is music education to you?
CL: I’m one of the hosts for the jam session at Berks, as usual, with Rick Braun.  I’m also going to be doing another date there.  Music education is extremely important, first of all, quite simply because I love it.  It’s really great.  Second of all, and this is kind of cliché.  I’m sure you’ve heard people say this, but, it’s really true.  It’s a cliché for a reason, which is, when I get a chance to teach, it’s like re-learning the stuff yourself.  It’s a great opportunity to re-examine the things that are important in the music that we play.  Also, it’s a little bit like doing yoga or something.  It’s refreshing.  It brings you back to life.  I love that aspect of it.  Then, being involved with people like Gerald [Veasley].  Gerald is really the one that inspired me to get involved with the strings training thing because he’s got the Bass Boot Camp.  His attitude is great.  It’s a chance to share a different part of the music with the fans and with your peers.  It’s really great.  I love it.

SV: I digressed a little.  I wanted to talk a little more about the CD.  Anita Baker and Ruben Studdard are both wonderful vocalists and they’ve done great work on this CD.  Tell me a little about those experiences.
CL: It’s pretty amazing for me.  Since the beginning with El DeBarge, up through Patti Austin, Michael McDonald, Phil Collins, all these great singers, they’ve set the bar pretty high.  Nathan had been working with Anita, so when he talked about bringing Anita in, we were all there with our fingers and toes crossed.  And, low and behold, the way it worked out was kind of magical.  She was coming in to meet with us and hang out with us while we were recording.  Bob suggested that, we could surprise her with a track so she has something to listen to when she gets here, rather then just talking.  So, we did that.  This is Bob’s genius.  We sat in this band, we knew the key that she liked to sing the song in, and so we came up with this arrangement.  We put it together.  She walked in and listened to it and said, “Wow!  Let me try singing that.”  One thing led to another.  By the next day, the thing came together.  We had to change the key a little bit, but, it was just amazing. 

With Ruben, again, Nathan was the key.  Nathan had worked with him on a TV show.  They’d been fooling around at sound check and started playing “Love TKO,” and Ruben just killed it.  The whole set, everybody stopped just to listen to him.  It was the same thing.  We put this track together and the guy came in to sing it.  I think he did his entire set in under an hour.  He just sang this amazing vocal.  He really rose to the occasion and brought an amazing gift to our project.  I’m thrilled to be a part of this, really. 

SV: You’ve worked with Bob James a lot over the years, haven’t you?  You guys are not strangers.
CL: That’s right.  I think that has a lot to do with my getting thought of in this capacity.  We’ve had a working relationship for quite awhile playing in his band and producing for him.  He’s played on my CD’s, I’ve played on his CD’s.  For me, it gives me the chance to use the phrase consummate musician.  This guy is the cream of the crop.  He’s always bringing something extraordinary to the situation.  And you know it’s not just music.  The guys’ a hugely talented pianist, composer, arranger, orchestrator, producer, and all of that, but there’s this whole other level of his long career in the music business, and all of his experiences.  You see, in the instances where I mentioned Anita, and in other instances where just his demeanor, his diplomacy, his people skills, and his knowledge of the business brings things that you just don’t expect.  I’ve learned so much just from being around the guy, both musically and personally.  It’s a great relationship.  I’m really happy to keep this friendship going in this way.  Thank you Bob.

SV: Was there an intimidation stepping into Fourplay?
CL: I’m sorry, but I don’t understand that question.  They should have felt intimidated. (Laugh)  Yes, I did, in fact, for obvious reasons of being in the company of such great players, and stars in their own rights.  But also, coming on the heels of Larry [Carlton] and Lee [Ritenour], and having such big shoes to fill, there was a little bit of that.  But, I have to say that, from the beginning, the guys said we are not asking you to come in as an imitation of anything.  Just be yourself.  We support that.  And they have supported that from the beginning, so, what better than that?  They’re just asking me to do what I do.  As I say, going back to where I started, I want to continue the legacy that those two guys and the three remaining members have brought from the beginning, which is this incredible integrity.  It’s class.  And I think we did it.  The new CD has that touch.  That’s what we’re all hoping anyway.

SV: The music is definitely Fourplay, but I can hear your influences on it as well.  You bring your own flavor to it.  And, it’s about the evolution of the band.  I think bands have to evolve, really, if they want to stay fresh, and relevant.
CL: Exactly, and I think change can be good, in some cases.  I feel positive about it so far.  The response has been good so far.  I think we’re accomplishing what we set out to do, which is taking the band to a slightly different place.  People seem to be okay with that.

SV: Changing directions, you have a history of music that you did with Mitch Forman as Metro.
CL: It’s a little secret.  We’ll just keep that between you and me, and whoever listened to it. (Laugh)  It’s a similar line-up; guitar, keyboard, bass and drums.  I’ve been doing that since around ’94 with Mitchell and me, and Wolfgang Haffner, and different bass players along the way.  What we’re thinking now, to make it a little bit different, musically, it’s quite different from Fourplay, but, two years ago we a tour where we did something called Metro Special Edition, which had trumpet and saxophone added.  I think our next recording project is going to be something along those lines, just so there’s a differentiation in the instrumentation. 

SV: With all of these irons in the fire, and everything you’re doing, will you still be writing and producing for other people?
CL: Hopefully yes.  There’s nothing on the table right now.  The next thing for me is doing my own CD.  I’m usually about two years apart on my CD’s, so it’s coming up.  The next one should be in about six months or so.  That’s the next thing I’ll be working on.  Of course, being involved with producing the Fourplay thing and my wife Carmen has a new CD that came out recently that we worked on.  And mine.  It will be pretty busy, especially with the touring and all the other stuff going on.  You never know what’s going to come up. 

SV: Your CD, Between Two Worlds, was out last year, so 2011 would be right on track for the next one next year.
CL: It came out in March 2009, so I’m thinking that sometime late spring I’ll do something.  I’m trying to figure out the concept of what I want to do now, so, stay tuned, as they say. I’ll put a plug in for Carmen’s new CD, called Mi Bossa Nova.  It’s a beautiful CD.  It’s going to be available soon.  It’s not out yet in America, it’s out in Europe.  It’s going to be available within the next few months.

SV: She’s performed up at Berks with you, hasn’t she?
CL: Yes, we were there together two years ago.  And, another plug for my daughter Lizzie, who’s making her way as a singer, songwriter, and guitarist as well.

SV: You have two daughters though, right?  Is everybody musical?
CL: I do have two daughters.  My other daughter is not in the business, but, she’s very musical.  Music is an integral part of our lives, which is cool.

SV: That’s good.  Everybody’s talented.  When I interviewed Bob James, we talked about his artwork.  Are you creative in other areas as well?
CL: I do a little bit of writing as a hobby.  I write prose, short books, and stuff like that.  It’s really just a hobby.  It’s kind of a release.  It’s fun to do to get your mind off of everything on long plane rides.  I may be doing that on my flight to China.

SV: (Laugh) Well, thank you very much for chatting with me this evening.  I’ll continue listening to the CD, and I’ll catch up with Fourplay either at Berks, or the Birchmere, or maybe both.