“Smooth jazz” is a phrase that, for many, conjures up images of elevators, AM radio stations and dentists’ offices. Some might consider smooth jazz to be music for the mature set only.
However, on the night of Nov. 7, youth met experience when Detroit native and smooth jazz pioneer Earl Klugh returned to his hometown to perform, along with the Detroit Civic Youth Orchestra, in front of a packed audience at the Max M. Fisher Music Center’s Orchestra Hall.
Klugh began his career in the 1970s and has been playing professionally since he was a teenager. He has made more than 25 records and has been nominated for a Grammy Award more than 10 times. He won a Grammy for his 1979 album with Bob James titled “One on One.”
His latest album, “The Spice of Life,” was made after a nine-year hiatus from recording. He told the audience that he took a break because he was angry at his record company, and after that, he needed some time to remember how to make music again.
“When you stop for a while, it’s kind of hard to get back into the groove of things,” Klugh said.
The Detroit Civic Youth Orchestra, whose members are primarily high school students and a few college freshmen, is considered to be the most advanced of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra’s youth ensembles.
“It’s an honor for us to be up here with these guys,” Klugh said. “It’s just tremendous.”
Audience reaction to Klugh’s performance set the record straight: Anyone can appreciate smooth jazz.
During the show, Klugh and his band alternated between playing high-speed complex compositions and slow, hushed ballads. Between songs, he sometimes reminisced about many of the great artists that he and his band members have worked with, including Aretha Franklin, Roberta Flack, Burt Bacharach and Parliament Funkadelic. Even though he took a break from recording, he said he still enjoys making albums.
Then he corrected himself.
“I call them albums,” Klugh said. “I guess they’re CDs or downloads or whatever. I can’t keep up.”
Cellist Brendon Wilson, 17, and violinist Brendan Pam, 16, said that they were not familiar with Klugh’s work before performing with him.
“It was interesting,” Wilson said. “[It’s] a different style.”
WSU graduate and former faculty member Terry Herald served as guest conductor during the orchestra’s performance.
“I don’t think any of them had heard of Earl Klugh unless their parents were fans,” Herald said.
Herald could sense that the students quickly grasped the significance of Klugh’s music once he arrived.
“They really got into it,” Herald said.
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