Mindi Abair

Mindi Abair

By: Lori Smerilson Carson

Here we are again approaching the holiday season. A time for fun, relaxation and of course, amazing music. Lucky for us in Florida, Saxophonist/Singer Mindi Abair is bringing her extraordinary musical talents to our state, featuring her outstanding adaptations and creations of Christmas music. Since her debut album always and never the same released in 1999, Abair has recorded and played with many world renown musicians (such as Smokey Robinson, Joe Bonamassa, Trombone Shorty and Kenny Wayne Shepherd), has received two Grammy nominations (one for Best Pop Instrumental Album in 2014 and Best Contemporary Instrumental Album in 2015), was featured on American Idol, as well as The Late Show with David Letterman and The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, and in 2019,2020,2021, she was nominated for Best Instrumentalist (horn) by the Blues Music Awards. Now, she has just released her latest album I Can’t Wait For Christmas and is bringing this tour of the same name to The Funky Biscuit in Boca Raton on December 14th, Maxwell C. King Center for the Performing Arts in Melbourne on December 15th, Florida Theatre in Jacksonville on December 17th, Charlotte Harbor Event & Conference Center in Punta Gorda on December 18th, the Lyric Theatre in Stuart on December 19th, and Bilheimer Capitol Theatre in Clearwater on December 20th.

Catching up with Abair just prior to her I Can’t Wait For Christmas Tour, she revealed some details about the show, her new album, a bit about her past, and what fans can look forward to.

SFL Music Magazine: You’ll be at the Funky Biscuit on December 14th. How did the I Can’t Wait For Christmas tour come about?
Mindi Abair: I have been either doing Christmas tours or hosting Christmas tours for the past twenty-one years, and I’ve done so many of them with Peter White as part of a Peter White Christmas. Then I started hosting my own a few years back. So, this year I took the chance to host my own. I knew I was making a Christmas record of the same title, so I thought it all came together nicely. My Christmas album I Can’t Wait For Christmas is coming out Friday. It’s coming out the 22nd. It all kind of works together perfectly, this evil master Christmas plan (she laughed) to bring Christmas cheer to everyone in a few different ways. I called Lindsey Webster who did my tour with me a couple years ago, and Marcus Anderson is another saxophonist and singer who Is just so crazy, great! I’m such a fan. So, I called them and you know what? We made it happen and here we are. I always like to spend as much time as humanly possible in Florida ‘cause I like a warm holiday. I grew up in St. Petersburg, Florida, so it feels like home to me. As you’ll see, there’s a pile of dates in Florida.

SFL Music Magazine: I did see that. That’s exciting! The last time we spoke, you did tell me that you grew up in St. Petersburg and Clearwater. As far as coming back to Florida, is there anything in particular you are looking forward to? Catching up with family or friends?
Abair: So many family and friends are coming out to a bunch of the dates. I kind of have people everywhere. A bunch are coming to the Funky Biscuit. Actually, a lot of people who have gone on our Wine and Jazz Adventures over the years are coming down to the Funky Biscuit. People who have come on our Wine and Jazz Adventures, they become friends and they end up doing things together without us which we feel left out then, but I love that everyone becomes such good friends. So, it will be nice to have a bunch of our Wine and Jazz, we call them Adventurers, back in the audience cheering us on in the U.S. A lot of family, a lot of friends. I even have my fifth grade English teacher coming to see me in Clearwater which is awesome!

SFL Music Magazine: That is very cool!
Abair: And the show is really fun this year. I did something different. We kind of laid it out a bit differently. I always like to give people a very different show and change it up. Obviously, the artists that are with me come into play with what we want to play, what we’re feeling. Now I have this new album of material to draw from too. So, we’re doing a few really fun new things. I am structuring the show as kind of a theater experience. It’s not going to be a normal show that you know, you walk onstage like, hey everyone! Welcome to the Funky Biscuit! It’s gonna be a narrator, and the narrator is going to walk us through kind of the different phases of getting to Christmas from the point of, I can’t wait for Christmas. Every year I think all of us start to get into the holiday spirit. We start to see the trees coming out. We start to see the décor coming out, and most of us are saying to each other, I can’t wait for Christmas, but you have things to do, and you have things that are going to happen and things that have to happen, and things that play out before Christmas. So, that’s what our show is about this year. It’s about working our way to big Christmas day and our big Christmas show. So, the audience is going to walk through that whole process with us musically and kind of get a different feel of the show.

SFL Music Magazine: That is definitely something for fans to look forward to. What inspired the new album?
Abair: I always want to make Christmas music. In the Thank Yous section in the record, there’s always a Thank You section, I wrote that my now manager Bud Harner, he was my A&R person. The A&R person is the person that signs you to a record deal. So, way back in 2002, Bud Harner signed me to Verve Records, and while we were making my first record, we were talking, I said what a fan of Christmas music I am. The melodies, the feel, the joy, the love. All of it, and he goes, “Well, I think you should record a Christmas record.” So, I went in and did two songs, both of which I’ll play at our show on the 14th. That was so special for me, for someone to give me that ok, hey do it! Since then, I’ve recorded a bunch of Christmas albums with Peter White and Rick Braun, and I did one as Mindi Abair & The Boneshakers. It was a blues, rock-oriented Christmas record. So, this is the first time I’ve really recorded a full-length Christmas record on my own, and I’ve been wanting to do this for so many years. Just things stood in the way whether it was timing or whether it was I had another record coming out and I couldn’t make it happen or whatever, but I would not take no for an answer this year. We were going in the studio; we did in July. It was 90 degrees in Los Angeles and we recorded, and it was everything I hoped. It was just so much fun and it’s the Christmas record I’ve really always wanted to make. I wanted to make a very timeless, classic album that was my sensibility. I’m really, really excited how it came out.

SFL Music Magazine: When we spoke in 2021, you had THE BEST OF MINDI ABAIR album come out.
Abair: Yeah.

SFL Music Magazine: You explained that you looked back over the years and you felt like each album sort of captured that time period because you write about what you’re going through and what you’re feeling. Would you say the same applies to this new Christmas album?
Abair: Absolutely! I stand by that. I think every record is a snapshot of where you are in your life. For me, I’ve played a lot of Christmas music over the years and I’ve been a lover of Christmas music from the time I was a kid. So, to stand here in 2024 and create an album of what Christmas is to me, it’s gonna be that classic, timeless feel that I want to go for this year. Who knows why or how or whatever, but I sat in a room with a few of my really good friends and just played and talked and felt it all, and we came up with these arrangements, and it was all very visceral how we felt about Christmas. What we wanted to convey through the music. I really think it’s a less is more. A very soulful record. I think it draws from what I’ve been doing lately and the music that I’ve been making, but obviously, just leans into Christmas. I chose songs that are my favorite Christmas songs, but I also recorded of course, I had to record a couple that I wrote. I can’t make it all holiday classics. The one song “I Can’t Wait for Christmas” which is the title track, is a reimagination of that original song that I wrote in 2003, that I recorded for Verve. This one will make you dance all the way to Christmas. It’s so fun! Then another one I wrote is called “Wrap Yourself Around Me” and it’s a real tongue in cheek kind of catchy, bluesy song. It’s almost kind of inappropriate for Christmas (she laughed). It’s not like your father’s Christmas song, but kind of instead of wrapping presents, come wrap yourself around me. It’s a little inappropriate Christmas love song (she laughed).

SFL Music Magazine: We need those, right?
Abair: I’m fine with it. I hope everyone else is.

SFL Music Magazine: Speaking of fathers, the last time we spoke we talked about how you became a musician being raised with music. Your father played in a band in St. Petersburg called The Entertainers. Your grandmother was an opera singer. You literally went on the road after birth.
Abair: I did.

SFL Music Magazine: You also mentioned that when you were in school, your music teacher laid out instruments and you were drawn to the saxophone. What would you say about having those experiences and growing up with such influential people? How do you feel that attributes to your music, your career?
Abair: I think growing up in a musical family was really a beautiful thing for me. Music was everywhere and music was just a part of everyday life like eating or going to school. It was just always happening around me, and it was always different. Whether it was my grandmother playing classical piano or singing arias and opera, or whether it was my dad having a rock band over to record in our living room after school. It was just something that was my normal. So, going into make music as a living, as something that I would do for a lifetime, never felt odd or it never felt like a stretch. I never questioned it. It was just kind of something that I always did, and I always loved music. So, I thank the people around me. My teachers and my elders, my grandmother and father and mother for just encouraging me and making it ok to have music around all the time, and just making it a really joyful place that I wanted to make my life like that. They didn’t tell me, “Oh you can’t play saxophone because you’re a girl. Girls don’t do that” or “you shouldn’t go into music as a living. That’s a really hard thing to do. No, that’s not good for you. You should go be an architect.” None of that was happening, and they offered up different things and said, “hey whatever you want to do, it’s great! You don’t have to do what we did,” but it was just fun and it was fun to bring the fun to other people too. Now I stand in front of audiences and watch people escape, and watch people smile and emote, and it’s amazing! Like, what a cool job!

SFL Music Magazine: You went to Berklee, you toured with Duran Duran in their band as well as the Backstreet Boys. You also toured with Aerosmith and recorded with Gregg Allman, Joe Perry. Having had those experiences, is there anyone in particular that you would like to work with in the future?
Abair: Some of those just came out of the blue that I couldn’t have even dreamed. That Bruce Springsteen would call and ask me to play for a night or that Steven Tyler would say, “hey forget you. Who’s your sax player?” And hire me for Aerosmith’s tour. Some of those things were never like, ooh, I wish I could do that. They just happened, and they were really amazing gifts and life experiences. I always reach out to people that I want to make music with, and I’ve been really lucky to work with some people that I think are incredible. Booker T. Jones comes to mind or Keb’ Mo’ or you had mentioned Gregg Allman. I think, probably on my short list would be Bonnie Raitt. I just think she’s just a beautiful soul and I love her voice. I love her songwriting. I love her vibe. She’s someone that was a good role model to a lot of people as a musician. As an instrumentalist, but also as a songwriter and performer. I would love to do something with her. I just feel like she’s quality through and through.

SFL Music Magazine: Currently, people can look forward to you playing with Lindsey and Marcus with the upcoming shows.
Abair: They’re amazing! I mean, Lindsey opens her mouth and she’s got the voice of an angel. It’s amazing. In normal life, it’s amazing, but put it on Christmas songs. I’ve just watched people burst into tears immediately. It’s awesome! Marcus is so much fun. He’s just a ball of energy, super young. He’s turning forty this weekend. He’s the whole package of a performer and a musician and an artist. Really cool guy.

SFL Music Magazine: The last time we spoke, you also mentioned your wine company, as you previously spoke of today. You are doing the wine tasting. What can fans look forward to with that? New wines?
Abair: Yeah. Wine and Jazz has come a long way since I spoke to you last. We have hundreds of club members all over the U.S. now, and a bunch in Florida of course ‘cause we’re in Florida so much. So, a bunch of our club members are coming down. In front of all my shows now we do Wine and Jazz tastings, and it’s so much fun. My husband co-hosts it with me. Look, I’ve spent my life playing music and creating music, but my husband spent his whole life running really iconic wineries. He ran Mumm Napa and the champagne house G.H. Mumm. Perrier-Jouët. He ran Kendall-Jackson. I think we’ve all drank our share of Kendall-Jackson. So, he is a very true wine lover, but he knows a lot. He has been an executive and run some of these wineries that are just bigger than life. So, he walks our guests through a three-wine process. They’re all our company’s wines, and he walks you through a tasting like a sommelier and really teaches you stuff. He’s super fun and super articulate. He’s not one of those really stuffy wine guys. Then I look at everything through music terms. So, each wine, I give you my thought process of how it feels to me musically, and I play you a song that pairs with it. So, that’s what we do with our company. Every wine is branded. We do our own artwork. Eric has winemakers that work for us that make us eight wines a year. Mostly in California, but from Washington as well, and Oregon as well. We create all the artwork. It’s music centric, and then pair each wine with a playlist that I curate based on that wine style, the music style that matches with it. We love to do that. We love to pair wine and music. It’s kind of our natural habitats. So, that’s what you can expect if you come early and join us for the Wine and Jazz tasting. It’s a whole evening of getting into the holiday spirit (she laughed).
SFL Music Magazine: Do you have to be in the club?

Abair: No. Anybody can buy a ticket to come in, and the tickets aren’t that expensive. You’re gonna get three different wines and just a whole hour long, very intimate presentation, and kind of party, drinking these wines together and playing some music.
SFL Music Magazine: We also spoke about how you had written a book called How to Play Madison Square Garden. Are you going to write another book in the future?
Abair: I loved writing that book and it’s been amazing having it out there. I’ll do presentations on it at companies or universities and stuff like that. Right now, I have no other books on the brain to write. I’ve had my hands full with you know, I made two records this year. My solo record, which we’re just finishing up now is going to come out next year. We continue to host our Wine and Jazz Adventures. I hosted two weeks of those. It’s forty people on a six-day curated journey. We go to wineries and stay in five-star resorts and eat at Michelin star restaurants, and I do a concert a day with friends all around the world. So, we’ve put those on now in Napa, Sonoma, Bordeaux, Rioja, Spain, San Sebastián, Tuscany, Piedmont, Italy and Provence, France. We’re hosting five weeks of those next year in Provence, France and Piedmont, Italy. I’ll be on The Smooth Jazz Cruise and the Chris Botti cruise (Botti at Sea), and the Dave Koz Cruise next year as well. Then this year is going to be my first year hosting my Wine and Jazz New Year’s Eve. So, we have between five hundred and six hundred people coming down for New Year’s Eve for a three-day event that we put together that’s concerts and wine tastings, and food and wine pairings at story tellers’ events and stuff. Super fun. Its off the coast of San Diego in Coronado Island. So, I’ve had my hands just super full doing all that. So yeah, books going to have to wait (she laughed).

SFL Music Magazine: Was there anything else you want to add for people to know about the show?
Abair: I just want people to come down and escape, and get into the holiday spirit and party with us for Christmas. I love coming down to the Funky Biscuit. It’s just always a beautiful vibe. I don’t know what it is. There’s fairy dust in the air or something in there. It could be the alcohol. I don’t know. Could be the biscuits (she laughed).