About: Charley Langer
Charley Langer sometimes refers to his debut full length
independent recording Never The Same as “an art project with some very
hot players” – but there’s no doubt about the Northern California based
saxophonist’s mainstream potential and ability to connect with thousands of
contemporary jazz fans in his home region and around the U.S. and world. Even
before the album’s official release, its infectious and grooving title track
received significant airplay on The Weather Channel and Smooth Jazz.com, and
the video Langer made of the song gets about 400 views per day and has had over
115,000 lifetime views on YouTube. Fans can also create a “Charley Langer”
station on Pandora – a rarity for a still emerging indie artist.
While he played saxophone in Southern California for a few
years after receiving his Master’s in Performance from USC, the classically
trained Langer had been away from music for a few years when Jon Basebase, a
renowned musician that he befriended while living in Honolulu, suggested he
begin playing and writing again. Langer had moved to Hawaii, where he worked as
an environmental specialist, but found ample opportunities to play with
Basebase and other entertainers, including the Bobby King Royal Combo and
Willie Barton Orchestra.
After relocating to Sacramento, California, Langer began focusing on composing
and recording and hooked up with drummer/producer Ron Wikso, who currently
performs with Gregg Rollie, founding keyboardist for Journey and Santana. Wikso
brought in a heavyweight ensemble that includes rock guitarist Kurt Griffey,
world-class bassist Alphonso Johnson (Weather Report), keyboardist Wally Minko
(Jean Luc Ponty) and percussionist Michito Sanchez (Joe Sample).
This unique lineup helped Langer realize a vision that incorporates everything
from smooth contemporary jazz to rock/fusion, old school soul/jazz, Latin and
straight ahead/swing. The result is best described as intelligent smooth jazz –
think Phil Woods meets Boney James. “I have varied interests and I love smooth
jazz, fusion, classical, Hawaiian, reggae…and I grew up listening to swing and
big band via my dad,” says Langer, who has also performed hundreds of gigs over
the past eight years as part of the award winning Steely Dan tribute band,
Steelin’ Dan.
“So naturally,” he says, “the music on Never The Same reflects a lot of
these interests. Ron Wikso was great about making sure that it all hung
together. The idea was to keep it very real with all live players and authentic
instruments. If I wanted acoustic piano, Fender Rhodes or a Hammond B-3 organ,
we used the real article. I wanted everything to sound organic and fresh, and
I’m very excited that people are responding so positively to what they’re
hearing.”
ON STAGE
Langer’s live performances have included many different genres over the
years reflecting the unique array of styles he plays on his alto and soprano
saxes. Early in his musical career, he performed in Southern California with
area orchestras, including the Pacific Symphony and the Santa Monica Symphony,
as well as performing with other groups, such as a duo for the KCRW tribute
concert to the late composer Halsey Stevens. In addition to the Hawaiian
musicians he performed with during his time on Oahu, Langer has played with
Morton Gould, John Adams, Zita Carno and, more recently, contemporary Christian
artists Annie Herring, Julie Meyer, Chris DuPre, Pablo Perez and Gregg Stone.
His gigs with Steelin’ Dan include local clubs (Harlows in downtown Sacramento)
festivals like the Sacramento Jazz Festival, casinos (Harrah’s in Reno) and
numerous wineries and amphitheatres. He is currently booking dates to play his
own music as part of a duo with guitarist Kurt Shiflet.
MUSIC
Never The Same lives up to its name in that each of its ten tracks has
its own distinct vibe, personality and set of musical influences. Written to
reflect a challenging time in his life, the easy funk title track finds Langer
in a slight melancholy mood in the verses, feeling hopeful in the pre-chorus
and hitting his stride, breaking through to the light on the exuberant chorus.
The tropical, Latin-flavored “Epifania” introduces the listener to Langer’s
wistful melodic soprano, his colorful horn texturing and Wally Minko’s lively
acoustic piano. The similarly vibrant and percussive “Outside In” features a
playful jazzy sax melody and Minko’s Fender Rhodes coolness over Matt
Bissonette’s bubbling bass groove. Following the lighthearted and melodic
“Refuge” is the edgy jazz/rock fusion ballad “Remember When”—the first song
Langer composed for the album. It begins as a moody sax driven ballad, then
evolves in emotional intensity and a touch of gritty blues with Griffey’s
blistering electric guitar intensity. Minko’s Hammond B-3 adds an old school
bluesy jazz flavor to the bouncy mid tempo funk of “City Lights”, which
features Langer at his alto strutting best.
Though the seductive reflection of “Gray Skies” has a gentle melancholy
feeling, Langer actually wrote it on a very hot Sacramento afternoon when he
was dreaming of a cooler, cloudy day. He calls the album’s spirited; straight
ahead jazz/swing excursion “Upside Down” because it was inspired by one of his
favorite Charlie Parker tunes, “Confirmation”. To create the classic big band
vibe, Langer says he flipped Parker’s song upside down, so his song is
rhythmically similar to the original tune but the melody moves in a completely
opposite direction.
Never The Same wraps with the in-the-pocket, soaring
“Once In A Lifetime” (which features colorful horn textures and brass
flourishes) and the dark, haunting “Expressivo”, an ambient piece which
includes a tender call and response pattern between Langer’s emotional soprano
and Mark Morris’ acoustic guitar.
FROM THE BEGINNING
Langer grew up in Boulder, Colorado, the son of a geophysicist who was also
a jazz and big band aficionado. His father tried to steer him towards
engineering, but music was Langer’s first love and he began taking lessons from
his junior high band teacher, Vincent Gnojek, who worked with several prominent
classical groups. He developed his technique under such masters of the
saxophone as Gnojek, Douglas Masek and Laura Hunter.
While Langer found numerous opportunities to work as a musician after finishing
grad school, he became discouraged at one point and “took the straight route” –
first working in fundraising for the radio station KUSC and later following
(sort of) in his dad’s scientific footsteps as an environmental specialist,
supervising the cleanups of hazardous waste sites. This career gave him the
foundation to pursue his musical dreams in many unique ways, from his years of
playing with Steelin’ Dan to recording and releasing his debut CD.
Charley Langer – Official Website
http://www.charleylanger.com/
Charley Langer – Sign UP
http://www.charleylanger.net/
Charley Langer – Reverbnation
http://www.reverbnation.com/charleylanger
Charley Langer - MySpace
http://www.myspace.com/charleylangermusic
Charley Langer - Facebook
http://www.facebook.com/LangerMusic
Charley Langer - Twitter
https://twitter.com/charleylanger
Charley Langer – Smooth Jazz Place - Blog
http://www.smoothjazzplace.com/
Video!
Charley Langer - YouTube
http://www.youtube.com/user/charleylanger
Buy Music!
Charley Langer – Official Store
http://www.charleylanger.com/fr_home.cfm
Charley Langer – CD Baby
http://www.cdbaby.com/Artist/CharleyLanger
Charley Langer - iTunes
https://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/charley-langer/id340746390
Charley Langer - eMusic
http://www.emusic.com/artist/charley-langer/12913988/
Charley Langer - Amazon
http://www.amazon.com/Never-Same-Charley-Langer/dp/B0031DS6HW/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1289291589&sr=1-1
NOTABLE LIVE PERFORMANCES
Sacramento Jazz Festival - Sacramento, CA
Kobra Crush 29 Art & Wine Festival - Roseville, CA
Best of Sacramento Awards - Sacramento, CA
Art & Wine Affaire - El Dorado Hills, CA
Naggiar Vineyards & Winery - Grass Valley, CA
El Dorado Art & Wine Festival - Placerville, CA
Harrah's Reno - Reno, NV
David Girard Vineyards - Placerville, CA
Crystal Bay Casino - Crystal Bay, NV
Evening In Art - El Dorado Hills, CA
Orchard Creek Amphitheatre - Lincoln Hills, CA
Grass Valley Center for the Arts - Grass Valley, CA
Brentwood Corn Festival - Brentwood, CA
Harrah's Tahoe - Tahoe, CA
Sutter Creek Theatre - Sutter Creek, CA
Blue Goose Theatre - Loomis, CA
City of Auburn's Summer Concert Series - Auburn, CA
Crest Theatre - Sacramento, CA
Feather Falls Casino - Oroville, CA
Garbeau's Dinner Theatre - Rancho Cordova, CA
Harlow's Restaurant & Nightclub - Sacramento, CA
Rancho Murieta Outdoor Concert Series - Rancho Murieta, CA
Colusa Casino Resort - Colusa, CA
Rocklin Jubilee - Rocklin, CA
Black Oak Casino - Sonora, CA
QUOTES
“It’s amusing that Langer affectionately refers to
Never The Same as his
little art project, because normally that phrase means something a musician
does for himself (and maybe a few friends) that has minimal mainstream
commercial appeal. He takes an artistic approach to contemporary jazz for sure,
mixing in a lot of dynamic old school soul-jazz textures (Fender Rhodes and
Hammond B-3) and touching on various related styles, from Latin and edgy rock
fusion to (on the album’s coolest, most unexpected excursion, “Upside Down”),
straight ahead jazz. But avant-garde this isn’t. In fact, it’s one of the most
infectious and engaging, instantly likeable in the pocket independent artist
releases this year. It’s funky, it swings, it’s playful, it’s emotional –
that’s a lot of places for a musical heart to go on one collection, but Langer
does it all naturally and organically, supplementing his sharp array of sax
sounds with real instruments and a lot of live band interaction. The title
track everyone is hearing on The Weather Channel and YouTube is great, but just
scratches the surface of Langer’s many musical muses. Let’s hope he does
another “little art project” soon. All contemporary jazz albums should be this
exciting.
–Jonathan Widran
“Saxophonist Charley Langer, who’s studied under jazz masters and performed
with numerous artists on stage, brings his musical chops to the forefront in
Never
the Same, his debut CD. It’s smooth jazz with bite, beefed up with
contributions from world-class musicians. The title track is a smooth jazz and
YouTube hit, a free-flowing track with a memorable chorus and angular solos
from Langer and electric guitarist Kurt Griffey. Langer is lively on
“Epifania”, combining his soprano and alto sax attack with brassy trumpet and
trombone from Tom Marino. Langer can jazz it up, as he does with “Giant
Steps”-like runs on “Outside In” and “Upside Down”, a swinging straight ahead
number. Blues influences seep into “Remember When”, and a dreamy Rhodes
interlude from Wally Minko spices up the ballad “Refuge”. Sax, Hammond B3 and
guitar lead the attack on the energetic “City Lights”, which leads to the
after-party slow-burner “Gray Skies” and Langer’s long sax lines.”
– Brian
Soergel, JazzTimes
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