Garrett Harris 6 p.m., March 5
Sound description: Bluesy jazz-fusion.
RIYL: Pat Metheney, Larry Carlton, Wes Montgomery, George Benson
Upcoming Local Shows
- Blurt: "Record Release Roundup" · March 18, 2009
- Blurt: "Stormy Weather... " · Jan. 30, 2008
Influences: Wes Montgomery, Larry Carlton, Mike Stern, Pat Metheny, George Benson, Steve Howe, Paul Jackson Jr., Jimi Hendrix, Steve Lukather, Jeff Lorber, Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page, Joe Pass, Jeff "Skunk" Baxter, Larry Coryell, Al DiMeola, Steve Howe
Fusion jazz guitarist Patrick Yandall has been featured in magazines like Guitar Player, Jazz Times, Smooth & Soul, Smooth Vibes, and Smooth Jazz News. His 2006 album Samoa Soul was nominated for a San Diego Music Award as Best Jazz Album.
"My best gig was in Michigan for a concert at the Midland Dow Center," he recalls. "I was driving up the freeway and saw my face next to Herbie Hancock as one of the headliners for the concert, on a huge billboard."
Yandall's tenth album, Laws of Groovity, includes two tunes, "Viejo Amigo" and "Gaviotas," frequently heard on TV's Weather Channel (founded in 1982 by another San Diegan, KUSI weatherman John Coleman). The station has played Yandall's music as background for three years.
"I submitted some songs to a licensing firm in L.A., and they immediately asked if they could resubmit them to the Weather Channel," explains Yandall. He's been a mainstay of the station ever since. "The company told me my music had become an example of what they liked."
The Weather Channel has attracted a hard-core group of music fans who have posted screenshots of weather reports featuring Yandall's music on YouTube. The station took notice of the interest in its soundtrack and in October of last year released a music compilation (though no Yandall compositions are included).
"Royalties are royalties," comments Yandall about his music being used as aural wallpaper. "It allows me to do projects and not have to work a day gig, other than producing and practicing music."
Yandall acknowledges that the Weather Channel is an unusual place for his music to find a home, but it's not the strangest place he's come across it. "One time I was in a bathroom at a casino and I heard one of my tunes. Weird feeling, but it means royalties."
He admits that live performances tend to be fraught with more pitfalls than rewards. "The worst gig was at Spaghetinnis when a girl asked me to autograph her my CD for her boyfriend, then told me to get away from her table. Didn't understand that one."
Yandall's 2013 album Soul Grind released on the Innervision label and preceded in July by the single "My Lady," includes twelve smooth jazz numbers, two blues-rock cuts, and one hard rock instrumental.