Tony Guerrero: Tuned to the Classics
The multi-talented trumpeter comes to Spaghettini with the mindset of "choosing the right songs first."

A jazz musician, a playwright and a novelist, Guerrero has had a busy year with the release of his new Grammy-nominated CD "Blue Room" [see the YouTube video at right] and the publication of his new book "The Christmas Station," based on the play he co-wrote with Shawn King. He also has another book on the market titled, "Attracting Quality Musicians."

"Blue Room," was released on the Charleston Square Recording label, and it features a list of high-profile musicians, including pianist Llew Matthews, bassist Dave Enos, drummer Matt Johnson and special guest Jamie Findlay on guitar. Saxophonists Doug Webb and Robert Kyle also join the ensemble, while Frank Giebels makes a guest appearance on piano and Joe Bagg adds zest on B3 organ.

Guerrero's current quartet will appear at Spaghettini Restaurant tonight, featuring Kyle and Johnson, and Dave Siebels playing keyboards.

Tony Guerrero recently spoke to Patch about his music, his play and his book.

Patch: Tell me more about your current group and what you are striving to achieve with the music you'll be performing at Spaghettini Restaurant Wednesday.

Tony Guerrero: My latest release, "Blue Room" [which is currently enjoying it's 11th week on the national jazz charts], is a departure from my past recordings, which have fallen into the more "contemporary jazz" market. It is a product of my love for classic, swingin' jazz. Not necessarily bebop or modern jazz, but the music of greats like Louis Armstrong, Jonah Jones, Nat King Cole, Sinatra, etcetera. I'm a bigger fan of nicely played melodies over long extended soloing.

This CD and the new quartet are all about choosing the right songs first. I like nothing better than seeing an audience member who doesn't know much about jazz, or whether they even like it, start to get their groove on and walk away wanting more. That's what this new quartet strives for--pleasing the audience.

We try to not only present fun music but actually entertain them as well. Frankly, it bothers me to see jazz musicians on stage playing only for themselves and dressing onstage like they just finished working in their garage.

P: Do you do most of the arranging, or is it a shared group function?

TG: I do a lot of the arrangements, as does our saxophonist, Robert Kyle. But organist Dave Siebels and drummer Matt Johnson contribute quite a bit.

P: Tell me about the play you co-wrote that was developed into a book?

TG: A few years ago I had the opportunity to co-write a full-scale Broadway-style musical based on the Christmas Nativity called, "The Journey." Think "The Lion King" meets "Fiddler on the Roof." My writing partner and I developed the story, then she wrote the script, and I wrote the music. Since that time, it has been performed all around the country and even translated into another language. Our hope is to see it turned into an animated film.

After that, we developed and wrote a non-musical stage play about a guy traveling home to see his family at Christmas and the transformative experience he has. I turned that story into a novelette entitled "The Christmas Station," which is available as an e-book at Barnes & Noble.

P: Tell me a little bit about the other book you wrote. When I looked online, it seemed to be rooted in your spiritual beliefs as well as about quality musicians. Is that a fair assessment?

TG: Over the years I have been very involved in church music, and served for a while as the Director of Creative Arts at Saddleback Church (Rick Warren, pastor). I began (and continue) to get asked to speak at conferences around the country, and I developed a fairly popular class titled, "Attracting Quality Musicians," which I turned into a book.

It is primarily aimed at church music leaders and pastors and is designed to help them understand musicians and what makes them tick, and how to develop a music program that would be attractive to them, both musically and spiritually. I've been blessed by the response from both readers and critics.

P: Speaking of which, how do you explain the change in attitude of the church and how they are now embracing jazz music and allowing jazz to be performed inside the church? I remember when they were totally against jazz music and thought it was evil, back in the day. I think it's wonderful that they are so much more open to jazz these days. What do you think about that?

TG: Well, a few centuries ago the church was against the "modern" hymns of Martin Luther! Eventually, the legalistic minds of so many church leaders start to get softened and they begin to realize that there is a place for varied expressions within the church. Sadly, the church is no longer the major patron of the arts as it was in centuries past. When you think "church music," "church film" or "church play," you instantly think "bad production."

When you remember that the music of Bach and so many other greats was originally commissioned for the church, you can see how far the church has slipped in its artistic standing. There are some in the church trying to reestablish this quality, but not enough!

As for jazz, the truth is, jazz really belongs in the church in terms of music that can truly express emotion. I've played many styles of music and the two that seem to stand out as allowing the possibility for the most creative and expressive freedom are jazz and worship. There have been some great blendings of jazz and the church over the years--Duke Ellington's sacred concerts come to mind. I'm also reminded that so much jazz music and gospel music intertwine harmonically.

P: What other projects have been working on?

TG: Recently, I have had the great pleasure of arranging a big band CD for John Tesh. He's known mostly for his contemporary and new age instrumentals, but this CD will surprise a lot of people! We recorded the best musicians in L.A. and the tunes are swingin'!

We also just finished a short Christmas tour with the big band and are planning a lot more this year.

The Tony Guerrero Quartet performs tonight (Dec. 29) at Spaghettini in Seal Beach. 7 p.m. Reserved seating: $10. For a list of Guerrero's projects and performances go to www.tonyguerreroquartet.com.

DeeDee McNeil
December 29, 2010

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