 Welcome to this episode of the Hawaii School Jazz Connection. I am your host, Wendell and Harris. My guest today is a saxophonist, producer and writer who is a native of Gary, Indiana and has taken jazz and gospel to the next level. He has performed with many artists to include Jennifer Hudson, Peter White, Marion Meadows, Kelly Price, the Clark sisters and the list goes on. Let's find out more about this amazing artist and welcome Mr. Reggie Foster Jr. to the show. Aloha Reggie, how are you? Aloha, Gwen, how are you? I am well. Thank you so much for being here today. I know it's what, like nine o'clock your time where you are in Gary, Indiana. Yes, but no, yep. The home of Michael Jackson? Yeah, the home of Michael, yeah. Jackson Five. Yes, the Jackson Five. Well, again, thank you so much for being here. And so let's get started, let's get to talking. Okay. How did you get into the music industry? What made you wanna play music? Well, my dad, my dad and his friends, they all were musicians, my dad was a sax player and originally I wanted to play bass and drums and so I started playing drums but I wanted to impress my dad and get a lot of attention from my dad. So I started playing the sax. So that's how it started. My dad plays sax, I wanted to impress him and do what he did. So that's how it all started. Now how old were you when you started? Oh, 15 years old. 15 years old when I started playing sax. Yeah. Oh, okay. Yeah. All right, now do you play any other richness besides the sax or besides the sax? I play drums, was actually my first instrument I played. Played it for a couple of years before I started playing sax. And so, yeah, drums, little keys, little keys, just a little bit, just enough to turn around in the studio, something like that. Okay, all right. Yeah. Now what type of music did you guys listen to in the household? Gospel. In the beginning it was gospel. Gospel then after a while when I started hearing my dad practice, a lot, he was a David Sanborn fanatic. I mean, oh my God. So it was more so gospel, but then when I started practicing, it was definitely smooth jazz. And then my dad used to do a lot of tracks. That's why I used to listen to his music too. So gospel, I would say more so David Sanborn and my dad. That's what I used to listen to. Coming up in mid, go ahead. What's your favorite genre of music to listen to? As a musician, I know you play everything, right? Yeah. But what's your favorite? You know what? I'm gonna be honest with you. Gospel would be, I would say would be my favorite. I like to listen to it when I'm going to work and when I'm coming home. Cause like when I wind down, when I wind it down from teaching all day, it's, oh man. We just need something just to woo-sah. And so that would be pretty much what I listen to. I really listen to a lot of other music when I'm preparing. You wanna be honest. And so a lot of people listen to it just to, no, cause they liked it, but I started listening to other music when I'm preparing for something. So that's my routine. Now, where did you go to college to play? Did you play music in college? No, no, I just, my dad used to get on me and I'm gonna tell you the quick story too. I know you don't have a whole lot of time, but my dad used to get on me about reading music and I learned how to read just enough to learn. When I got to a point where I could hear and know how to play music, I quit, I had quit man at the while. And it was crazy. And I paid for it down the line. Ramsey Lewis gave me a call. Friends of mine were playing for Ramsey Lewis. I had an opportunity to play on the Urban Knights record. Wow. Oh yeah, it was Maurice Fistero, I got Roger, those guys, they were, they were kind of hooked me up with this, that they were looking for a sax player. So I was gone all day. I was, at this time I was, I had to be 19, maybe 19, 19 to 20 at this time. Maurice Fistero called me saying, hey man, where you been at, master, what you mean? He said, man, Ramsey Lewis was trying to call you. I said, really? I said, I didn't believe it for, I thought he was just talking trash. So I finally got Ramsey Lewis. My mom said Ramsey Lewis was calling. And so I asked the phone, Ramsey Lewis, he asked me, he said, hey man, I wanna see if you can work with us with the Urban Knights scene. And so I said, man, I would love to. He said, what kind of jazz do you, what kind of jazz do you listen to? So I played a couple of wrists from the Brecker Brothers and some Miles Davis, so like he said, okay, but he said, so do you read? I said, oh, I saw, I just bust, I said, no, I don't read. Now he got upset, actually really upset. So he said, how do you expect to make it in this world? If he can't read? And so I said, well, I said, well, I saw I could play your music, Mr. Rapture. That's how I decided I could do it. So he was thrown off about it. So I never really got a chance, but my ear, God bless him with such ear. There's nothing that gets past me, you know? But, you know, a lot of guys, some guys, they just want you to know how to read music because they want you to, sometimes not even. That is needed, but you know. Now, I like to always ask this of the artists that came that come on my show because the pandemic really put a lot of people, you know, it threw us all for a loop, right? Especially the entertainment industry and of course the musician. So during that time, what did you do to cope? How did you cope during that time? Well, I'm gonna switch you. I was still playing. That's actually when I was blessed to play with Jennifer Hudson. And when that happened, I was still playing, doing certain things. I did a lot of session work. A lot of people called me for session work and plus I was still working. You know, I was a school teacher so I was getting paid from that. So I was still moving. I did not slow down. So it was actually a blessing for me. You want to be honest. Yes, and well, that is a blessing. That is a blessing. And a note to my viewers, if you have not seen it, you need to go on YouTube and look up Jennifer Hudson and the 2020 Democratic National Convention, right? You will see a beautiful, beautiful rendition of a change is gonna come with Jennifer Hudson singing and of course, Mr. Reggie Foster Jr. in the background. And that looks like that was an amazing area where you were playing. Because just sounding that with her voice and the pianos and you playing. Yeah, it was beautiful. It was downtown Chicago. Oh God, I can't remember the video, but it was so beautiful. Fred Nelson, who was playing the other piano. Fred Nelson was the one that connected me and brought me in on that. He was before she passed, Aretha Franklin's musical director. And he was the one that gave me the opportunity to do it. And from then, she called me for a few other things. It was, it's been a blessing. Right, you also played for the late representative, John Lewis' career. Right, yeah, that was, yeah. Yeah, that was on CBS, Tyler Perry and Oprah Winfrey, they had hosted that, yeah. So you've been doing it. Yeah, I was like I said, I was pretty busy. God had really blessed. And like I said, I didn't miss a beat. And I did so much session work. There's so much session work. And that was one of the things that really was a blessing to help me get a lot of the work that I got. And like I said, plus I was working as well, I was doing virtual from home. And so I really, I did well, God bless me. I was really, I have no complaints about going through the pandemic. It was, you know, it wasn't a blessing that the pandemic would happen, but you know what I mean. Yes, yeah. What would you define as the most life-changing event so far in your career? You know, my father, my sister and my brother passed. And I got something from each one of the deaths. And I love them all like crazy, but this last one, my father, it really changed my mindset because maybe my father had a couple of conversations a little bit before he passed about handling business and changing my mindset about a lot of things. And just thinking about them just like, well, I just really want to do what I need to do before, you know, my time comes. I just want to just, you know, that was our conversation. But those, that's one of the things that stuck with me. One of the life-changing things was my mindset. And doing things different in my life and not just being a musician or being a businessman. And that's what my mindset is to be a businessman and a great musician, you know, but without the business being taken care of, like you just being a musician, just a hobby to me, for me. Anybody else, you know, but for me, it's just being a hobby without handling my business. That's been the drastic change for me. I would say, yeah. Now, there are a lot of saxophonists out there. Oh, tons of great- You guys are a dime a dozen. You guys are out there. I'm telling you, I'm telling you. I mean- What sets you though, Reggie? What sets you apart from the other saxophonists? I want you to tell me what sets you apart from the others. Well, I would say what sets me up. I definitely, my music, I definitely do not want to sound like anyone else. Now, I would say that I reached toward, I used to reach at David Sanborn because my dad forced that down my throat as I was kid, but listen to my dad. My dad had a different tone from anybody. And so I really mimicked his style. He'd never had a sound like anyone else. And listen to other guys around me and I listened to other guys, the great saxophone players that are out there. I mean, so many other guys, but trying to, and I listened to Gerald Albright for one point in time. I had to stop listening to him because he is like one of the most amazing saxophonists out there is him and Kurt Wailam. I had to stop listening to those guys, but I just started writing my own stuff and just kind of just, people always say, listen to a reference. I don't like listen to references anymore. I just want to just try to find my own way. You know what I'm saying? So I think that's what sets me apart. I'm not trying to see what's really going on, but I just, I want to break my own vibe. You know what I'm saying? So that's kind of what I'm doing. Yeah. I think that's what sets me apart. That's the question. Yes. You stated earlier, because one of my other questions is, do you have another job? You stated earlier, you are a school teacher. Yeah. You're a music teacher. I know this because you talk, right? Yeah. How do you balance that working full-time? Like I know, like I know you said earlier, you're tired being a full-time music teacher with kids, right, with all those kids all day. It's so hard. It's so hard. And then you have to get ready to either, you might be doing a show, or you might have to come home to the studio and record. How do you do that? How do you do that? It's really hard. I'm not gonna even lie to you. It's really hard. It's like, because the school is so demanding. The school, you know, because grading and, you know, you have meetings at school sometimes, and then sometimes I'm staying over. I do after-school program as well. So it's hard. It's hard. But I thank God for the strength that it gives me to do this. It's rough, but I enjoy it all, you know, because I teach music at school, and then when I get off, I'm doing, I do. So I'm really enjoying it. You know, I ask God for it. So I'm not complaining. I ask him to get me busy. I want to be busy. And he gave, you know, he's doing it, you know? So, but it's real, it's not an easy task. I mean, it's definitely not an easy task. That's why I welcome. I'm so glad summer is here. So I get a little break. You get a little break, huh? I get a little break. What is that, about a two month break? No, we go back August 1st. Oh, wow. August 1st. Yeah, it's just, oh my God. Yeah. Wow. Just a month and a couple of weeks. Yeah, so maybe. You have played with a lot of artists. Yeah. You collaborated with a lot of artists. Yeah. Who would be your dream collaboration? Oh, wow. David Sambro would be my dream. I've been watching him since I was a kid. You know what I did? My dad forced, I mean, he, my dad told me who I could listen to or who I could not listen to. And I was just his one particular sax player and he was a gospel sax player. And I'm not gonna name his name, but my dad would not allow me to listen to this. He took the CD from me and told me I could not listen to him. Yes. What? Yes, my dad, he was really serious about that. He did not allow me to listen to this particular sax player. So David Sambro at that time was the man for my father. And that's who I had to listen to. So David Sambro would be the guy. Next to the line would be Gerald and Kurt Weyland. Those two right there are my favorites, yeah. All right, well, let's get into a little bit of your music. You have an album out entitled Different Level. Right. And then you have some singles out. You have Transformation, Lifted, and Chances Are. And Chances Are is your latest single that's out. What was the inspiration behind that song? Chances Are. You know what? I wouldn't say depressed, but I got kind of a little low. You know, the way I wanted things to go with different levels and then go the way I, you know, the ignorance of me not understanding the business at that time. And so I just kind of just backed off of music. And I actually was going to throw the sax away. Buddy of mine kept me from doing the call. I was living in an apartment at the time. And a buddy of mine drove down and talked me out jumping off the ledge with my saxophone. But I don't know. You know, I just, how would I say it? What I said, I lost my thought just that quick. I'm so sorry. That's a question I lost my thought. It's OK. You had a long day. You don't have a place to work. And then you're coming here doing this interview. Oh, long day. Long day. Yeah, I'm so happy that you were doing this interview. I thank you. Long day. Yeah, I'm so, I thank you. What was the question again? I'm sorry, I lost my thought. I did. I lost my thought. I was heading to head somewhere and I lost my thought. Well, the question was, what was the inspiration behind the sax? Oh, yeah. So my guy, you know, I'm back. My guy talked me off the ledge. And so I didn't think that I would be playing again. And so when I wrote the song with a buddy of mine, they started with a friend of my name, Geared Body. And then we didn't do anything with his version. So I took the melody and co-wrote with multi-jewel. And it just, chances are that, you know, what are the chances of me getting back to doing this? I never thought I'd be playing music. And I mean, I was really, ah, but I made it back. And chances are that you're here. And I'm here. So that's how I got to that point. And so you're here. I'm not going backwards again. Yeah. Now, a question that I have, and I don't, I want, I always want to ask my artist, and I always run out of town. But you're the perfect one for this because you are a music teacher. And I know I grew up playing music in schools. Yeah. And right now there is a lot of funding has been taken away from the schools and for the arts and things like that. What do you think about that? And what do you think can be done? What can we, what can we do? Because the arts are very important. Music is very important. Yeah. I think it, to me, with parents and because a lot of times, seeing my boss and what goes on, you know, a lot of times it's not really up to them. So, you know, but I think if the parents would push, because I hear a lot of kids say, we don't even need this. It's not really that important. It's just music, you know. But I think if parents would push and say, look, we want music back up in the schools, I think that would help it a lot. I think that would help the situation a lot. And what I've seen, because you have some parents that think the music is cool and is needed. You have a lot of them that really does it, you know, from what I see in my area. But I think if the parents and then, and with us too, the teachers as well, you know, we all just, I mean, it's needed. I mean, I hear a lot of kids, a lot of kids, they're sad about things, I talk to them. They said, they always talk about what songs they listen to that lift them back up and that picks them back up even when they down. I mean, because these days and times, these kids are really going through a lot. And music is a healing situation. And a lot of people don't believe that, but music heals the soul, you know. You know, that's why it's such a big thing in the church. You know, it's one of the things that gets the preacher started. And when the preacher gets up, he takes it away. But music is a serious thing. And I think it could be a big healing for the kids in the community, you know. But like I said, we all, it takes the village, takes the village to do it. You know what I'm saying? We all have to get together and do it. You know, so I think that's what needs to be done. I think the parents and teachers, we all need to like do something and just say, hey, we need to put this back in. And that's why I'm glad that the school that I'm at, they're like really serious about music. And I'm really thankful for that because I wouldn't have a job. I wouldn't have a job if they weren't there, so. Awesome. Well, well, can you just give us just a little bit, just a little bit of something, something. You wanna play us a little bit of something, something? Just a little something. Yeah, just a little something, something, you know. ["The Little Song"] Little song. Wow. Imagine if I come see you in concert. ["The Little Song"] Well, I hope we don't put you to sleep. No, oh, no, no, no. No, I appreciate it. Thank you, Gwen. I appreciate it. Never. Where can people, well, before I ask you this question, what advice would you give new artists coming into the industry? Because this industry is tough. We talk about this all the time. This industry is very tough. People think that this music industry is all glam and glit, but when you go behind the scenes. Yeah, it's tough. I will tell anybody, yeah, I will tell anybody. No matter what anybody says, keep pushing. Do not stop. Do not, like, it may, it's not gonna always look good. It's not gonna always be glamorous, but just keep pushing. Learn about the business. Do not just be a musician that just wanna just play. Learn about the business, because if you don't know about the business, they're gonna know about the business, but you're gonna be just playing the saxophone. They're gonna be making money. So learn about the business. I mean, keep pushing, stay encouraged, do not give up. That's pretty much it. Learn the business, stay encouraged, and keep pushing. That's what I can guarantee if you, and study your craft. Do not think you're gonna be top dog and not study your craft. Study your craft. Study your craft. Do not just think you're gonna be, like, playing because you did something in the studio. No, study your craft. Wow. Yeah, you'll make it. Now, where can we go to find out more about, what projects do you have coming up? Anything coming up that we need? Yeah, I have a few things coming up. I have some more singles coming out, but I got something special that I'm working on. I can't say nothing about it now. Yeah? Yeah, I can't say nothing about it now, but I have some things that's special that I'm working on that I have the opportunity to be a part of. And it's kind of big for me. And, but right now, iTunes, Spotify, all those different places, you're gonna get singles. Chances are transformation lifted. You can go get those. But I do have some new music that's gonna be coming out this year. And you're gonna hear where it's gonna be, who's gonna be a part of it. It's gonna be exciting. I'm excited. I'm excited. I'm excited for you. I'm excited, I'm excited for you. Where can the viewers go to find your music? What's your website? RFJmusicquest.com. You can go, the single transformation's on there and you just go there, learn about me and my bios on there. You go learn about me. And that's gonna be changing up a little bit you'll be seeing some changes on that too. So that's where you go get that, yeah. All right. Well, I told you this 30 minutes was gonna go fast, didn't I? Yeah, it went by actually really fast. Really fast. Wow. Well, thank you so much, Reggie, for being here with me today. Thank you for having me. I enjoyed myself. Thank you, thank you. I'm looking forward to what you have coming out, for sure, cause I'm gonna be watching you. I'm definitely gonna be watching you for sure. Yep. Definitely. To my viewers, thank you for tuning in. Until next time, aloha, thank you. Thank you so much for watching Think Tech Hawaii. If you like what we do, please like us and click the subscribe button on YouTube and the follow button on Vimeo. You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn and donate to us at thinktechhawaii.com. Mahalo.