 and welcome to this episode of the Hawaii Sooth Jazz Connection. I am your host, Gwendolyn Harris. My guest today is an international recording artist, keyboardist, and producer. He is a native of Wilson, North Carolina, where he began showing his piano skills at the young age of 15. He studied under world-class jazz saxophonists, jazz saxophone gates, and he has shared the stage with some of the greats, such as Ramsay Lewis, Herbie Hancock, Joris Benson, Al Jarreau, Gerald Albright, and Norman Brown. And this is just to name a few. His latest album, Something to Prove, is climbing the charts. Let's welcome Mr. Chan Hall to the show. Aloha, Chan. How are you? Aloha. I am well. How are you? I am well. Like I told you guys earlier, I'm hot in this room, but we'll be okay. We're going to get through this. Now, I said that you're a native of North Carolina, but you actually now live in Richmond, right? Yep, that is correct. And that's my old stomping ground. It's like you found out, kind of sort of, because I went to Hampton University. So you're kind of right down the road from where I used to go to school. But we're going to get this smooth jazz train, like I do on my other show. And here, we're going to get this interview going. How did you get your start in music? How I got my start was, I was actually, I would say I started here in Richmond. Richmond was a major focal point for me. When I moved to Richmond, I discovered it was a musical city. It was undiscovered in a sense. I never really heard anybody talk about, you know, Richmond, you know, Virginia Beats gives all the hype. So I ended up just going out in the scene. And from there, I started playing around and kind of just working my way up in the scene, and then expanding my horizons throughout the mid-Atlantic. Now, you played in high school, correct? That is correct. You were an abandoned high school. And what did you play in high school? It was quite different from what you play now. But what instruments did you play in high school, leading you up to what you play now? I played marambas, xylophones, vibraphones, auxiliary percussions. Awesome. And then you gradually moved into the playing the keyboards. That is correct. That was, you know, it wasn't too bad of a transition just because that the vibraphone is a keyboard instrument. So it looks exactly like the keyboard, just a bigger version. You just have to play with sticks. So learning the notes and everything else, it falls right into place. Now, you studied with one class jazz saxophonist, James Saximal Gates. How did you get connected with him? And what was that experience like? Oh, man. So I was in Richmond. I was searching around for more knowledge of jazz at the time. And in the city, the jazz society had a jazz academy. And he was the instructor for the jazz academy. And when I got, you had the audition, I got accepted to the jazz academy in the city. And he was teaching the class. And he told us his background, his story. He's a real pioneer for this area. He went to Berkeley. And pretty impressive background. He went to school with Walter Beasley and Alex Bjorn. Two greats right there. Two greats. You play smooth jazz. But do you have another genre of music that you like to play? I like to play some R&B. I like to play some blues. I like straight ahead jazz. I like gospel. Are you pretty much like it all, then? Yeah, I like it all. You know, right now we're going through this pandemic. And actually, I wish it would hurry up and be over, like everybody else does. Because it kind of put the music industry at a halt. And then it kind of slowly is bringing it back. What did you do during when everything was shut down and things weren't happening? What did you do during that time to get through the times? To get through the times when everything shut down, I looked at other avenues of getting out. So I started looking at radio. You know, I started to, I was thinking of, if I can't play out, then everybody's got to be listening to radio and listening to everything else. So I'm like, hey, let me somehow get inside that world and get exposure. So I got more into recording at home and using technology a lot more and sending parts in, then bringing it all back together. So I stay productive in the recording and the promoting aspect during the pandemic. Nice. How does it feel to be back in front of an audience? Oh, man. I mean, you see my face expression. It, trust me, I mean, you know, nothing wrong with playing on lives and virtual, but to have that audience, that energy, that, that's that feeling, you know, it's just that what musicians live for, you know, we live for the audience. We can't, you know, I think every entertainer has to have their audience, you know, that's what they feed off of their energy. So it's a, it's a blessing. It's fun. It's just exciting. Now we talked earlier and you have, I mean, well, we have a mutual music influencer. Who are some of your musical influences? Well, as we talked, Brian Coverson is one of them. Yes. He's the man on keys. I tell you, he's the man. Some of my other influences as well as I like Bob Baldwin, Marcus Johnson is a big influence on me. I'm a real big Kirk Whalum and Gerald Albright fan. Even to outside of the smooth world, like Robert Glasper is a good influence on me. Herbie Hancock is a good influence on me. George Duke is a good influence. Yes. Yes. There are many keyboardists out there. I know. There are many of them out there and you just named a few. So what sets you apart from the others? What sets me apart from the others? Primarily a lot of the other people are a little bit more funkier. I like more intimate, kind of slower grooves, myself. I love the funk too, but for me, I gravitate towards more slower things, more intimate stuff. You've collaborated with a few people already. And we'll talk about that. And we'll talk about your albums. Who would be your dream collaboration? Dream collaboration. I got a lot of people that want to love to dream. I would say I would like to do something with Jill Scott. I would like to do something with Jill Scott. You're the second artist to tell me that they'd like to do something with Jill Scott. When I ask that question, I get, you're the second with Jill Scott. Just the other day, somebody told me, let us see a lot. And told me Stevie Wonder. And they're all good choices. And like I tell everyone, you speak it into existence and hey, put it out there in the universe. And it may, and it may happen. Now let's talk about your albums. Okay. Let's talk about your albums. Cool. You have four albums. And I want to get this right. Look, you guys see, I got my papers in front of them. We get it right. I see. You have four albums. Your first one was entitled Dreaming After Dark. And you did that in 2011. Your second one, Musical Addiction, you did that in 2015. And your third one, Enchantment, you did that in 2017. And one thing to note about that one is that it was Grammy considered in three categories. And they were Best Contemporary Instrumental Album, Best New Age Jazz Album, and Best Jazz Instrumental Album. And then your fourth one, which is your current one, which I'm assuming you were working on during the pandemic, is entitled Something to Prove. And when you say something to prove, you see it's the number two and not TO. So tell me about that. What's the inspiration behind that album? I would say, you know, the name kind of speaks for itself. You know, it really just means that when people talk at the table about artists, that my name should be included in that bracket, you know, that I should be, you know, I think I really, you know, I'm kind of entering a different level in a different realm with this particular project. So, you know, I got to make a name for myself. I got something to prove, you know. Mm-hmm. I like that. I really do like that. What sets this album apart from your other albums? I would say it's more contemporary. The first project was my first project. It's a funny story with that. So my first project was just like based off faith. I didn't even know I could do a project. It was like somebody spoke life into me. It was something that I was like, can I do it or can I not do it? That just came up with something. Let's just say that. My second album, you know, each album, you will see the growth in my musicianship. So the second album, I expanded the horizon of different instrumentation and different genres. Um, great album. I was at a pinnacle where I was like, I want to see where my fans really are. Are they in the R&B world? Are they in the straight ahead jazz scene? Are they in the contemporary world? I got more people that like the contemporary stuff out of that particular album. So basically it was a gateway for me to find which direction I was going to go to. And so from that point, I was like, cool. And then radio kind of, they didn't play it because it was multi-genre. So they was like, we can't categorize it. So I was like, okay, well, that's a lesson learned. So then I went to the Enchantment album, which is more of a relaxing CD. It's not as contemporary as this one is. So from those three, this one's the most contemporary. So, and also I went through a stage and period as well with this particular project. I went and my first three projects are just Chan. I just have my first name. If you notice this album, I have my first and last. So I rebranded it a little bit because it got to the point when people would search my name, a whole bunch of Asian people will come up. So it wouldn't, it wouldn't pin down to me. So it was like, oh man. So I was like, I got to get it this way. When people search it, it pins points to me, you know, not Jackie Chan or some other Chan is an Asian somewhere. Make it specific to you. That's, that's good. What is your favorite song off of this or for the off of your latest album? My favorite song is Let's Talk. And that's mine too. Okay, okay. That's mine too. That's mine too. That's song. Well, I think you're going to play a little bit. I think you're going to play a little bit of it for us. Are you? Yeah, yeah, absolutely. I do that. Okay. All right. Well, you can go ahead and play and then we'll get back to the interview. This is your first time hearing him. Where can they go find your music? And we'll say it again at the end of the show. But where can people go to find their, that album? www.chanhalljazz.com. So that's my website. That's a one stop shop. But also you can find on any platform, you can go to Spotify, Pandora. I mean, you name it. Anything you can Google it. If you just Google my name Chan Hall, it's going to pop up, you know, because you made sure that that happens. Yes. That's right. I rebranded so Jackie Chan doesn't claim my stuff. Get back. Why? Yeah. Think that musicians that that's all that they do that that's their full-time job. And for some, it's not. And I know for fact that music is not your full-time job. What do you do? What else do you do? What's your other job? I am a tractor trailer driver. So I'm on the road locally a lot of the times throughout the week. Hey, I was a first responder during the pandemic. So we were out supplying America's needs. At that time, I was delivering medical supplies to hospitals. So I was a frontline worker. Oh, wow. Well, thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you for your thank you for your service and being a first responder. You are involved in an organization called Gap for Life Mentoring. Tell us about that program, because I know it's something dear to you. Yes. So I remember I wanted to do something for my community. I just wanted to do something to give back. And Buddy of mine reached out to me from actually from Facebook, and he said, Hey, I got a mentoring program that you might be interested in. So he told me he explained the program. So the program, what it does is they mentor young boys that don't or, you know, don't have a father figure in their life. So what we do is we come in and just give them advice, build them up, shape them, have a positive outlet for them to shape themselves so that they're not on the street and letting that get to them, you know, to shape them in a negative way. So we're just trying to be that positive input in their life just to kind of, you know, push them on because many that many's good, you know, stewardship and leadership to show them the way in a better way. So yes, that's that's an awesome, that's an awesome job because there are a lot of young males out there, young boys, and I and I will say young black boys that need that mentorship. Yes. So thank you for that. Now, although you're a fairly new artist, you know, on the scene. Yes. What advice would you give to an artist coming into the industry? I would tell them that they gotta be themselves. Like that's like number one. You know, a lot of times in the industry they're going to sway you to certain ways, but you have to stay true to who you are, stay true to yourself, stay true to your own sound because that's the only best person you can be. Somebody a couple weeks ago had told me they said something. I was over listening to somebody's conversation and they said everybody else in the world is taken. So the only person left that you can be is you. Wow. Yeah. Wow. And another thing I would tell them is to no matter how hard it gets, continue to fight for your dream because it's going to be hard as people are going to discourage you. The disappointment is going to come and you got to be able to just balance that and balance that off and even when life happens because life happens in the course of things too, just to stay strong and stay consistent. And that's great advice. That's great advice. What new projects are you working on, if any, and what things do you have coming up, something that I may need to fly to the mainland for, to come see, you know, what should we be marking on our calendar? Project wise, I am working on another project. It'll be released next year. It may be an EP and then an album following up later the following year, but something will be coming out next year. I'm already working on at least three songs. And I got some special guest artists that I'm looking at. I'm looking at Philip Doc Martin is trying to come on. And I think Judah Sealy may join one of the tracks. I've been talking to him a little bit lately too. Oh, nice. Nice. Whatever you do, I know it's going to be fire. I know it's going to be fire. Tell us again and tell the viewers again where they can find your music. Oh, www.chanhalljazz.com. You hear that? One stop shot, you can get my music, my social media, my videos, my bio, anything. And also a show I do have coming up this Sunday is in Chesapeake, City, Virginia. One of your previous guests is going to be joining me on the show on that same show, Marcus Adams. Yes, yes. He'll be there. Some other good artists. The headliner is going to be Howard Hewitt. Oh, nice. Charelle is going to be another headliner. I'm going to have to fly there for that one, right? It's going to be a good show, man. That sounds like a good show. I'm going to have to let my peeps in Virginia know to come out and check you out. Absolutely. Like I said, it's this Sunday at Chesapeake City Park. We can find all the details on my website. Okay. Take us on there as well. So yeah, definitely let them know who's going to be there. I will. I will most definitely. You might see me. I don't know. This, you know, I get my private jet, you know, to drive me out there. Chad, I thank you so much for being here on this show. And I hope people, and I'm pretty sure people got more of a glimpse into you. Yeah. And we'll now follow you. Follow me. Follow me. You have Instagram and all that as well? Yes. Tell it. Facebook is Chan Hall Jazz. Instagram is official Chan Hall Jazz. I'm on LinkedIn as well. Chan Hall. I'm on Twitter. Chan Hall Jazz as well. So pretty much Chan Hall is you can find me. And my face is pretty consistent. So it's going to look the same. You know, I don't have like a picture of a dog in my spine. You hear that, everyone? Go ahead and follow Chan. I will go ahead and post it on my page as well. But Chan again, I thank you so much for being here. I look forward to following me more. Whatever you do, you know, I'm going to follow you, right? All right. Yeah, absolutely. Please do. Please do. All right. To my viewers, thank you for tuning in. Until next time, Aloha. Aloha.