Jeremiah Abiah never planned on changing his name to just Abiah (say A-bee-ah), however the controversy surrounding the change has given the singer and pianist the opportunity to re-brand himself. In a recent interview, Abiah explained what happened: "there was a new guy that came out with the name Jeremiah and his single was called "Birthday Sex". People would call me and I was getting these calls because they thought I was the one singing it. What they didn't realize was that he spelled his Jeremiah different to mine. To be honest, I could have done the whole court thing, but then thought it wasn't worth it. " Abiah said it gave him an opportunity to not only re-brand his career but to return to the fore after a six-year hiatus.The last time the public heard from Abiah, he was enjoying power rotation on BET's Soul channel paired with Shanice Wilson on "Love for A While." This time around Abiah has returned with a strong CD of diverse offerings simply called "Life as a Ballad." The songs contained here have jazz undertones, however most of the tracks can easily crossover to adult contemporary stations as well. The new CD had a successful launch at NY's Le Poisson Rouge and Abiah brought along his cousin pianist Robert Glasper as the special guest.
Abiah sat down with me to talk more about his new CD and other interesting things.
AB: Abiah, its so good to talk to you, I love this CD! I noticed that the genre is different from your last CD. This is jazz!! To me, the other one wasn't.
ABIAH: Honestly, my last record was technically jazz on a couple of songs. I had actually recorded and produced a record that was already completed. Then they (recording label) said "let's record more songs" The song with Shanice wasn't on there originally, however the real essence of the CD was actually a jazz recorded in terms of the sound. So what I'm doing now isn't anything new. All the clubs I play in are rooted in jazz; Blue Note is a big supporter of me. Any venue I play all over the world is pretty much rooted in jazz.
AB: What inspired you to do an all-ballad CD such as this?
ABIAH: I don't know if I necessarily had an inspiration as much as I am a constant writer. I've written songs for a couple of years; I didn't have an inspiration per se as much as I had a connection with a bunch of friends that I wanted to collaborate with. I wanted to collaborate with the people that I admire and respect their work, and I thought it was time to put out a CD.
AB: I know one of those people that you admire so much who is on the CD is your own cousin and jazz musician Robert Glasper. Tell us what it was like working with him.
ABIAH: We are family; I know Robert for a long time so it was very seamless in the studio. What was great about it was his input; he was able to give me his professional thoughts and stuff. We vibe in the studio; just being able to stay there and in the midst of making music and laughing... it was a good experience.
AB: Who were the other musicians that played on the CD?
ABIAH: My co-producer and bass player Keith Witty, Ulysses Owens, Jr. who is a drummer friend of mine and also the first person who told me to get back into the studio. Then there was David Rosenthal, guitar player and friend of mine who was very active in this as well. Marvin Sewell is also here; he has played with Cassandra (Wilson). The great thing about this record is that I have been playing with these guys for 7-8 years.
AB: How long did it take to record this CD?
ABIAH: The record was completed in a day! It was a long day and a special session. Sixteen hours long and we didn't even rehearse or anything. I came in with the idea and told them what I needed from them.
AB: That's amazing! Who would you say were your earlier influences?
ABIAH: Anita Baker inspired me... I like to say that I have a quintet of sisters who have been my inspiration over the years and really inspired me to wanna write and sing. Anita Baker made me want to be a singer, Oleta Adams was the first person that made me want to play and sing at the same time. Rachelle Ferrell makes me want to expand my vocal ability. She used her voice as an instrument and I wanted to use my voice as an instrument. Then there's Nina Simone who inspired me to be more than a storyteller. I got to thinking how can I narrate with my voice alone? I wanted to paint a picture with my voice. The last person who encompasses them all is Sarah Vaughn.
AB: Your tone and phrasing are effortless. Were you professionally trained?
ABIAH: I believe all of us have gifts that we were born with that we have to train and study and even teach ourselves. I had this gift and my mother recognized it very early. My mom was a recognized musician and she put me in musical camps which led to a full scholarship and I did opera singing.
AB: I'm getting goosebumps now telling you this but I listened to that one track off your CD called "Goodbye" and I hear you go up in your celebrated 5-octave range and I remember thinking "WOW!!" It blew my mind hearing you sing "Goodbye" the way you did, it was real to me.
ABIAH: Thank you. The story behind that song "Goodbye" was that I had originally written it for Dianne Reeves. She didn't record it and I felt that it was an opportunity for me to record it. Plus I was encouraged by my friends to put it on my record.
AB: Dianne's voice would have worked perfect on that too but you also did a good job with it as well. Do you play any instruments on the CD?
ABIAH: I play piano on one song "Turn the Light On".
AB: So the digital version of the CD came out last month before the physical CD was released last week. What sort of feedback are you getting?
ABIAH: It has been pretty tremendous. I have to say I am so excited about the response from the record because I was afraid to put it out. I had trepidation to put out a record like this where people would think they are all slow songs. I felt a sense of accomplishment when I got nominated for Male Artist of the Year Soul Artist of the Year on Soultracks.com. I don't think there has been one bad thing said about this record. At the end of the day, jazz is a comfortable place for this music.
AB: On this CD you "went there"; you took a risk and did a remake of Prince's popular "When Doves Cry" calling it "Doves". Are you a Prince fan and why this song?
ABIAH: (laughs) I am a HUGE Prince Fan. I think he is a tremendously gifted person. I have never gone to his concerts however, I felt if I was going to cover someone's music, it had to be somebody who is iconic and that has been untouched. I recall how Nina Simone recreated "Strange Fruit" from Billie Holliday. It was a different interpretation and people referred to Nina's song more than Billie's version. I was sitting at the piano one day and I started playing this interesting rhythm and the song flew out of me. It just came out and came together in 15 minutes and there was the amazing arrangement of "Doves".
AB: So what does the future hold for you? Any chance that you would be touring soon?
ABIAH: Right now no tours planned but I have some open dates for tour with Robert (Glasper). I'm also working with a jazz sax player by the name of Mantana Roberts. I will be doing a new album with her which is set for November 28. I'm sure some things will pop up but I plan to get back in the studio to record in spring to release in 2014. This CD wasn't about record sales, it was just about re-branding and I will begin to move in a different way.
Comments