The Jazz Mann – Kenneth Roy interview by Tom Brumpton

TB - Kenneth, how did you and the ‘Doctor’ meet?

KR- Years ago, when the early synths needed tape or computer back-up I was looking for a specialist. I was recommended I call Daniel ‘Doctor’ Ryman. He was quite busy doing recording sessions but eventually we got together and he created and set-up my sound library. He later listened to some of my music and offered to take me into a studio setting to do some songs with me. It sounded great and we ended up doing our first album with the ‘Doctor’ engineering and produced ‘Forever Love’. ‘No Dice’ and ‘Chairman’ followed as more recent album releases.

TB - There are many great songwriting duos across musical history, can you tell us about your collaborative process?

KR - Well, I’m the ‘Singer/Songwriter’ and ‘Doctor’ Ryman works production some arraignment, all recording, engineering and mastering the music. His background is rooted as a musician and studio vet. We are are both multi-instrumentalists and play and perform most tracks. Our last single ‘I Still Love You So’ for instance is just the two of us. Some big songs we use our great friends, bassist Baron Chase and saxophonist Richard Howell and more.

TB - What were the core themes you wanted to explore on ‘Chairman’?

KR - The ‘Doctor’ and I are more album oriented artists. We have both been exposed to many kinds of music. We listen a lot…and try mostly to pick the best songs that we think fit stylistically together and not so much thematically. We explore the sounds and try to incorporate what we have learned together and individually. Musically, the record is a melting pot of genres.

TB - Can you walk us through your core influences?

KR - I am influenced by all styles and kinds of Music. Blues, Rock, Jazz, Soul, R&B, Country, Latin, Hip Hop, Rap, Funk, whatever. The Doctor Has recorded over 40 years with many name artists ( Quincy Jones, Earth Wind & Fire among others) and has many influences from early Soul, The Beatles, Africa to Electronica…

TB - You started playing at a young age. Smashing drums at 4 years and playing keys at the age of 6. Did you come from a musical household?

KR - My father played the acoustic guitar by ear and sang classic Blues & Country and Western music. My older brother Kevin played alto saxophone. We had a lot of Rock and Funk. My Uncle Russell ‘Chub’ was into Movie Soundtracks at the time. So defiantly a yes on that one!

TB - Tell us about your career prior to meeting the ‘Doctor’. How did you get your start in music?

KR - I joined junior high school big band in the middle of 7th grade. I started to study music privately at the time and never looked backward since. I have played in San Francisco hotels as well as private parties, big bands and everything in between periodically over the years.

TB - You have seven album releases to your credit. How does ‘Chairman’ vary to your previous work?

KR - I think music is a progression and each work or album you might be referring to is from different periods of time. I try to focus more on what to do in the moment we might be tracking and recording the most part. In other words more ‘in the moment’.

TB - Are you working on new material, independently or with the ‘Doctor’? If so when can we hope to hear it?

KR - Well, we have been caught up doing a lot of publishing and promotion. We could not have foreseen six consecutive Indie Singles, let alone the longevity of the songs. Our seventh single ‘Close Enough to Know’ will début shortly. We hope to be back in the creative mode soon. Depending on if we do live shows or not, I try to come up with new song ideas and fresh material all the time. We need to get back to more creative writing time for sure as soon as possible.

http://www.kennethroymusic.com/

https://www.facebook.com/kennethroymusic/

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJYT768nwzhkUsxwhtdHJSg

https://open.spotify.com/artist/30Q6avFlH4iUiwxscCj9YC

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