Adam Hawley on his new album, ‘Unstoppable’ and tour

Transcript excerpt

Jazz guitarist and producer Adam Hawley is a top billboard performer with ten number-one hits. He also holds a doctorate of musical arts from the University of Southern California and teaches at Musicians Institute, Chaffee College, and Saddleback College.

In addition to these great accomplishments, Hawley is a very sought-after writer and producer who adds his distinct style to various artists' works. Adam will join me shortly to unpack it all, including info about his upcoming show at Blue Note in Napa. But first, let's get a sample of this true virtuoso of the string’s music. Here's Adam Hawley with his number one hit, ‘Up Top,’ from the new album, Unstoppable.

[MUSIC BREAK]

Steve Roby: Hi Adam, welcome to the show!

Adam Hawley: My pleasure. Thank you for the invitation!

Roby: How did it all begin for you, and what inspired you to become a musician?

I'm originally from Oregon and have always wanted to play the guitar. I was just drawn to it somehow. My parents aren't musicians, but they did have a record collection, including vinyl records and cassettes, which were in vogue then. So somewhere in there, yeah, I heard the guitar, and I got started pretty early.

Believe it or not, I started touring at the age of 11 or 12. I was in a bluegrass band. We toured all over Oregon and Washington. Later, I had a blues rock band in high school. Same thing. We toured all over the Northwest, but the big jump for me was moving to Los Angeles in 2002 to attend the University of Southern California. It spurred on my career; I had a great time there and started touring quickly.

Roby: Was there an initial guitarist who inspired you in the early years?

Hawley: Gosh, I'm originally from Oregon and have always wanted to play the guitar. I was just drawn to it somehow. My parents aren't musicians, but they did have a record collection, including vinyl records and cassettes, which were in vogue then. So, I heard the guitar somewhere in there, and I got started pretty early.

Believe it or not, I started touring at the age of 11 or 12. I was in a bluegrass band. We toured all over Oregon and Washington. Later, I had a blues rock band in high school. Same thing. We toured all over the Northwest, but the big jump for me was moving to Los Angeles in 2002 to attend the University of Southern California. It spurred on my career; I had a great time there and started touring quickly.

Roby: Was there an initial guitarist who kind of did it for you at the beginning of the early years? Yeah,

Hawley: As I mentioned, my band in high school was Blues Rock. Originally, I was into all the great blues artists: the Kings, B. King, Albert King, Freddie King SRV, and Jimi Hendrix. But Actually, believe it or not, the drummer in my band made me a mixtape, and it had Reason by George Benson on it.

I had never heard it before. I can still remember driving through the country; I think I was 16. So this would have been… let me do the math quickly, 2001. And man, it just blew me away. I was like, this is just the most amazing thing I've heard. And that sent me down the path of getting into contemporary jazz. Oh man, I had no idea that it was several decades old. It sounded so fresh, so pristine. It's an incredible-sounding record. And I thought, man, who is this guy? Did this just drop? But in short order, I got to know Benson, got into West Montgomery, and so on. And I really went down that path of getting into jazz…

Playlist: “Up Top,” “Unstoppable,” and “Fly By.”