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Sandi King’s Departure makes something new from old songs
New album reworks standards with jazz-rock arrangements
Sandi King’s new album was born from her father’s death.
San Diego’s Sandi King grew up the daughter of a trumpeter, the late Ron King, but she knew from a very early age what her own instrument would be: herself. “You couldn’t keep me from singing as I was growing up,” remembers King, who just released a new solo album called Departure. “I knew that was my instrument, always. I did pick up a few things — clarinet, piano, and guitar — but ultimately, my voice is where I feel the best equipped to express.”
She arrived in San Diego at age three and grew up in Santee, attending Carlton Oaks Elementary and West Hills High School. “Many of my childhood memories are of my father playing music around the house and going to his shows out around town. I joined him on stage starting as young as ten years old, singing in the big band he played in. I have so many flashes of memory: singing and dancing around the house, making up dance routines and singing at the top of my lungs to the radio.”
She listened to plenty of jazz, both live and recorded, but influences from her adolescence crept in, too. “It was a combo of Sarah Vaughan, Billie Holiday, and Ella Fitzgerald with the powerhouse pop of Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey, and Celine Dion. I also listened to — and watched — a lot of musicals. The rock opera genre was something I gravitated to early on, with shows like Jesus Christ Superstar and The Rocky Horror Picture Show. I hear all of those in the music I make today; I enjoy the theatrical aspect of performing while also focusing on vocal power and agility.”
King has fronted the King Taylor Project since 2015 with her husband, Joshua Taylor. The sound usually runs more towards funk and soul, but the new album is far more primal than planned. “Just like I never intended to release a jazz record, I never intended to release a solo album. This solo record was born out of the loss of my father, and is an expression of my love and grief. It felt only right to be releasing something under my own name with that in mind, and choosing very specific songs to do that. This record is a collection of jazz standards that the band and I have completely reimagined and rearranged — each song chosen for its importance to my father and me.”
She’ll preview the album at a listening party October 6 at the Jazz Lounge. Standards on the songlist include “My Funny Valentine,” “Autumn Leaves,” “How High the Moon,” “Shadow of Your Smile,” and “Somewhere Over the Rainbow.” King worked up the jazz-rock arrangements with her local all-star band: Joshua Taylor on guitars, Jonny Tarr on saxes, Harley Magsino on bass, Josh Weinstein on keys, and Tony Econom on drums. “Honestly, the musicians did all the heavy lifting there. I brought this idea to a group of musicians I knew and trusted to help me interpret what I was thinking into a cohesive group of songs that sounded very little like the originals. They all knocked this out of the park. The direction I gave them all was something along the lines of, ‘Forget about how the song goes, let’s make it something new that represents us all somehow.’ I wanted each musician to bring himself to the project, to create something new and different.”
All the guest artists on the record are locals. Monette “Mo’Rhythm” Marino features on “How High the Moon” playing percussion. Wili and Anna Lee Fleming from Finnegan Blue play trombones on “Too Close For Comfort,” and the Brothers Burns, Jessie and Dominic, add rapping for that same track. Departure was recorded with Jeff Berkley at Studio West’s Satellite Studio. “I think a standout thing is the way we tracked the vocals. The band was set up in the big room to record live, Jonny was on his sax in the vocal booth set to record live, and Jeff had me set up behind him in the control room, cross-legged on the couch, but with a mic in front of me. We wanted to record my scratch vocals live, just to get the energy of live band takes, intending to overdub all the vocals under ‘better’ conditions in the vocal booth.
“That is not what happened. We kept most of these vocal tracks. I had some photos of my dad taped up in front of me.”
Here's something you might be interested in.
Sandi King’s Departure makes something new from old songs
New album reworks standards with jazz-rock arrangements
Sandi King’s Departure makes something new from old songs
New album reworks standards with jazz-rock arrangements
Sandi King’s new album was born from her father’s death.
San Diego’s Sandi King grew up the daughter of a trumpeter, the late Ron King, but she knew from a very early age what her own instrument would be: herself. “You couldn’t keep me from singing as I was growing up,” remembers King, who just released a new solo album called Departure. “I knew that was my instrument, always. I did pick up a few things — clarinet, piano, and guitar — but ultimately, my voice is where I feel the best equipped to express.”
She arrived in San Diego at age three and grew up in Santee, attending Carlton Oaks Elementary and West Hills High School. “Many of my childhood memories are of my father playing music around the house and going to his shows out around town. I joined him on stage starting as young as ten years old, singing in the big band he played in. I have so many flashes of memory: singing and dancing around the house, making up dance routines and singing at the top of my lungs to the radio.”
She listened to plenty of jazz, both live and recorded, but influences from her adolescence crept in, too. “It was a combo of Sarah Vaughan, Billie Holiday, and Ella Fitzgerald with the powerhouse pop of Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey, and Celine Dion. I also listened to — and watched — a lot of musicals. The rock opera genre was something I gravitated to early on, with shows like Jesus Christ Superstar and The Rocky Horror Picture Show. I hear all of those in the music I make today; I enjoy the theatrical aspect of performing while also focusing on vocal power and agility.”
King has fronted the King Taylor Project since 2015 with her husband, Joshua Taylor. The sound usually runs more towards funk and soul, but the new album is far more primal than planned. “Just like I never intended to release a jazz record, I never intended to release a solo album. This solo record was born out of the loss of my father, and is an expression of my love and grief. It felt only right to be releasing something under my own name with that in mind, and choosing very specific songs to do that. This record is a collection of jazz standards that the band and I have completely reimagined and rearranged — each song chosen for its importance to my father and me.”
She’ll preview the album at a listening party October 6 at the Jazz Lounge. Standards on the songlist include “My Funny Valentine,” “Autumn Leaves,” “How High the Moon,” “Shadow of Your Smile,” and “Somewhere Over the Rainbow.” King worked up the jazz-rock arrangements with her local all-star band: Joshua Taylor on guitars, Jonny Tarr on saxes, Harley Magsino on bass, Josh Weinstein on keys, and Tony Econom on drums. “Honestly, the musicians did all the heavy lifting there. I brought this idea to a group of musicians I knew and trusted to help me interpret what I was thinking into a cohesive group of songs that sounded very little like the originals. They all knocked this out of the park. The direction I gave them all was something along the lines of, ‘Forget about how the song goes, let’s make it something new that represents us all somehow.’ I wanted each musician to bring himself to the project, to create something new and different.”
All the guest artists on the record are locals. Monette “Mo’Rhythm” Marino features on “How High the Moon” playing percussion. Wili and Anna Lee Fleming from Finnegan Blue play trombones on “Too Close For Comfort,” and the Brothers Burns, Jessie and Dominic, add rapping for that same track. Departure was recorded with Jeff Berkley at Studio West’s Satellite Studio. “I think a standout thing is the way we tracked the vocals. The band was set up in the big room to record live, Jonny was on his sax in the vocal booth set to record live, and Jeff had me set up behind him in the control room, cross-legged on the couch, but with a mic in front of me. We wanted to record my scratch vocals live, just to get the energy of live band takes, intending to overdub all the vocals under ‘better’ conditions in the vocal booth.
“That is not what happened. We kept most of these vocal tracks. I had some photos of my dad taped up in front of me.”
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