THERE IS A CLASSIC SEINFELD EPISODE THAT MAKES FUN OF THE ‘SEPARATE WORLDS’ WE TRY TO KEEP IN OUR LIVES, MAKING SURE THAT THEY NEVER ‘COLLIDE’ (AS GEORGE COSTANZA APTLY WARNS). MANY OF US PLAY VARIOUS ROLES AS FRIENDS, EMPLOYEES, SPOUSES, AND WHATEVER, KEEPING EACH ‘WORLD’ APART FROM THE OTHER.
SINGER PHILIP BAILEY TAKES THE MORE WHOLISTIC AND HEALTHY APPROACH TO LIFE, USING HIS (LITERALLY) UNIQUE VOICE AS A GOD-GIVEN TALENT IN A CONSISTENT MANNER. WHETHER IT’S AS A SINGER FOR EARTH, WIND AND FIRE, SINGING PARTNER WITH PHIL COLLINS, DELIVERING GOSPEL MESSAGES OR HELPING OUT ON IMPORTANT SOCIAL CAUSES, BAILEY FINDS NO DISTINCTION IN HIS CALLING. HE’S BEING PHIL BAILEY IN EACH ENVIRONMENT.
THUS, ON HIS MOST RECENT SOLO ALBUM LOVE WILL FIND A WAY, NOT ONLY IS MR. BAILEY COMFORTABLE SINGING IN MODERN JAZZ ATMOSPHERES WITH YOUNG GIANTS LIKE KUMASI WASHINGTON AND ROBERT GLASPER, DELIVERING HIP RENDITIONS OF TUNES BY THE LIKES OF PHAROAH SANDERS, BUT HE’S ALSO USING PART OF THE MONIES FROM THIS PROJECT AND HIS TOUR TO GIVE ASSISTANCE AND AWARENESS TO FOSTER CHILDREN.
WE RECENTLY HAD AN OPPORTUNITY TO CHAT WITH MR. BAILEY, AND HIS ENTHUSIASM, STRAIGHTFORWARDNESS AND COMFORT WITH HIS PLACE IN GOD’S PLAN WERE BOTH FRESH AND INSPIRING.
YOU ARE STILL ABLE TO REACH THOSE HIGH NOTES. HOW DO YOU KEEP YOUR VOICE SO STRONG?
That’s a God thing. (laughs)
You kind of learn through the years what you can and can’t do with your instrument. I’ve been real blessed.
DO YOU DO ANY VOCAL EXERCISES OR EAT/DRINK SOMETHING SPECIAL TO KEEP YOUR VOICE IN SHAPE?
I have special teas that I make. I don’t think that they work miracles, but they keep things warmed up.
HOW DID YOU MEET UP WITH MAURICE WHITE TO BECOME THE VOCALIST FOR EARTH WIND AND FIRE?
Earth Wind and Fire was in existence when I first met him; they already had two records on Warner Brothers. My band knew their music, and we actually started to perform some of their songs.
It was just one of those things that was destined to be.
Their original band played a promotional show in Los Angeles, and our band opened the show. That’s how we actually met.
I then moved out to Los Angeles through a mutual friend Perry Jones, who had become the promotion man for Warner Brothers. When Maurice began to reform the band, he and his brother Verdine asked me to be in the group.
**********
“Even if it was a door squeaking, (Andre Crouch) could hear a song. He was one of those kind of people”
**********
DID EITHER OF THEM GIVE YOU ANY KEY INSTRUCTIONS?
No, we were just taking it one step at a time. We were just following the music.
YOUR MUSICAL OUTPUT IS QUITE VARIED, COVERING R&B, GOSPEL, JAZZ AND POP. DO YOU CHANGE MINDSETS OR ATTITUDES FOR EACH . DIFFERENT GENRE?
No, that would be kind of hypocritical. I am who I am 24/7, whether I’m playing gospel or jazz or with Earth, Wind and Fire. I’m the same person.
WHO’S YOUR FAVORITE GOSPEL SINGER?
Mahalia Jackson. I heard a lot of it when I was coming up in my house from my mother. It was just her ability to use her instrument to penetrate the hearts of people with such a powerful force. Also Aretha Franklin; those two were mighty, mighty forces that were really powerful.
WHAT WAS YOUR EXPERIENCE WITH ANDRE CROUCH
Andre was a real sweetheart, and also a visionary. He heard music and lyrics in everything in every walk of life. Even if it was a door squeaking, he could hear a song. He was one of those kind of people.
HOW DO YOU KEEP YOUR FAITH CONSISTENT, ALIVE AND ACTIVE?
First, I think it’s God that keeps my faith “alive.” But, on the other side of the coin on a practical situation, I’m a “Word” man. The Word is my foundation, and I’m a Word studier, a Word listener, a Word prayer a Word believer and a Word obeyer. That kind of wraps it up right there.
Those things keep it all in order.
*********
“I’m a “Word” man. The Word is my foundation, and I’m a Word studier, a Word listener, a Word prayer a Word believer and a Word obeyer. That kind of wraps it up right there”
*********
DO YOU HAVE A FAVORITE BOOK OR THEOLOGIAN?
I have many. I’m a (Charles) Spurgeon fan. Oswald Chambers. One guy that I think is very sound is Ray Stedman. I read a lot and use Logos, read a lot of books and have a lot of expository books.
HAVE YOU EVER HAD A CRISIS OF FAITH?
No, I haven’t, thank God. I can’t say that I haven’t been totally out of the box, but I’ve never wondered if I was saved. I received Christ back in the early 70s, and God has been a constant, no matter what, no matter when and no matter where.
It’s kind of like music for me; I thought everybody heard these songs their head like I did, and I can’t believe that everyone doesn’t believe that God is their friend.
Some people get out of shape about, but for me it’s obvious.
**********
“I can’t believe that everyone doesn’t believe that God is their friend”
*********
SHARING YOUR FAITH IS SIMPLY ONE BEGGER TELLING ANOTHER BEGGER WHERE TO FIND THE BREAD.
Exactly. (laughs)
LET’S TALK ABOUT THIS LATEST ALBUM, WHICH NOT ONLY INCLUDES LONG TIME JAZZ GUYS LIKE CHICK COREA, STEVE GADD AND CHRISTIAN MCBRIDE, BUT IT HAS SOME YOUNGER GUYS LIKE KAMASI WASHINGTON AND CHRISTIAN SCOTT. HOW DID YOU COME ACROSS THIS NEW GENERATION?
I’m in Brooklyn right now working on my solo tour, and know all of those guys that work with (keyboardist/producer) Robert Glasper. It’s very refreshing; I love their energy and they’re very inspiring. That’s why I’m hanging out with them.
YOU’VE ALSO GOT A PHAROAH SANDERS SONG ON THIS ALBUM!!!
I actually did a duet with (saxist/keyboardist) KC Benjamin, and that’s on our tour as well. We are having a lot of fun with it.
DID YOU KNOW GADD AND COREA BEFORE THIS SESSION?
Yes, I knew Chick and we’ve been talking about finding an opportunity to do something. So when he and Gadd were in the studio, he blessed me and did a couple of things for me.
AS A MAN OF FAITH, HOW DO YOU WALK THE BALANCE OF BEING A “LIGHT” WITHOUT BEING OVERBEARING?
Back in the day I would have had more to say about that, but nowadays who you are is just something you can’t hide. Who you are is going to penetrate and be made obvious when you hang out with people. It’s something that you just can’t manufacture; you can’t manufacture a witness; you ARE a witness by being who you are.
It’s not like you’re trumping up something to pass out a tract. If you see somebody who’s alive and you see somebody who’s dead, you know the difference! (laughs)
RIGHT. OUR JOB IS TO BE THE FRAGRANCE OF GOD, AND LET THE PEOPLE RESPOND IN ACCORDANCE TO THEIR PATH.
Amen.
YOU ARE INVOLVED IN HELPING CHILDREN IN THE FOSTER CARE PROGRAMS. WHAT GOT YOU INTERESTED IN THIS?
I have seven children and seven grandchildren, and that’s an underserved and underpromoted cause. I have my young boys and my daughter, who worked with me and is the co-founder of the group Music Is Unity (MIU). They’re out with me right now.
There are so many people that have no “village,” no support or resources, that it has become a cause that is dear to our hearts.
HOW MUCH OF AN IMPACT ARE YOU HAVING?
We’re committed to be consistent. If someone graces us with some extraordinary amount of resources, that is a blessing. If they don’t, I’m committed for the long haul. My portion of ticket sales, and the money that we raise and the dollars that I give go to that cause.
You can go to www.musicisunity.org and find out what we’re doing and how to contribute.
YOU ALSO SPEND TIME WITH THESE KIDS. IS THERE ANY SPECIAL MESSAGE YOU DELIVER?
No, I just be myself and I introduce them to the many different aspects of our industry and hope that if anyone wants to further their pursuit in the music industry that we can be a sort of stepping stone.
DO YOU MENTION THIS CAUSE AT THE CONCERTS?
I don’t, and on my solo tour I probably will. That’s a good idea.
YOU KEEP PRETTY BUSY! DO YOU HAVE ANY HOBBIES?
I came up with a phrase about my hobby, “I take golf very seriously, but it doesn’t take me very seriously.” (laughs)
YOU’VE DONE WORK WITH NANCY WILSON AND DIANNE REEVES. WHAT DID YOU GLEAN FROM THEM?
You can’t be with great people like that and not be influenced by them and learn something, but it’s not like “I learned this.” I’m still learning things from Dianne Reeves and Nancy Wilson when I listen to her recordings.
I brought Dianne Reeves to Los Angeles from Denver. She was in a group before she went off onto her amazing career. She was straight out of high school when I brought her here. I always tell her that’s my claim to fame (laughs)
A LOT OF PEOPLE HAVE WHAT THEY CALL IN SEINFELD “COMPARTMENTALIZED LIVES” . YOU ARE NOT LIKE THAT. EVEN THIS ALBUM IS VERY WHOLISTIC, REFLECTING HOW YOU DON’T SEGMENT PARTS OF YOUR LIFE, AND THAT YOU ARE COMPLETELY INTEGRATED IN ALL THAT YOU DO. WHO TAUGHT YOU THIS?
My daughter and son Philip who work with us, and our art director Tishaun Dawson who works with us for the visual content and social networking are all responsible for shaping the content of the project.
I just follow the music.
****Since I was a kid, music has always been my Pied Piper, and I just follow it.
**********
“Since I was a kid, music has always been my Pied Piper, and I just follow it”
**********
DO YOU HAVE A MUSICAL COMFORT FOOD?
I like to listen to the St. Louis Symphony, to Samuel Barber, to bluegrass, jazz, bebop, Native American, alternative or folk. I don’t like to listen to just one thing. There is really good stuff everywhere; there’s a plethora of beauty.
WHAT FUTURE GOALS DO YOU HAVE WITH MUSIC AND LIFE?
I’m having a lot of fun right now. I feel very blessed, and I’m thankful to do this project, and to do it on this level, that Verve Records partnered with me. I’m in a real good place.
SOME USE THEIR PLACES IN LIFE FOR SELF-AGGRANDIZEMENT OR PERSONAL PEACE AND AFFLUENCE. IT’S REFRESHING TO HEAR FROM A MAN WHO USES HIS GIFTS AND TALENTS AS WAY OF SAYING THANK YOU BACK TO GOD.
CHECK OUT NOT ONLY THE MUSIC OF PHILIP BAILEY, BUT THE MESSAGE AND INSPIRATION BEHIND IT.