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Saxophonist Mindi Abair plays in the Zoo Music series tonight at the Rio Grande Zoo.
For two months this summer, saxophonist Mindy Abair is touring with Aerosmith. In the same two months Abair also has her band on the road. So far, so good. She’s been able to schedule her concerts around Aerosmith’s.
“It’s great to be part of a huge, mammoth rock tour,” Abair said in a phone interview from Atlanta, Ga., where she was about to perform with Aerosmith.
“As big and as exciting as this is, it makes me appreciate so much my world and my band, the running of my show – being the band leader, talking to the audience.”
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Mindi Abair WHEN: 7:30 tonight WHERE: Rio Grande Zoo, 903 10th SW HOW MUCH: $10 general public, $5 seniors, $3 ages 3-12 at the door. Patrons may take lawn chairs and blankets and their own food for a picnic, but no glass containers and no alcohol |
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Abair, often thought of as a smooth jazz artist, will be on stage with her band at the Rio Grande Zoo tonight. With her will be guitarist Jay Gore, keyboardist Rodney Lee, bassist Derek Frank and drummer Jamey Cate.
“Jamey’s dad and my dad were in a band together. The band toured the first years of my life. It’s nice to be part of a second generation of musicians,” Abair said.
The band will perform many of the tunes that are on her latest album, “HiFi Stereo.” Most of the numbers are in a funk style.
“I wanted this to be retro fun, organic. I wanted a feel to the record that was like those Ramsey Lewis records, like Archie Bell and the Drells,” Abair said.
“I’ve done a lot of studio records with shiny reverbs and all kinds of plush arrangements. This record I wanted it to be just a few guys in the room with me making music. And I wanted to have the listeners feel like they’re there.”
Now Abair has plans for a new album that will introduce a little rock ‘n’ roll and blues to her sound.
Two days before her Albuquerque show, she will have played with Aerosmith in Denver’s Pepsi Center.
Abair will have two days to get to the Duke City “and do our show, we feed some monkeys, see the ostriches. I like the ostriches for some reason. They’re fuzzy and cute and awkward.”
The next morning she’s on a flight from Albuquerque to Oakland, Calif. She said she gets in several hours before Aerosmith will perform in the Oracle Arena on Saturday afternoon.
Reprint story -- Email the reporter at dsteinberg@abqjournal.com. Call the reporter at 505-823-3925
