JOHN KLEMMER EXTENDED BIOGRAPHY

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More than will ever be able to properly portray, Klemmer is quick, smart, funny, highly observant, still seeking musical truth, and the possessor of one of the worlds most facile minds, but, to know this all you have to do is listen to his music. It would be almost impossible to plan out a career as multi-varied, historically important or musically significant in music than the one tenor saxophonist & composer John Klemmer has led. Few if any, save Miles Davis, have followed their musical muse into uncharted waters with the strength of conviction John Klemmer always showed and continues to exhibit even to this day. His career as a solo artist, performer & composer, creating new concepts & production styles & his musical creations, reach a wide Pop and R&B audience as well as jazz & smooth jazz fans.  The creation & advent of smooth jazz is directly attributed to Klemmer & his "Touch" series of recordings. All this, but not to mention anything of his pioneering, innovative & unique solo saxophone recordings & achievements with his use of electronic effects [continually referenced as a major influence by some of today's most forward thinking artists], and his incredibly vast & valuable catalog of music compositions performed by himself as well as many others.
By Thomas Erdmann May 2007


John Klemmer. The unashamedly Romantic & Consummate Artist, Sax Player & Performer, Composer & Song Writer, Conceptuliser & Innovator. All with an intended deep sincerity, conviction, energy & a passionate humanity. He always strives to have "a message" as an Artist. He, stylistically, is considered by many to be a unique &  original saxophone player, that moves & soothes yet excites. There is an immediate recognizable sound of his own yet to be imitated by anyone. He & the saxophone "are one". He is fundamentally a Composer, Song Writer and Creator of Concepts who then utilizes his role as, some proclaim, Premier Saxophonist, to express the final musical conclusion.  His horn & other variety of instruments [flutes, kalimba, keyboards,  narration's & vocals etc.] are the vehicles of expressing his compositional & conceptual ideas he feels free to use for "whatever works & the music calls for" to serve the purpose of the concept, music & "message". John calls it, "Surrendering yourself to the Music". The Music & Concepts that "comes to him" dictates what & how he will play & record etc.
Musically advanced,  knowledgeable & technically proficient enough to be complex, ultimately, his compositions & playing is deftly & cleverly simple & unadorned. He has striven for "the art of simplicity & understatement". What can sound incredibly simple, to be possibly dismissed by some, can actually be quite profound, very difficult & have more depth of content than noticed at first listening.
Trying to create timeless music & expressing emotions that offers a quiet place in an increasingly stressful world is what John is both dedicated to & what he feels he does best & he proudly & confidently proclaims that is, "Who & what I am". "I am interested in "only the beautiful". He calls it "speaking with a whisper rather than a scream". "I most likely am trying to calm myself as much or more than the listener", John reveals.
Over the course of his career John has created an enduring body of music which is still growing & evolving, peeling himself open, layer by layer. His philosophy, for the most part, is to "let you in, to observe, witness, be a part of & share the process of what he feels, sees & is going through as a person & in his life as well as the world around him. As he is exploring himself & his music he deeply hopes that the listener will be moved, enjoy & even be "entertained" by his dedicated efforts. John believes that, "Chances are that whatever I might be going through & experiencing in my life is similar if not the same as the listener. We as human beings are quite parallel. I believe in the "collective unconscious". Therefore my efforts to delve deeply into myself & honestly express what is going on will hopefully connect profoundly with the listener." This would seem to be true with the profound & powerful responses to John's "TOUCH" & "CRY" etc. recordings.
He has often blazed new paths. Some "loudly" such as his early "BLOWING GOLD" series of jazz/rock fusion recordings. Some quietly such as his landmark "TOUCH" & "SOLO SAX" series of recordings oft times crediting him to be one of the forefathers of "smooth jazz" & "new age" etc.
His unique, now trademark style, of using electronic "delays" with his sax, to create an ethereal, haunting & lovely "chord like" sound, however never distorting the true inherit beauty of the acoustic sax, is his "total sound" & has yet to be imitated by anyone. His other courageous & pioneering use of electronic effects precede & promise future expression with today's advancing technologies.
His occasional abrupt change of directions & styles in the past, throughout his career, contribute perhaps to a confusion if not conflict for some as to; "Who John Klemmer really is". He seems to be "one kind" of Artist to some & "another" Artist to others.
Some say John may perhaps have moved too fast, through his changing styles, for the listener to possibly fully absorb, appreciate & to catch up with, thus, creating a possible confusion of identity with some, which is, perhaps, due to these sudden shifts of styles & direction. He seemingly has oft times been caught between "Instrumental Pop" & "Jazz Artist" etc.  Some say he is "one of the best kept secrets in jazz", some say  similarly in "Instrumental Pop" etc. Some also claim deeply underrated, often over looked & at times perhaps greatly misunderstood & misinterpreted in his intentions & motives by some
To some he is the earlier skilled "straight ahead jazz" & "jazz/rock fusion" pioneer. However he asserts he is not a "jazz artist", but, an "Artist" of all styles of music who chooses to play "jazz" or whatever other "styles" of music his concepts dictate musically at the time. "I actually have & now find more freedom of expression & fun in the more "Pop" & so-called "Commercial" arena than is what is called "jazz" today", John proclaims.  
To most all, though, which John adamantly prefers, he is pioneer & exponent of the melodic, emotional, personal, tender yet passionate & energized style that is "TOUCH" etc.  John states; "This music & style, whatever you want to label it, is the true essence of who I am, & the direction I prefer & Love. I "came together" & found my "complete self" & "who I truly am" in the "TOUCH" recordings etc. This style, that I feel I do best & which I Love most, is what I most likely will explore for the rest of my career", John announces. However with John, as history might reveal, you, & even he, never know what the future might hold. He has "surprised" himself as well as the listener many times before.
His approach of his music from the sincere & passionate place described, plus a refreshingly honest point of view, seems to connect on a very deep level with multitudes of all walks of life, ages and tastes in music which is shown in the popularity, success & longevity of his recordings. He has only just begun.
Nathan Jackson 2006

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