From Santee, and living in El Cajon, musician Sandi King is releasing her new album “Departure” on Oct. 6. But before the release of the full album, King released “Lush Life,” a moody jazz song track on Aug. 22 on all platforms, and on her birthday, Sept. 22, King will release “Shadow of Your Smile.” In anticipation for the album release, King is holding a listening party at Leonard Patton’s Jazz Lounge on Oct. 6, with limited capacity, and offering a unique opportunity to hear the record in an intimate setting along with King’s visualizer videos made as a comparison piece for the album.
King said this album is reimagined Indie-Jazz.
“My dad [Ron King] was a jazz trumpet player my whole childhood,” she said. “I did not get into music fulltime until 12 years ago, when I returned to San Diego after exploring my adulthood a little bit with other careers. I was a chef for a while, a barista, all the things you do in your 20s and early 30s. When I moved back in 2012, I decided to pursue music fulltime and I have not looked back since.”
King said she grew up listening to her father playing jazz music around town. When she was older, he played with Whitney Shay a lot in the Jazz Cats and big bands.
“When I moved back, I started doing Indie music, some Americana, and a little bit of soul music,” she said. “I was in a couple of different bands for a few years. I am still in a band with my husband Joshua Taylor, King Taylor Project. But when my dad passed away in 2021, after dealing with the grief, I had the idea to do a tribute album of jazz standards, totally reimagined. Songs we used to perform together. Some of his favorite songs he performed. And some that just reminded me of him. The genesis of this album was to honor my dad and the reason that I got into music in the first place, growing up and singing the tunes that my dad played.”
King said when she finally got to a mental space to be able to undertake such an intimate project as this, band members from her band from King Taylor Project are on this record.
“They are all local cats from around town who play in original projects and a lot of function bands, as well as our band. But I took all these songs to them and wanted to create something new and different with those specific musicians’ voices and my voice, and still honor the memory of my father,” she said.
King said it took about a year from start to finish, to get the songs where she wanted them, while working through the emotional process of this project.
“This has been in my mind and in my fingers for about a year and a half now. It is so exciting seeing this starting to come out,” she said.
King said although this album is all jazz covers, she is a singer/songwriter, does a little percussion, but her voice is her instrument. She has written with her husband in the King Taylor project, and with her former band 22 Kings, she co-wrote, so has original music out.
“I released a single last year, “Frozen Heart” which was a co-write with Johnny Tarr, a fellow musician in town who also plays all the saxophones on this record. But this is my first solo full album.”
On the album, there are some small musical interludes between songs. King said these interludes are all based on “Unforgettable” made famous by Nat King Cole, then Natalie Cole made the tribute album “Unforgettable With Love” to her father.
“That concert, when I was 10, my dad and I went to that concert and saw her perform. That was the very first concert that my dad was not playing at,” she said. “So that song is very meaningful to my dad and I. That was the song we danced to at my wedding. So, I wanted to pay homage to that song without fully recording the song. It already has that history with Natalie Cole. So, I gave each musician on the record, and I said I want each of you to make an interlude on whatever section of that song that you like and make it your own. Then we laid them out in order on the record. So, this was a theme on how important that song was to my dad and I that runs through this album.”
This anticipated album boasts 13 tracks, runs approximately 35 minutes. Produced, recorded, and mixed by Jeff Berkely at Studio West’s Satellite Studio, this record has some award-winning San Diego legends and heavy hitters involved – Joshua Taylor on guitar, Harley Magsino on bass, Tony Econom on drums, Josh Weinstein on keys, and Jonny Tarr on sax. Showcasing King and the band’s exceptional artistry, “Departure” also features award winning special guest artists, including The Brothers Burns, Wili and Anna Lee Fleming, and Monette Marino.
