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Nate Najar has many reasons to celebrate
On the eve of his 17th annual “Jazz Holiday” concert at the Palladium, guitarist Nate Najar is reflecting on the year just about gone by, a year of dizzying heights.
The St. Petersburg musician traveled the country as a member of Acoustic Alchemy, the groundbreaking British jazz band. He’s been a substitute member of the internationally-renowned group since 2016.
“I split the tours with Greg Carmichael, who’s the bandleader,” Najar explains. There were two American swings in 2023.
Carmichael sometimes has to stay in London, for family reasons. “He can’t get away for the stretches that we usually tour for,” explains Najar. “So sometimes I do the whole tour, sometimes I do a week, or two weeks. Sometimes I don’t do any of it.
“It’s kind of a dream come true for me. You know, I don’t particularly care for the circumstances with which I have the gig, but beyond that Greg Carmichael’s one of the reasons I play the nylon-string guitar and do the thing I do. As a kid, I grew up listening to Acoustic Alchemy. They were one of the groups making music with a guy playing like that!”
Longtime heroes, big tours, British band, British manager? “It’s like being in the Beatles or Led Zeppelin,” Najar enthuses.
Then there were the excursions – to Brazil, and to California – with his longtime partner, bossa nova vocalist and songwriter Daniela Soledade.
Most of the California dates sold out – the result, both Najar and Soledade believe, of the duo’s extensive online presence during the pandemic.
From home, they streamed 18 months of weekly “Love and Bossa Nova” performances. “Even at gigs in places where we don’t have roots, they’re enthusiastic about what we’re doing,” Najar says. “Every date we did in California, people said they’d driven 90 minutes, two hours … ‘We can’t believe you made it to California.’ People still say to us ‘We watched you online during the pandemic.’
“These aren’t people I’ve known all these years, and begged them to come to a show. These are people who just discovered the music out there. It’s fascinating. We are so lucky it’s unbelievable.”
Soledade’s career as a solo artist – Najar performs on, and produces her albums – has also benefitted from internet exposure. “Nobody’s a big star, but there are people all over who are picking up what we’re putting down,” he says.
Najar also plays a major role in Clearwater’s Suncoast Jazz Festival, which celebrated 34 years in November. He’s a frequent performer (as is Soledade), and is also an artistic advisor. “I take that really seriously, when you’re talking about the integrity of the presentation. That’s where I live. And I’m really grateful to be involved with it.”
Tickets are selling well for Thursday’s “Nate Najar’s Jazz Holiday” Palladium concert. Najar’s fellow performers will be Joe Porter, bass, Patrick Bettison, keys and Jean Bolduc, drums, with Daniela Soledade on vocals, Carl Amundson on guitar, plus trumpet player Bruce Harris and Adrian Cunningham on sax and flute.
“It’s all holiday repertoire, but it’s done the way we do it, you know?” Najar says with a smile. “It’s got my stamp on it, I guess that’s the way to put it. Whatever aesthetic considerations I’m into in the moment, that’s how the holiday music is presented.”
Find tickets here.
