Mindi Abair Comes As She Is

(A portion of the proceeds from The Recording Academy Los Angeles Chapter's GRAMMY Block Party benefitted PATH, a Los Angeles-based organization dedicated to ending homelessness for individuals, families and communities.)

Jazz saxophonist and Recording Academy Los Angeles Chapter Secretary Mindi Abair recently participated in an installment of The Recording Academy's 5 Questions With ... series. Held during The Recording Academy Los Angeles Chapter's 2011 GRAMMY Block Party at The Academy's headquarters in Santa Monica, Calif., Abair also took the stage with GRAMMY-nominated R&B artist Lalah Hathaway to perform a set that included a cover of James Brown's "It's A Man's Man's Man's World."

"Every song is different," said Abair on her creative process. "Every creative structure for me is different. I always think it's fun to just draw off life."

Born into a musical family in St. Petersburg, Fla., Abair started playing piano at age 5 and picked up saxophone and songwriting three years later. She attended Berklee College of Music in Boston where she earned a degree in woodwind performance and developed skills in styles spanning jazz, rock and R&B. As a session musician she worked with artists including the Backstreet Boys, the Gap Band, Mandy Moore, and John Tesh, among others. Her debut album, 2000's Always And Never The Same, featured nine tracks co-written by Abair and producer/musician Matthew Hager. It Just Happens That Way followed in 2003, peaking at No. 7 on Billboard's Jazz Albums chart.

Abair's most recent release, In Hi-Fi Stereo, was released in 2010 and climbed to No. 6 on the Jazz Albums chart. The album spawned the No. 1 Jazz Songs hit "Be Beautiful." Abair is currently on tour throughout the United States.

Click on the "5 Questions With ... performances" tag below for links to other GRAMMY News stories in this series.