FIVE QUESTIONS
Ingram leapt from demo to Grammys

• Hawaiian Airlines Pops concerts

By Derek Paiva
Advertiser Entertainment Writer

Grammy Award-winner James Ingram, whose hits include "One Hundred Ways" and "Yah Mo B There," joins the Honolulu Symphony Orchestra in two pops concerts this weekend at the Blaisdell Concert Hall. ©2003, Lena Ringstad James Ingram With the Honolulu Symphony Pops 8 p.m. today and Saturday Blaisdell Concert Hall $25-$70 792-2000, (877) 750-4400 Also: The Honolulu Jazz Quartet is the opening act

How is breaking into the music business today worlds apart from back in the day, when Quincy Jones pretty much just called you up after hearing your demo for "Just Once"?

The standard, as a whole, for music back then was that you had to high-jump seven feet just to qualify. Now you can fall over the high-jump at three feet. The standards were much higher back then.

Before the video era, it was all about audio. When you heard a record come across the radio, you had to have something for real. ... I was singin' demos and ... "Just Once" was the demo given to Quincy. That's when Quincy called me. Prior to that, there were many doors that were slammed and a lot of roads I had to go through just to get there.

You weren't known for your singing back then, were you?

No. No. No. I wasn't known for no singin', man. ... I couldn't sing as good as Ray Charles or Donny Hathaway or Stevie (Wonder) so as far as I was concerned, I couldn't really sing. ... (Guitarist) Buzzy Feiten was a friend of mine and we wrote songs together. ... Buzzy got me this job in 1980 singing demos for (publishing company) ATV ... for $50 a song. I'd go there, learn a song in an hour and then I'd come back and sing it. And "Just Once" was one of those songs. ATV got the demo to Quincy. Quincy flipped over the song, (and) asked who the singer was.

From there, everything happened really quickly, didn't it?

Let's put it this way. I was playing (keyboards) on "She's a Bad Mama Jama" for Carl Carlton. And I played the demo of "Just Once" for Leon Haywood (who) was producing Carl Carlton. I said, "Man, I've got a cold-blooded pop hit for Carl." Leon heard it and said, "Yeah, that's a great tune, but I don't think it's right for Carl." Now this is early October 1980. In late October, Quincy calls me to sing it on his album ("The Dude," along with "One Hundred Ways"). In February (1982), here come the Grammys. And now I'm up against Carl for "She's a Bad Mama Jama" with "One Hundred Ways"!

That must've been a trip for you.

Oh, trip? No, it was trip out! But the real trip was ... Quincy talked the (Grammy producers) into opening with ("Just Once"). ... And guess what? I had never sang in front of nobody, man!

Get out!

No! I might've in nightclubs sittin' behind a piano and doing a little background and a little hummin'. But not standing up and singing a song. I didn't know what to do with my hands or nothin'. I was scared as hell! If you ever see the tape, you'll see this big afro and my bow tie all crooked. (Laughs) ... My first words were trembling ... (Singing opening line of "Just Once") "I-I-I did my best ..." And knowing the fact that I had never performed like that before, Quincy said to me, "Man, you know how many millions of people are gonna be watching this?" I said, "Quincy, I don't wanna hear that, man."

Of all the musicians you've worked with, who do you feel most fortunate to have shared time with?

Ray Charles is my biggest influence. I got my first production skills from Ray. I've always loved the way Ray sings. The base of my sound, the base of Michael McDonald's sound, the base of Michael Bolton and a lot of other singers is Ray Charles. ... I mean, Ray was ... (Laughs) This has nothing to do with your question, but it sparked something in my mind. Ray said to me (here Ingram offers a dead-on Ray Charles impression), "Uh, James, y-y-you know why I-I-I wear silk shirts when I'm singin'?" And I said, "No, Ray. Why?" And he said (again invoking Charles), "Because it feels so gooood on my bahh-dey." (Laughs hard) Ray is a trip, man. But he's definitely my idol.

Reach Derek Paiva at 525-8005 or dpaiva@honoluluadvertiser.com.

Hawaiian Airlines Pops concerts

Here's the schedule for the Hawaiian Airlines Pops concert series. All concerts, conducted by maestro Matt Catingub, begin at 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays at Blaisdell Concert Hall. Tickets: $25, $35, $45, $55, $70 for the Ingram and Toto concerts; $20, $30, $40, $50, $65 for all other concerts. 792-2000, (877) 750-4400.

• James Ingram, today and Saturday.
• Cecilio & Kapono, Oct. 31 and Nov. 1: Another reunion, marking the duo's 30th anniversary. Expect their classics: "Sunflower," "About You," "Gotta Get Away" and "Good Night and Good Morning."
• "Maestro Matt's 'Jazz Meets the Pops,' " with John Pizzarelli and Jimmy Borges, Nov. 21-22: Pizzarelli is a notable in jazz guitar and vocals; Borges is a local favorite with a glowing reputation of performing the music of Frank Sinatra charts; Catingub sings in this one.
• "Christmas Pops with The Brothers Cazimero and Na Leo Pilimehana," Dec. 12-13: A holiday tradition, pairing two popular acts, performing for the first time together (though separately) on the symphony bill
• "Tribute to the Beatles," with Glenn Medeiros, Jan. 16-17: A magical mystery musical tour of favorites by the Fab Four, featuring Medeiros and other guest stars
• "Contemporary Jazz with David Benoit and Michael Paulo," April 9-10: Benoit, three-time Grammy nominee, continues his enchanting work on keyboards that make him a favorite on jazz CDs, TV and film-scoring; local boy Paulo is the man with the golden saxophone.
• Toto, May 7-8: The pop sensations from the 1970s and '80s bring their bagful of hit songs ("Hold the Line," "Africa," "Rosanna") to Honolulu in their symphonic pops debut.