February 9, 2025 • 21 mins
Nathan Haines is a renowned New Zealand jazz musician, born in 1972 in Takapuna, Auckland. Growing up in a musical family, with his father Kevin being a leading jazz bassist and his brother Joel a guitarist, Nathan was immersed in music from a young age. He moved to New York City in 1991 to study jazz, and by 1994, he had released his first solo album, Shift Left. Over the years, Nathan's career flourished, gaining international recognition with notable releases like Sound Travels and Squire For Hire, and collaborations with icons like Marlena Shaw.
A multi-talented artist, Nathan has performed at prestigious venues such as Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club in London and Auckland’s Powerstation. He has also toured with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, producing the album Life Time, which features his vocals alongside Grammy-winning arrangements by Alan Broadbent. Nathan is deeply passionate about vinyl and continues to be an avid collector, regularly incorporating rare finds into his DJ sets.
In 2024, Nathan released his highly anticipated album Notes, which he completed after the untimely passing of his close collaborator Phil Asher. The album features an array of vocalists and musicians and includes sold-out shows at London’s Jazz Cafe and Auckland's Powerstation.
Nathan's contributions to New Zealand's jazz scene have earned him multiple Tui Jazz Album of the Year awards, solidifying his status as a leading figure in both jazz performance and production.
Nathan Haines and his band Soft Chaos join the Somethin' Else – A Weekend of Jazz as part of Auckland Live Summer in the Square—four weekends of free, whānau-friendly fun starting Sat 25 Jan. Catch him live on Sat 15th & Sun 16th February. Details at aucklandlive.co.nz
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:09):
You're listening to a podcast from News Talks be follow
this and our wide range of podcasts now on iHeartRadio.
Speaker 2 (00:16):
Gooday, Welcome to real Life. I'm John Kawener.
Speaker 3 (00:19):
I wish I had the musical knowledge and vocabulary to
talk intelligently about my guests music, but I do have
ears and a heart, so I at least can say
I appreciate it immensely. Welcome to one of New Zealand's
foremost musicians, Nathan Haynes. Welcome Nathan, Hello, John, how are
you doing.
Speaker 4 (00:37):
I'm good mate, I'm very well, really really well, enjoying
the summer.
Speaker 2 (00:41):
That's great. That's great.
Speaker 3 (00:43):
Now, congratulations on your eleventh album. Notes And you'd think
by number eleven you could just flick them off fairly automatically,
But this one had a bit of effort, a bit
of time, a few tears.
Speaker 4 (00:57):
It had a rather long gestation period.
Speaker 2 (00:59):
I guess you'd say, when did you start it?
Speaker 4 (01:02):
About ten years ago? I guess. My last studio album,
which I recall in London, was called five a Day
or Zootlure in the in the in the for Europe,
and it was just before my son Zoo was born,
and he just turned ten on Christmas.
Speaker 3 (01:23):
Eve, Right, so ten years since your last album, so
that's quite a hiatus, and a lot has happened during
that time.
Speaker 2 (01:29):
So this album reflects.
Speaker 4 (01:31):
That absolutely, John, I think, you know, at this point
in my life, I think my music is an extension
of who I am as a human being. I can't
really separate the two, you know, And for me, being
a decent human beings much more important than being an
(01:54):
amazing musician. And I sort of figured that out a
while back, and it took me a while to put
things into place. You know, I'm still working on on
aspects of my personality, as I'm sure older list will
relate to. I think you go through life and then
you think, wow, I've done that wrong or I could
have done that better. You know, but I fat sleep
(02:16):
well at night.
Speaker 3 (02:18):
That's great because you know that represents progress and growth.
And look, you know the title track of your album
notes and you sing that yourself. Yeah, and it sounds
very very personal. It's almost a confession in some parts,
isn't it. It's a discovery where you talk about you've
(02:39):
made bad decisions and you also talk about the day
you met your maker.
Speaker 4 (02:44):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (02:45):
Well, is that.
Speaker 3 (02:46):
Sort of in the sort of a literal meeting God
type sense that people use that phrase, or is it
just a more of a sort of a dawning realization.
Speaker 4 (02:55):
Well, I guess for those listeners who might be thinking,
what's happened to my voice? I was diagnosed with throat
cancer in twenty seventeen. My son was only two years old.
Two and three forty years old. Uh, it was very sudden.
I had experienced some discomfort in my throat for a
few months and went to my GP. It was misdiagnosed
(03:16):
and anyway, finally sent me to the hospital and I
handed endoscopy. When that's the cameron in his throat and
basically that the two young people at the hospital their
eyes popped out of their head. They stick the scope down.
They called a doctor and seen your doctor and he
(03:38):
took me aside and said, well Nathan, and he was
aware of him. I was, and my and my music.
He said, unfortunately, Nathan, that's you know. We found a
very much humor in your throat. I don't know if
I should tell you this, but it looks very much
like cancer to me, and we need you to come
straight into hospital tonight. Well now, and I said, well,
(03:59):
funnily enough, I've I've got a gig in the Louis
for Tom's store on Queen Street tonight and I can't
come in. And he said, well, you do me a
favor and will you come after your gig. So I
did backed an overnight bag and then I had the
first of many many tests and scans. And then it
wasn't really until a month later. That day I had
(04:22):
what's called a multidisciplinary hearing and they said, well, Nathan,
you've got stage four throat cancer and we're going to
do this and that and we're going to admit you
into hospital on Boxing Day. And that was it. So yeah,
my life pretty much changed overnight. How long were you
in hospital?
Speaker 2 (04:42):
Then?
Speaker 4 (04:43):
I was in hospital for pretty much three months constantly.
I had several operations. I lost the ability to swallow eat.
I do eat through a tube in my nose. Yeah,
it was pretty harrowing. The medical seem were amazing that
(05:04):
the care I save in New Zealand was absolutely incredible.
I was put into my own room, I was recomfortable.
I was on morphine old time, so you know.
Speaker 3 (05:15):
But nevertheless, I think I'd read that you had been
an anxious person. Even you know, in the years before
facing something like this, Christmas Day, I imagine was yeah,
full of thoughts, is this my last Christmas?
Speaker 4 (05:30):
Well, you know, funnily enough, it was my son's third
birthday and then Christmas Day and in Boxing day I
went a hospital. You know, looking back on it, it's
sort of like, my I feel like that. You know,
you sort of think in your mind, what's the worst
thing that could happen in my life, And the worst
(05:53):
thing for me would be to lose the ability to
play and to lose all my income, and that sort
of happened to me. But you know, after it happened,
and you know, I got so much support, I mean,
my record, but at the time, we set up a
give a little fund, and you know, it was really
(06:15):
overwhelming because I overnight I lost everything. There's just hundreds
and hundreds of stories like that where people really rallied
around and.
Speaker 3 (06:26):
When you're feeling physically low, to know that you loved.
Speaker 4 (06:28):
Life, it was really overwhelming.
Speaker 3 (06:32):
You started this project notes the album with a producer,
and I believe, well, yeah, he stepped up pretty much.
Speaker 4 (06:41):
He stepped up and he died four years ago. Yeah,
I mean, that's the thing when you get to my
age in this industry, you know, the road is eliced
with so many people who didn't make it, or they've
dropped out, or they've you know, it's a tough business.
It's really not for the fainthearted. Know.
Speaker 3 (07:02):
And I mean you're talking as as an older person,
but how old are you. You're only in your fifties,
aren't you?
Speaker 2 (07:07):
Yeah? Three?
Speaker 3 (07:10):
And I'm afraid from my perspective that still seems fairly young.
That you have clocked up a lot of experience, and
an experience like that facing your mortality, do you reckon?
That sort of divided your life into Nathan Haynes Mark
one and Nathan Haynes Mark two, A well.
Speaker 4 (07:29):
That you know that and also becoming sober. The funny
thing is that I had started to go to AA
before I got dinosed with cancer. And I had a
couple of years and then which didn't go too well.
I wasn't drinking, but you know, I wasn't really doing
it properly. And then the day I got told I
(07:49):
had cancer, and you know this multi Disipreney hearing, I went,
oh great, on africatose boring Iami since anymore, I started
drinking gain.
Speaker 2 (07:56):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (07:58):
Yeah, but anyway, I so, you know, as well as
that whole journey through cancer, I got two years after
that and then I was drinking terribly again. So then
I got back against the program and I am.
Speaker 2 (08:19):
Six years this month sober. Yeah, that's fantastic.
Speaker 4 (08:24):
So I haven't had a drink in six years, so
that we're along with the cancer which is seven years.
Those are the two big things in my life, yep.
Not the two big things. I mean obviously becoming a father,
you know, meeting my partner twenty years ago, all that,
but you know, I think that the whole process of
(08:49):
getting cancer and then thinking, oh, you know, I can
drink responsibly, and then deciding that I couldn't think getting
back into AA doing the steps with my sponsors, and
he was an incredible man going through that journey of
self discovery of the steps, the steps, and I is
a is really based on a high power. I'm not
(09:12):
a poster boyd for for a twelve seat program, but
I do know that there's a lot of other people
out there how I really admire who you know, the
twelve step program is life saving, and for me, it
allowed me to look at my life and to look
at the mistakes I'd made and to try and make
amends with those people, and to really look at my
(09:33):
life and to go, Okay, how am I going to
How am I going to turn those things into positives?
How am I going to move forward in my life?
You know? So that and surviving cancer, you know, lock
On would Dutch would. Yeah, yeah, big marks and my marks,
(09:55):
big things.
Speaker 3 (09:56):
And you talk about in the twelve step program based
on a higher power. Yeah, you are a spiritual person.
Speaker 4 (10:04):
Yeah, I mean, how can you not be? I'm not
an atheist.
Speaker 3 (10:11):
I mean the song notes, you're talking about angels, You're
talking about how you had the devils the flat to
the key to his flat, and you've made some bad mistakes,
but it's almost like, hey, I'm moving on through that
and discovering that that love is where it's at.
Speaker 4 (10:29):
Turning.
Speaker 5 (10:32):
And then then I found yet such you're free for me?
Speaker 4 (10:47):
That you know that? Yeah, I really it's funny. Yeah,
I really think love for yourself, love for other human
beings and receiving love, you know, and in my position
of being an entertainer, a musician, you know, it's forty.
(11:08):
This is just amazing that I can stand on just
stare with people every.
Speaker 2 (11:14):
Day of my life. You know, if you've just tuned in.
Speaker 3 (11:18):
My guest tonight Nathan Haynes, a master musician who right
from his youngest years was making incredible jazz and music
in all different styles. I'm talking to him about his life,
about the big things that have been going down, and
after the break we'll talk more about some of the
furniture in his head, how he moves through life, how
he thinks about people, and his music and his craft.
(11:42):
This is real life. I'm newsed Talks. He'd be back
with you after the break. Welcome back to real life.
I'm John cow and I have the incredible privilege of
having Nathan Haynes in the studio, who's been making music
all his life. We're listening to a track from your
latest album notes in. This track's called Sleek Well.
Speaker 2 (12:00):
John Matt's.
Speaker 4 (12:03):
That was funny enough thing about that track, it was
I sort of finished the album and the album to
the record company, and then I was playing with my
friend Ron Sampson, who is actually a Canadian. He came
to New Zealand twenty five years ago and he started
playing at the London Bar. Now, some of your older
(12:24):
listeners marked at me with the London Bar, which was
on Queen Street opposite Civic and my father used to
play there in the eighties nineties with Tommy Day, who
was an amazing musician being I think a jump ship
(12:46):
in the sixties actually was from the originally from the UK,
But anyway, I grew up playing there as a young boy.
I guess you could say I first started playing there
when I was eleven or twelve. Anyway, Ron started playing
there and then he started teaching at the Yorkland University
and he was at the studio. We're mucking around and
I was recording, and he was recording some drums, and
(13:08):
then I started cutting up the drums and I was like, wow,
that sounds great. And then I started putting some music
together and then I called in my young friend Joe Captain,
and literally within two days I had this amazing track
that just sort of came out of the eth that
came out of nowhere. I produced it, finished it, and
(13:29):
then I said to loop the record label. I said, look,
I know the album's finished, but can I squeeze this on?
And They're like, yeah, sure. And so the amazing thing
about Sleek is It was never really meant to be
on the album, but it was just one of those
wonderful moments where everything came together incredibly quickly. In the saxophone,
I played on that track as a complete first take
(13:52):
pretty much. Joe was in the studio. We'd put the
keys down, and then I said to Joe, right, okay,
you engineered. I ran into the booth and literally recorded
that in one go.
Speaker 3 (14:04):
You work with a trickier medium than even music. You
work with other people. It's interesting reading liner notes of
all your songs and things. You're always mentioning other people
and create it, and you have great gratitude for these
other artists that contribute the voice tracks or the percussion
or the production, and so, you know, as an artist,
(14:24):
surely a huge part of your skill is to actually
work with these other people to get that idea through
their creative.
Speaker 2 (14:33):
Talents.
Speaker 4 (14:36):
I see part of my strength and my skill set
is to bring people together, definitely, because I'm a bandleader,
and I you know, I'm very blessed to work with
a lot of younger musicians because you know, when I
was in my twenties or even younger, I mean when
(14:57):
I was a teenager, I had a lot of mentors
in my life, you know, and they really encourage me.
And I look back now and and I think, wow,
that person was really instrumental in me becoming the person
I am now. And so, you know, a big part
of my of my life now I was working with
(15:19):
younger musicians and encouraging them because they I don't have everything.
You know, I don't know everything. I don't have all
of the skill sets I rely heavily on, particularly on
keyboard players, because I'm not a fully fledged keyboard player myself,
(15:39):
you know what I mean. Like Miji Martigny was a
big part of a lot of the songs. Jonathan Crayford
was an amazing arranger, and he took some of those
tunes that I'd written with me how and then you know,
I was able to write these amazing string arrangements. And
(15:59):
Joe Catdaino I mentioned earlier, who's part of this band
Soft Chaos. You know, that's this thing I'm doing on
the for Jazz Auckland on the sixteenth. You know, he
took those ideas and then made them into this thing.
You know, Collaboration is a big, big part of what
(16:22):
I do. I'm not one of those people who just
sits there in does everything by myself. It's very very
gratifying for me to have it's an idea and then
to work.
Speaker 2 (16:31):
With this team.
Speaker 4 (16:33):
You know, when I did the POWERstation in November, it
was just an amazing concert. We sawed at the POWERstation
where where it was my New Zealand release of the album.
That was a full with something like fourteen musicians. That
was a full collaborative team effort. You know, I've got
a record label I work with, I've got a publicity department,
(16:56):
I've got a publishing team. I've got all of these people.
It's a very much a collaborative effort.
Speaker 3 (17:03):
I'm sure when you're menoring these young people, there's no
end of technical and artistics stuff you can there is
in part to them. But I think I'm sure one
of the things that I hope they take on board
is the idea that life has ups and downs. There's
been periods in your life when you were burned out
and ran dry, and yet that doesn't mark the end.
(17:27):
I mean you you you are now as creative as
you've ever been, possibly even more.
Speaker 4 (17:31):
Yeah, I feel more creative now, definitely. I think you know,
I'm trying to the filter that I had may or
the perceptions out about myself. I've had to I've been
able to leave a lot of those things behind and
just really get down to the.
Speaker 2 (17:46):
What have you left behind? Ego?
Speaker 4 (17:50):
Hopefully I've left ego behind. I've left, you know, worrying
about what other people think about me. I've just left
I've been able to leave a lot of those things
behind and really get to the nub and the gist
of of of of sort of why I'm here and
what I'm good at, and then just get down to
the work. The work is really important to me, and
the journey is much more important to me than the outcome.
(18:14):
And I was very much I hung up on people's
perceptions of me and trying to get this album out
or whatever. But once you once you leave those behind,
I'm a concert in working. Then the workflows, and then
you know, now, now I've got so much more music
out than I've ever had in my life.
Speaker 3 (18:33):
There must have been times when you reached places that
some people would call destinations. I mean, you had New
Zealand's biggest selling jazz LP. You got to New York,
you got to London, You're playing for the rothschild's wedding,
You're playing in gigs all around the world. You're doing
all these things, and do you look back on them
(18:54):
now and say, yeah, but there's still more and there's
and better things than just applause and reaching those goals.
Speaker 4 (19:03):
I mean, I'm not here for the for the trinkets
and for the fame and glory. Is that that with Jess,
But you know that the process is so much more
important to me. There's a lot of things going on,
but everything, Yeah, I'm just very grateful. I just keep
doing the work, you know, That's what's important, right, Just
keep doing the work.
Speaker 3 (19:22):
A person that you mentioned earlier and it's an amazing
and it's an amazing part of your life is that
perhaps the first chapters of your life are almost written
for you by your dad's career. And you mentioned off
off Mike that you're going to be playing with your
dad soon, and so he had he was a very
prominent jazz bassist and.
Speaker 4 (19:44):
He's actually on two tracks on the album.
Speaker 2 (19:46):
Oh It's fantastic.
Speaker 4 (19:47):
So he's playing on the track Storm and playing on
the track just holding On, which is about the.
Speaker 2 (19:56):
I I love just holding on.
Speaker 3 (19:58):
That idea of your hands and the dirt and the
sun on your back, blood in your mouth and you're
just holding on.
Speaker 4 (20:04):
Well that that track came about because you know, I
was at a very hard point. I remember one winter
and post COVID, and you know, I almost found COVID
harder than getting cancer, to be honest. Yeah, oh yeah,
because I lost you know what, I had cancer. You know,
(20:24):
everyone ready around us and I didn't.
Speaker 2 (20:26):
Come, but God lonely time for you.
Speaker 4 (20:31):
Yeah. It was just really, I mean I just saw
my whole career and life just to be along with
a lot of other millions and millions and millions of
other people around the world.
Speaker 2 (20:40):
So that holding on song, yeah, I was about.
Speaker 6 (20:43):
That, hands in the dirt, back to the sun, I
sweat on my brow, blood on my sun for in
that it don't all come undone for you. We don't
succumcert it's quick and this I'm just holding on.
Speaker 4 (20:57):
I spoke to to EO about that, the rapper, and
we're both going through a tough time and.
Speaker 2 (21:04):
Yeah, that was well.
Speaker 3 (21:06):
Yeah, if you'd like to hear more of Nathan Haynes,
Nathan and his band Soft Chaos will be joining something else.
The jazz weekend on the fifteenth and sixteenth of February,
a two day festival of upfront jazz music featuring cutting edge,
world class musicians and DJs from Ayatiro and beyond. And
if you can't get to that, then certainly get hold
(21:27):
of his latest album or any of his albums. But
the latest one, Notes is fantastic and it's available where
you buy your music or download your music. Nathan has
been fantastic talking to you. I'm looking forward to seeing
what morph comes down this shoot from your creative's mind.
And thank you again for taking time for being with us.
Speaker 4 (21:48):
Thank you, Jean. It's my pleasure.
Speaker 2 (21:50):
This is real life.
Speaker 3 (21:51):
I'm John Cown and I'm looking forward to being back
with you next Sunday night.
Speaker 1 (21:55):
For more from News Talks at b listen live on
air or online, and keep our shows with you wherever
you go with our podcast on iHeartRadio.
You're listening to a podcast from News Talks be follow
this and our wide range of podcasts now on iHeartRadio.
Speaker 2 (00:16):
Gooday, Welcome to real Life. I'm John Kawener.
Speaker 3 (00:19):
I wish I had the musical knowledge and vocabulary to
talk intelligently about my guests music, but I do have
ears and a heart, so I at least can say
I appreciate it immensely. Welcome to one of New Zealand's
foremost musicians, Nathan Haynes. Welcome Nathan, Hello, John, how are
you doing.
Speaker 4 (00:37):
I'm good mate, I'm very well, really really well, enjoying
the summer.
Speaker 2 (00:41):
That's great. That's great.
Speaker 3 (00:43):
Now, congratulations on your eleventh album. Notes And you'd think
by number eleven you could just flick them off fairly automatically,
But this one had a bit of effort, a bit
of time, a few tears.
Speaker 4 (00:57):
It had a rather long gestation period.
Speaker 2 (00:59):
I guess you'd say, when did you start it?
Speaker 4 (01:02):
About ten years ago? I guess. My last studio album,
which I recall in London, was called five a Day
or Zootlure in the in the in the for Europe,
and it was just before my son Zoo was born,
and he just turned ten on Christmas.
Speaker 3 (01:23):
Eve, Right, so ten years since your last album, so
that's quite a hiatus, and a lot has happened during
that time.
Speaker 2 (01:29):
So this album reflects.
Speaker 4 (01:31):
That absolutely, John, I think, you know, at this point
in my life, I think my music is an extension
of who I am as a human being. I can't
really separate the two, you know, And for me, being
a decent human beings much more important than being an
(01:54):
amazing musician. And I sort of figured that out a
while back, and it took me a while to put
things into place. You know, I'm still working on on
aspects of my personality, as I'm sure older list will
relate to. I think you go through life and then
you think, wow, I've done that wrong or I could
have done that better. You know, but I fat sleep
(02:16):
well at night.
Speaker 3 (02:18):
That's great because you know that represents progress and growth.
And look, you know the title track of your album
notes and you sing that yourself. Yeah, and it sounds
very very personal. It's almost a confession in some parts,
isn't it. It's a discovery where you talk about you've
(02:39):
made bad decisions and you also talk about the day
you met your maker.
Speaker 4 (02:44):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (02:45):
Well, is that.
Speaker 3 (02:46):
Sort of in the sort of a literal meeting God
type sense that people use that phrase, or is it
just a more of a sort of a dawning realization.
Speaker 4 (02:55):
Well, I guess for those listeners who might be thinking,
what's happened to my voice? I was diagnosed with throat
cancer in twenty seventeen. My son was only two years old.
Two and three forty years old. Uh, it was very sudden.
I had experienced some discomfort in my throat for a
few months and went to my GP. It was misdiagnosed
(03:16):
and anyway, finally sent me to the hospital and I
handed endoscopy. When that's the cameron in his throat and
basically that the two young people at the hospital their
eyes popped out of their head. They stick the scope down.
They called a doctor and seen your doctor and he
(03:38):
took me aside and said, well Nathan, and he was
aware of him. I was, and my and my music.
He said, unfortunately, Nathan, that's you know. We found a
very much humor in your throat. I don't know if
I should tell you this, but it looks very much
like cancer to me, and we need you to come
straight into hospital tonight. Well now, and I said, well,
(03:59):
funnily enough, I've I've got a gig in the Louis
for Tom's store on Queen Street tonight and I can't
come in. And he said, well, you do me a
favor and will you come after your gig. So I
did backed an overnight bag and then I had the
first of many many tests and scans. And then it
wasn't really until a month later. That day I had
(04:22):
what's called a multidisciplinary hearing and they said, well, Nathan,
you've got stage four throat cancer and we're going to
do this and that and we're going to admit you
into hospital on Boxing Day. And that was it. So yeah,
my life pretty much changed overnight. How long were you
in hospital?
Speaker 2 (04:42):
Then?
Speaker 4 (04:43):
I was in hospital for pretty much three months constantly.
I had several operations. I lost the ability to swallow eat.
I do eat through a tube in my nose. Yeah,
it was pretty harrowing. The medical seem were amazing that
(05:04):
the care I save in New Zealand was absolutely incredible.
I was put into my own room, I was recomfortable.
I was on morphine old time, so you know.
Speaker 3 (05:15):
But nevertheless, I think I'd read that you had been
an anxious person. Even you know, in the years before
facing something like this, Christmas Day, I imagine was yeah,
full of thoughts, is this my last Christmas?
Speaker 4 (05:30):
Well, you know, funnily enough, it was my son's third
birthday and then Christmas Day and in Boxing day I
went a hospital. You know, looking back on it, it's
sort of like, my I feel like that. You know,
you sort of think in your mind, what's the worst
thing that could happen in my life, And the worst
(05:53):
thing for me would be to lose the ability to
play and to lose all my income, and that sort
of happened to me. But you know, after it happened,
and you know, I got so much support, I mean,
my record, but at the time, we set up a
give a little fund, and you know, it was really
(06:15):
overwhelming because I overnight I lost everything. There's just hundreds
and hundreds of stories like that where people really rallied
around and.
Speaker 3 (06:26):
When you're feeling physically low, to know that you loved.
Speaker 4 (06:28):
Life, it was really overwhelming.
Speaker 3 (06:32):
You started this project notes the album with a producer,
and I believe, well, yeah, he stepped up pretty much.
Speaker 4 (06:41):
He stepped up and he died four years ago. Yeah,
I mean, that's the thing when you get to my
age in this industry, you know, the road is eliced
with so many people who didn't make it, or they've
dropped out, or they've you know, it's a tough business.
It's really not for the fainthearted. Know.
Speaker 3 (07:02):
And I mean you're talking as as an older person,
but how old are you. You're only in your fifties,
aren't you?
Speaker 2 (07:07):
Yeah? Three?
Speaker 3 (07:10):
And I'm afraid from my perspective that still seems fairly young.
That you have clocked up a lot of experience, and
an experience like that facing your mortality, do you reckon?
That sort of divided your life into Nathan Haynes Mark
one and Nathan Haynes Mark two, A well.
Speaker 4 (07:29):
That you know that and also becoming sober. The funny
thing is that I had started to go to AA
before I got dinosed with cancer. And I had a
couple of years and then which didn't go too well.
I wasn't drinking, but you know, I wasn't really doing
it properly. And then the day I got told I
(07:49):
had cancer, and you know this multi Disipreney hearing, I went,
oh great, on africatose boring Iami since anymore, I started
drinking gain.
Speaker 2 (07:56):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (07:58):
Yeah, but anyway, I so, you know, as well as
that whole journey through cancer, I got two years after
that and then I was drinking terribly again. So then
I got back against the program and I am.
Speaker 2 (08:19):
Six years this month sober. Yeah, that's fantastic.
Speaker 4 (08:24):
So I haven't had a drink in six years, so
that we're along with the cancer which is seven years.
Those are the two big things in my life, yep.
Not the two big things. I mean obviously becoming a father,
you know, meeting my partner twenty years ago, all that,
but you know, I think that the whole process of
(08:49):
getting cancer and then thinking, oh, you know, I can
drink responsibly, and then deciding that I couldn't think getting
back into AA doing the steps with my sponsors, and
he was an incredible man going through that journey of
self discovery of the steps, the steps, and I is
a is really based on a high power. I'm not
(09:12):
a poster boyd for for a twelve seat program, but
I do know that there's a lot of other people
out there how I really admire who you know, the
twelve step program is life saving, and for me, it
allowed me to look at my life and to look
at the mistakes I'd made and to try and make
amends with those people, and to really look at my
(09:33):
life and to go, Okay, how am I going to
How am I going to turn those things into positives?
How am I going to move forward in my life?
You know? So that and surviving cancer, you know, lock
On would Dutch would. Yeah, yeah, big marks and my marks,
(09:55):
big things.
Speaker 3 (09:56):
And you talk about in the twelve step program based
on a higher power. Yeah, you are a spiritual person.
Speaker 4 (10:04):
Yeah, I mean, how can you not be? I'm not
an atheist.
Speaker 3 (10:11):
I mean the song notes, you're talking about angels, You're
talking about how you had the devils the flat to
the key to his flat, and you've made some bad mistakes,
but it's almost like, hey, I'm moving on through that
and discovering that that love is where it's at.
Speaker 4 (10:29):
Turning.
Speaker 5 (10:32):
And then then I found yet such you're free for me?
Speaker 4 (10:47):
That you know that? Yeah, I really it's funny. Yeah,
I really think love for yourself, love for other human
beings and receiving love, you know, and in my position
of being an entertainer, a musician, you know, it's forty.
(11:08):
This is just amazing that I can stand on just
stare with people every.
Speaker 2 (11:14):
Day of my life. You know, if you've just tuned in.
Speaker 3 (11:18):
My guest tonight Nathan Haynes, a master musician who right
from his youngest years was making incredible jazz and music
in all different styles. I'm talking to him about his life,
about the big things that have been going down, and
after the break we'll talk more about some of the
furniture in his head, how he moves through life, how
he thinks about people, and his music and his craft.
(11:42):
This is real life. I'm newsed Talks. He'd be back
with you after the break. Welcome back to real life.
I'm John cow and I have the incredible privilege of
having Nathan Haynes in the studio, who's been making music
all his life. We're listening to a track from your
latest album notes in. This track's called Sleek Well.
Speaker 2 (12:00):
John Matt's.
Speaker 4 (12:03):
That was funny enough thing about that track, it was
I sort of finished the album and the album to
the record company, and then I was playing with my
friend Ron Sampson, who is actually a Canadian. He came
to New Zealand twenty five years ago and he started
playing at the London Bar. Now, some of your older
(12:24):
listeners marked at me with the London Bar, which was
on Queen Street opposite Civic and my father used to
play there in the eighties nineties with Tommy Day, who
was an amazing musician being I think a jump ship
(12:46):
in the sixties actually was from the originally from the UK,
But anyway, I grew up playing there as a young boy.
I guess you could say I first started playing there
when I was eleven or twelve. Anyway, Ron started playing
there and then he started teaching at the Yorkland University
and he was at the studio. We're mucking around and
I was recording, and he was recording some drums, and
(13:08):
then I started cutting up the drums and I was like, wow,
that sounds great. And then I started putting some music
together and then I called in my young friend Joe Captain,
and literally within two days I had this amazing track
that just sort of came out of the eth that
came out of nowhere. I produced it, finished it, and
(13:29):
then I said to loop the record label. I said, look,
I know the album's finished, but can I squeeze this on?
And They're like, yeah, sure. And so the amazing thing
about Sleek is It was never really meant to be
on the album, but it was just one of those
wonderful moments where everything came together incredibly quickly. In the saxophone,
I played on that track as a complete first take
(13:52):
pretty much. Joe was in the studio. We'd put the
keys down, and then I said to Joe, right, okay,
you engineered. I ran into the booth and literally recorded
that in one go.
Speaker 3 (14:04):
You work with a trickier medium than even music. You
work with other people. It's interesting reading liner notes of
all your songs and things. You're always mentioning other people
and create it, and you have great gratitude for these
other artists that contribute the voice tracks or the percussion
or the production, and so, you know, as an artist,
(14:24):
surely a huge part of your skill is to actually
work with these other people to get that idea through
their creative.
Speaker 2 (14:33):
Talents.
Speaker 4 (14:36):
I see part of my strength and my skill set
is to bring people together, definitely, because I'm a bandleader,
and I you know, I'm very blessed to work with
a lot of younger musicians because you know, when I
was in my twenties or even younger, I mean when
(14:57):
I was a teenager, I had a lot of mentors
in my life, you know, and they really encourage me.
And I look back now and and I think, wow,
that person was really instrumental in me becoming the person
I am now. And so, you know, a big part
of my of my life now I was working with
(15:19):
younger musicians and encouraging them because they I don't have everything.
You know, I don't know everything. I don't have all
of the skill sets I rely heavily on, particularly on
keyboard players, because I'm not a fully fledged keyboard player myself,
(15:39):
you know what I mean. Like Miji Martigny was a
big part of a lot of the songs. Jonathan Crayford
was an amazing arranger, and he took some of those
tunes that I'd written with me how and then you know,
I was able to write these amazing string arrangements. And
(15:59):
Joe Catdaino I mentioned earlier, who's part of this band
Soft Chaos. You know, that's this thing I'm doing on
the for Jazz Auckland on the sixteenth. You know, he
took those ideas and then made them into this thing.
You know, Collaboration is a big, big part of what
(16:22):
I do. I'm not one of those people who just
sits there in does everything by myself. It's very very
gratifying for me to have it's an idea and then
to work.
Speaker 2 (16:31):
With this team.
Speaker 4 (16:33):
You know, when I did the POWERstation in November, it
was just an amazing concert. We sawed at the POWERstation
where where it was my New Zealand release of the album.
That was a full with something like fourteen musicians. That
was a full collaborative team effort. You know, I've got
a record label I work with, I've got a publicity department,
(16:56):
I've got a publishing team. I've got all of these people.
It's a very much a collaborative effort.
Speaker 3 (17:03):
I'm sure when you're menoring these young people, there's no
end of technical and artistics stuff you can there is
in part to them. But I think I'm sure one
of the things that I hope they take on board
is the idea that life has ups and downs. There's
been periods in your life when you were burned out
and ran dry, and yet that doesn't mark the end.
(17:27):
I mean you you you are now as creative as
you've ever been, possibly even more.
Speaker 4 (17:31):
Yeah, I feel more creative now, definitely. I think you know,
I'm trying to the filter that I had may or
the perceptions out about myself. I've had to I've been
able to leave a lot of those things behind and
just really get down to the.
Speaker 2 (17:46):
What have you left behind? Ego?
Speaker 4 (17:50):
Hopefully I've left ego behind. I've left, you know, worrying
about what other people think about me. I've just left
I've been able to leave a lot of those things
behind and really get to the nub and the gist
of of of of sort of why I'm here and
what I'm good at, and then just get down to
the work. The work is really important to me, and
the journey is much more important to me than the outcome.
(18:14):
And I was very much I hung up on people's
perceptions of me and trying to get this album out
or whatever. But once you once you leave those behind,
I'm a concert in working. Then the workflows, and then
you know, now, now I've got so much more music
out than I've ever had in my life.
Speaker 3 (18:33):
There must have been times when you reached places that
some people would call destinations. I mean, you had New
Zealand's biggest selling jazz LP. You got to New York,
you got to London, You're playing for the rothschild's wedding,
You're playing in gigs all around the world. You're doing
all these things, and do you look back on them
(18:54):
now and say, yeah, but there's still more and there's
and better things than just applause and reaching those goals.
Speaker 4 (19:03):
I mean, I'm not here for the for the trinkets
and for the fame and glory. Is that that with Jess,
But you know that the process is so much more
important to me. There's a lot of things going on,
but everything, Yeah, I'm just very grateful. I just keep
doing the work, you know, That's what's important, right, Just
keep doing the work.
Speaker 3 (19:22):
A person that you mentioned earlier and it's an amazing
and it's an amazing part of your life is that
perhaps the first chapters of your life are almost written
for you by your dad's career. And you mentioned off
off Mike that you're going to be playing with your
dad soon, and so he had he was a very
prominent jazz bassist and.
Speaker 4 (19:44):
He's actually on two tracks on the album.
Speaker 2 (19:46):
Oh It's fantastic.
Speaker 4 (19:47):
So he's playing on the track Storm and playing on
the track just holding On, which is about the.
Speaker 2 (19:56):
I I love just holding on.
Speaker 3 (19:58):
That idea of your hands and the dirt and the
sun on your back, blood in your mouth and you're
just holding on.
Speaker 4 (20:04):
Well that that track came about because you know, I
was at a very hard point. I remember one winter
and post COVID, and you know, I almost found COVID
harder than getting cancer, to be honest. Yeah, oh yeah,
because I lost you know what, I had cancer. You know,
(20:24):
everyone ready around us and I didn't.
Speaker 2 (20:26):
Come, but God lonely time for you.
Speaker 4 (20:31):
Yeah. It was just really, I mean I just saw
my whole career and life just to be along with
a lot of other millions and millions and millions of
other people around the world.
Speaker 2 (20:40):
So that holding on song, yeah, I was about.
Speaker 6 (20:43):
That, hands in the dirt, back to the sun, I
sweat on my brow, blood on my sun for in
that it don't all come undone for you. We don't
succumcert it's quick and this I'm just holding on.
Speaker 4 (20:57):
I spoke to to EO about that, the rapper, and
we're both going through a tough time and.
Speaker 2 (21:04):
Yeah, that was well.
Speaker 3 (21:06):
Yeah, if you'd like to hear more of Nathan Haynes,
Nathan and his band Soft Chaos will be joining something else.
The jazz weekend on the fifteenth and sixteenth of February,
a two day festival of upfront jazz music featuring cutting edge,
world class musicians and DJs from Ayatiro and beyond. And
if you can't get to that, then certainly get hold
(21:27):
of his latest album or any of his albums. But
the latest one, Notes is fantastic and it's available where
you buy your music or download your music. Nathan has
been fantastic talking to you. I'm looking forward to seeing
what morph comes down this shoot from your creative's mind.
And thank you again for taking time for being with us.
Speaker 4 (21:48):
Thank you, Jean. It's my pleasure.
Speaker 2 (21:50):
This is real life.
Speaker 3 (21:51):
I'm John Cown and I'm looking forward to being back
with you next Sunday night.
Speaker 1 (21:55):
For more from News Talks at b listen live on
air or online, and keep our shows with you wherever
you go with our podcast on iHeartRadio.
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