“Going Underground,” available on ITunes, Amazon and CD Baby, is Shilts’ fourth solo CD and his first independent release, offered on his own Blanket Records. “I wanted to something a bit rawer, not too overproduced with too many instruments,” Shilts says. To achieve this, Shilts recorded much of the music live and with the same musicians. Breaking away from his past, Shilts also brought in other writers – Jay Rowe, John Gilutin, Randy Jacobs and Bill Steinway – to collaborate on a few songs. “Throwing a lot of ideas about just beefed up my sound. I’m really proud of it.”
The nine songs on “Going Underground” add up to 52 minutes of music that mixes in Shilts’ trademark blistering Yamaha tenor sax – he’s a signed Yamaha artist – with his dedication and unbridled joy of the groove. The CD’s title references both the train system of his native London and the yoke-freeing of his new independent career. “Lambeth Strut,” which features an robust Nick Colionne guitar solo, is a nod to the famous “Lambeth Walk” song in the 1937 musical “Me and My Girl.” “Lambeth is an area in south London,” says Shilts, who now lives in Los Angeles with his family and is firmly entrenched in the area’s high-profile smooth jazz scene. “I changed the song to ‘Strut’ since my version has a walking tempo to it.”
“Sneakin’ Up Behind You” is the CD’s only cover, and it’s among one of Shilts’ most energetic, jazziest tunes ever. Featuring the Hammond B3 of Ricky Peterson, the song boasts an old-school funk sound and daring, off-the-cuff solos from Shilts. The song is from the Brecker Brothers’ 1975 debut, which they dubbed “skunk funk.” Shilts himself gets filthy on the tune. “The Brecker Brothers and David Sanborn introduced me to the whole fusion, fun-rock thing. ‘Sneakin’ Up Behind You’ has always been one of my favorites. Instead of covering a vocal tune, I thought why not put my stamp on this great instrumental. I’m pleased how it turned out.”
Another track that will surprise and delight Shilts fans is “Hip Bop,” a traditional jazz tune with a modern sheen. It features smooth jazz superstar Rick Braun on trumpet. Another tune, “Five o’clock in Rio,” took its inspiration from Shilts’ fascination with music legend Sergio Mendes and his recent updating of cool and classic Brazilian music. “I gave it a Latin feel and threw in an underground hip-hop beat while still keeping an eye on tradition.” The song has contemporary jazz stars Marc Antoine on guitar and Brian Simpson on piano.
The funk and blues are well-represented on “Tunnel Vision,” “Uncontainable,” and “Standing Room Only,” while Shilts slows things down – but not too much – with “Seeing Things Clearly” and jam-band groove of “Eyes Down.”
“Going Underground” follows 2008’s “Jigsaw Life” and 2006’s “HeadBoppin’,” which features the hits “Back to the Hudson,” “Broken Silence” and “Look What’s Happened.” His solo debut came in 2001 with “See What Happens,” which received a glowing debut from JazzTimes magazine: “This here music’s party in a box, baby.” Fans will be glad to know that Shilts recently gained musical rights to the CD, which has been out of print for a long time. It will soon be available via digital outlets for the first time and one track, “Short Island Iced Tea,” is ready for downloading now on Shilts’ website, shiltsmusic.com. “I want to also re-record some of my older stuff, do some remixes,” he says. “It’s a benefit of having my own record label.”
A native of London who grew up about 20 miles outside of the city in Luton, Shilts took to the sax early and at 14 joined the National Youth Jazz Orchestra of Great Britain, which backed such jazz greats as Nancy Wilson, Buddy Greco, Rosemary Clooney, George Shearing and Mel Torme. He scored his first pro gig at 16 working in a house band that backed up legends such as the Temptations, Tom Jones, Four Tops, The Drifters and Rose Royce. After gigs in Hong Kong, the Middle East, Europe and the Caribbean, Shilts became a popular presence on the London session scene via dates with David Bowie (on the “Absolute Beginners” soundtrack), Jimmy Page, Conner Reeves and Dina Carroll. In the 1980s, Shilts was a member of the U.K. pop band Breathe, which had Top 10 U.S. hits with “Hands to Heaven” and “How Can I Fall.”
After co-founding System X with other London session musicians, in 1994 Shilts joined the British acid jazz/funk band Brand New Heavies, an association which lasted six years and overlapped his work with Down To the Bone in the late 1990s. Shilts went on to front Down to the Bone for 11 productive years.
What about Shilts’ stage name? It came from this love of soccer. At a party with his band while watching England play during the 1999 World Cup, the atmosphere was rightly rowdy and festive. When English goalkeeper Peter Shilton allowed a goal to go through his legs, the saxophonist jumped up and screamed at the TV, “Shilts! What have you done?” Subsequently on tour, whenever Shilts had his solo feature, the band members would shout, “Shilts, what are you doing?” It soon became the saxophonist’s nickname.
Whatever you call him, Shilts is simply one of the most energetic fan favorites on the tour circuit. As part of his high status in the music industry, Shilts will be performing all four days in March at the Oasis Contemporary Jazz Awards in San Diego. Fans are sure to see a lot of action. “I like to go out there with a lot of energy,” Shilts says. “I like to establish a rapport with the audience. It’s almost like a comedy jazz show – I mess around, try to engage the audience and just let the band members have fun, too. We just play music and have some fun. That’s what it’s all about.”
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