Today we’d like to introduce you to Cameron Black.
Hi Cameron, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I started playing music in middle school, back in 2004. I chose clarinet because the kid next to me played it, and he seemed like a cool guy, so that’s what I chose to play. I really took to the instrument, and even though my mom couldn’t necessarily afford it, she got me an instructor to come by a couple of times a month to help me hone my chops. After a year or two, he brought a saxophone with him to a lesson to let me try, and as soon as I played it, I was hooked.
Fast forward to high school, Irvine High. I took every band class you could take and my mom would take me up to LA to see some Latin Jazz legends playing at some now-defunct jazz clubs. She has a great picture of me and conga legend Francisco Aguabella, and it’s something that always cracks me up to see now. It’s probably the only picture of me with braces that still exists.
After high school, I started playing with some bands in LA. I graduated from UCLA with a degree in anthropology in 2012 and played with some original bands on the side. The job market wasn’t ideal, so our group decided to relocate to Nashville and give music a real shot. It was by this time that I was really curious about testing my abilities and building my confidence as an individual performer. I played some incredible shows and was fortunate enough to share the stage with some extremely talented musicians, and Nashville will always hold a special place in my life.
In 2016, I moved back to LA and took a couple of years off of gigging while still playing some session work here and there. In 2021, I’m doing more gigs than ever. Between playing with various entertainment groups, original acts, and a traveling yacht rock cover group, music has once again become the driving force in my life. In addition to performing in various live projects, I’ve also scored my second film in two years with my partner, Kylie Hazzard, which is the ultimate career dream that we are working toward.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
Pursuing your passion is a wild road for anyone. The highs are amazing, and the lows are drastic, and as a horn player, there’s a lot of waiting involved, whether that be between gigs or waiting to lay down tracks on recording day. After I graduated from school, one of the first questions I was asked was, “what else do you play?” It made me realize that there’s a different expectation from someone that plays horn if you step outside of jazz, classical, or instrumental music. You have to know how to adapt, and you have to bring a lot to the table if you want to stay relevant for more than one moment or song. I picked up keys, guitar, and bass on the way and love diving into these other realms of sound, even if the discovery was out of necessity.
It’s forever a journey of self-discovery, and that can be expensive and time-consuming, but at the end of the day, I wouldn’t trade any moment for anything else. I feel fortunate enough to have found a medium in which I feel I can express myself to the fullest.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I love experimenting with the saxophone and working with pedals, but I also appreciate the beautiful tone the instrument can produce on its own. It was a dream of mine to record a solo instrumental album, and last year gave me the time and mental space to really write some varied instrumental music. My second album will releasing in Oct 2021, and you can find both albums on my Bandcamp page. My debut album, Times Like These, is also available on all music streaming platforms.
Contact Info:
- Email: c2aminor@gmail.com
- Website: www.ctoaminor.com
- Instagram: @ctoaminor
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/saxmancam
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4ZoNJhXMAoHardokzRyRpg/
- SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/saxmancam/sets/compositions
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