Blending jazz, pop, Americana, and cinematic soul into one immersive sonic experience, Sons of the Mellow Mafia’s self-titled debut album is a heartfelt tribute to the legendary 1970s studio musicians known as the “Mellow Mafia.” Across 11 tracks—each carefully crafted to conjure distinct emotions ranging from nostalgia to contemplation—the band pays homage to a bygone era while delivering something undeniably fresh.
From the playful bounce of “Uncle Funny Plays With the Bass” to the somber reflection of “October 9th,” this album showcases a deep commitment to mood, narrative, and melody, all without uttering a single word. It’s a journey of tone and touch that invites listeners to create their own visuals and stories, much like the golden age of instrumental pop.
We sat down with the mind behind Sons of the Mellow Mafia to discuss the album’s inspirations, creative process, and the emotional architecture behind each track.
Interview with Sons of the Mellow Mafia
David: I’m a long-time fan of yacht rock; Steely Dan is my favorite band, and in the last few years I’ve been listening to a lot of music written by Jimmy Webb and recorded by the likes of Art Garfunkel, Joe Cocker, Linda Ronstadt and others in the late 70s and 80s. This led me to discover the musicians behind many of those albums: a group known officially as the Section. They were nicknamed the Mellow Mafia due to the number of soft rock, AOR and adult contemporary records on which they played. I’d planned to release this music under a “group” name, rather than my own, to distinguish it from albums I’ve made under my own name and the four records I’ve done with the eclectic instrumental power trio Outside Pedestrian, and when it came to picking a name, I thought Sons of the Mellow Mafia had a nice ring to it, while paying homage to some of the music that inspired it.
David: There are some elements, such as the instrumentation, that are common to most of the tunes, so that provides some continuity. There are also ways to bring in flavors of different genres into the same tune, or to different tunes that have similar feels. “Uncle Funny Plays With The Bass” (inspired by a comment made by my then 3-year old nephew) and “Seafarer” both have pop-rock feels and are of similar tempo, so at first they sound similar, but they have different flavors. “Uncle” is lighter and more humorous. It borrows from several classic rock tunes, mainly “Crocodile Rock” by Elton John, which I think gives it a more innocent, nostalgic feel. “Seafarer” is dedicated to a friend who passed away while the album was being recorded, and while it also has a pop-rock feel, the harmonies are sparser, and even though it’s mainly in major keys, there are a few minor chords in there that add some melancholy without weighing it down too much.
David: Sometimes I use theory as a tool. For me, understanding what types of harmonies and chords can be used to create a mood is helpful. I went over 20 years without writing a ballad in a minor key, because I thought it was too darn depressing. Then after the Uvalde school shooting happened, I wrote “Agent of Change.” On the other hand, sometimes I might write based on what I feel at the moment. After Roe vs. Wade was overturned, I sat at the piano and came up with a series of dense hybrid chords, and that ended up becoming “Inflection Point.”
David: Two days after the war between Hamas and Israel started, I was sitting alone at night and feeling pretty down. I started messing around with a simple riff that came to me, just a perfect fifth going back and forth, and I came up with what I thought was a promising start to a song. I put it away for a bit before returning to it and seeing about expanding it. Did it need another section? Did it need a solo? After trying several things out, I decided it was complete as it was; as a short minute and a half piece for solo piano. The day that I started it was October 9th, which also happens to be John Lennon’s birthday, and I found myself wondering what he would have thought of the current state of affairs in the world. It was different in mood from a lot of the other stuff I’d been writing and recording for this project, and at first I didn’t think I should include it, but I’m glad I did – I think it serves well as a peaceful interlude.
David: Often I’ll take inspiration from something that’s already been written, but I’ll try to do my own spin on it. “Breonna” was written in tribute to Breonna Taylor, who was fatally shot by Louisville police officers while she was asleep. I borrowed from “Run for the Roses” by Dan Fogelberg, which he’d written in 1980 as the new theme song for the Kentucky Derby. “Breonna” is in the same key and same time signature, and starts off with similar chords to “Roses” but then it explores some different keys and chord progressions before coming back to the main melody.
David: Deciding to record the album remotely was difficult at first; I’d wanted to do it in person, but after a while of struggling to find times to record that worked for everyone, I pivoted to doing it remotely. Then the battle became finding the happy medium between editing and fine-tuning to make the tracks sound as good as possible and micro-managing. Toward the end, I often found myself sitting in front of Cakewalk, with a bunch of edits I was planning on making, and I’d zone out; it was as if I’d hit a wall, and I realized that while the album wasn’t perfect, I had taken it as far as it could go, and had learned some good lessons that I can use going forward.
David: Usually. For example, I came up with “Shade from Burned Oaks” when I was hiking in California, where there had recently been a wildfire. At one point I sat under a tree that was charred and bare of leaves, but still provided shade with its branches. It occurred to me that despite what this tree had been through, it was still standing and offering shade. It might even have given shade to the people who set the fire. I started figuring out ways to express that feeling musically.
David: For now, I see myself focusing on instrumentals. I’ve written songs with words, but they are very literal. I’ve never felt comfortable writing lyrics in a more poetic style. I like the challenge of conveying a mood or an idea without words, and I like that instrumental music can be interpreted by the listener, without having an idea spelled out for them.
David: I hope that listening to this album is like catching up with an old friend you haven’t seen for a while. You might have some old in-jokes that you’ve been laughing about since middle school, but you also have a lot of new experiences to share. You might feel a little sad that you aren’t as close as you once were, but you are grateful to still be in each others’ lives. The albums I’ve done before, both solo and with Outside Pedestrian, always ended with big, up-tempo, high energy tunes, but this one ends with “Komorebi” which is a little more subdued. It starts off quietly, gets louder for a while, and then ends quietly. In a movie or a book, there’s usually a climax, but when you’re spending time with an old friend, the visit doesn’t necessarily end with a “bang”—in fact, it’s probably better if it doesn’t end with a bang.
David: I anticipate this band being a studio project. Every member of the band is busy with a lot of things—including, for half of us, Outside Pedestrian—so live performances might not be in the cards for now. I am writing new music that I hope to record with these players in the next few years, and as for visual companion pieces, we may do some “virtual” performances, where each of us records ourselves performing our part at home and they are merged together. But I’d love to play this music live at some point, so if there happen to be any festival promoters or event planners reading this…
Sons of the Mellow Mafia isn’t just an album—it’s an invitation to slow down, reflect, and sink into a world where melody carries the weight of meaning. If you’re a fan of genre-bending instrumental music with depth and heart, this debut is essential listening.
Follow Sons of the Mellow Mafia for more sonic adventures, and let their music be the soundtrack to your next quiet moment.
