When the combustible five-man force of musical nature known as Turning Point took over the Phoenix club scene in the mid-90s, the desert city’s nights truly became as steamy its days. Establishing itself before packed houses at hotspots like The Famous Door and Beeloes, and later becoming regional sensations playing some 200 dates a year, the band grew to embody the freewheeling creative spirit of indie music making. Drawing on each member’s musical and cultural backgrounds, Turning Point forged an eclectic sound that mixed progressive jazz with rock, R&B and blues, with touches of Greek music and—paying homage to their home in the Southwest—Latin jazz. The title of Matador, Turning Point’s Native Language debut and sixth album overall, perfectly captures the band’s bold evolution into a true rock instrumental powerhouse.

“We’ve always strived to be diverse in everything we do, and Matador is the best example yet of this no holds barred approach,” says guitarist Thano Sahnas. “We have an advantage over many bands who take time away from their live performances to make an album. Since we never stop performing, we’re able to try out every brand new song onstage to see what works best. We’ll hammer it out in the studio, and go out and play it that same night. Audiences will literally hear our songs for a year before we officially record them, and it’s fun to watch as they evolve. A bullfight is a fight to the death, and there’s definitely a double entendre in the title. We’re out there fighting every day, and we’re going to win. The struggles are hard, but the rewards are always great.”

The four members of Turning Point—Thano Sahnas, his brother Demitri Sahnas (acoustic and fretless bass), keyboardist Steve Culp and drummer/percussionist John Herrera—faced a lot of flak in their early years for creating a genre practically unto themselves that defied conventional music industry wisdom that dictates a more streamlined commercial approach. This initial resistance inspired them to push the envelope even further, and the payoff with audiences throughout the Western U.S. has been phenomenal. Their music appeals across the board to fans of many of the top rock, R&B and smooth jazz artists they have opened for, from Michael McDonald to Little Feat, chill performer Praful, acid jazzers Down To the Bone and The Rippingtons.

Turning Point has received acclaim for all of its previous independent releases, beginning with a self titled debut in 1995 and including A Cool Jazzy Christmas (1996), Together (1998), Bridges (1999) and A Thousand Stories (2000), which was produced by famed bassist Brian Bromberg and released nationally by A440 Music. Together was distributed by Sin-Drome and earned the band its largest national audience, receiving airplay on over 40 smooth jazz stations. Yet the eleven tracks on Matador capture the band on the cusp of reaching its prime and creative potential, and the addition of saxophonist Dominic Amato as a featured player on this record has allowed Turning Point to stretch their musical boundaries even further.

Each member of Turning Point brings unique personal musical influences to the band’s sound. The Sahnas brothers grew up playing in Phoenix rock bands at the same time they played traditional Greek folk music; they recently released a side project From Mykonos to Madrid on Moondo Records, in association with Native Language. John Herrera played in variety bands in his native New Mexico, covering the gamut from country and rock to R&B and Mexican music. Yuma, Arizona native Steve Culp had a similar border town musical background, and went on to receive a Master’s Degree from the University of Miami Music School. Growing up in Detroit, Dominic Amato couldn’t help but develop an affinity for all things R&B.

Each member brought a resume chock-full of studio gigs and performing with other groups, and when they got together, a rockin’ contemporary jazz style emerged naturally. “We met while going about our local studio circles in Phoenix and we just thought it would be fun to collaborate on some songs,” John Herrera says. “The tunes started flowing naturally, and so we agreed to keep going. We’d all been backing up various vocalists but none of us could sing a lead vocal to save our life. So it was either do instrumental music or pack it in. That was in 1994. Six albums later, here we are.”

Writing and playing the songs turned out to be easier than picking a name for the group, a process, which took two months. In the end, the name was elemental because each member began to feel that this new band was the “turning point” in his career.
The prophecy was fulfilled when, just a few years later, they were all able to put aside their lives as sidemen and dedicate themselves to the band full time. Turning Point took its self-produced, self-released debut to Phoenix’s National Public Radio station KJZZ and the response was phenomenal. Demand grew for a live gig, and the band made its debut at an album release party benefit for the station. Tracks from nearly all of Turning Point’s earlier recordings received heavy airplay by Phoenix’s smooth jazz station KYOT (The Coyote).

Aside from playing venues and doing TV and charity functions all over Arizona—Phoenix, Flagstaff, Yuma, Sedona—the band has played in Las Vegas, Albuquerque, Fresno (the River Bend Jazz Festival), L.A.’s Baked Potato and Humphrey’s in San Diego. Turning Point also performed in March of 2000 at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium (the original site of the Grand Ole Opry) for a cable TV show called Music Makers. Over the years, the band has also shared the stage with Earth, Wind & Fire, The Commodores, James Brown, Boney James, Craig Chaquico, Bobby Caldwell, Earl Klugh, Gato Barbieri, Spyro Gyra, Rick Braun, Peter White and many others.

“The reason we’re successful is that we are committed to having fun, no matter what,” says John Herrera. “We’re more like brothers and family than anything else, and a mutural love and respect for each other and what we do keeps us together creatively and on a more personal level. Although we never came at this with a true mission statement, each of us has always understood what this band is about, playing the music we love to play in an open artistic forum that gives each member a chance to contribute. More than on any previous album, we feel that Matador truly shows our acquired strengths. We’ve always had a good time, but now our playing is much stronger and we do it with more conviction.”