Her solo career has produced ten No. 1 radio singles, two No. 1 Billboard Jazz CDs, and four more solo CDs that have landed No. 5 and above on the Billboard Contemporary Jazz Charts. She was the featured saxophonist for the 2011 and 2012 seasons of American Idol, and performed with the rock band Aerosmith.[2] Abair's recordings have twice been nominated for Grammy Awards.[3]
In 1991, after college, Abair moved to Los Angeles, California, where she began booking her band into clubs, coffee shops and hotels. She played solo on the street at 3rd Street Promenade in Santa Monica, California and garnered the attention of jazz keyboardist Bobby Lyle, who hired her to record on his Power of Touch CD and tour with him. Her touring opportunities expanded over the next decade, as she toured as a saxophonist/singer and keyboardist with Adam Sandler, John Tesh, Jonathan Butler, Teena Marie, Rick Braun as well. Abair was featured on saxophone in the Go West video "Tell Me". In 1996, she appeared on Adam Sandler's HBO Special and recorded on his platinum CD What's Your Name? playing the saxophone solo on "The Lonesome Kicker" and singing on various tracks.
In 1999, Abair joined the Backstreet Boys for their Millennium World Tour, and spent the next year and a half as their saxophonist, keyboardist and percussionist. She assembled Mandy Moore's first band and acted as musical director, keyboardist, background singer and percussionist for many of Moore's first television appearances and shows.
When not touring, Abair released her first complete solo album, Always and Never the Same, an all-vocal pop record, independently.[5] Abair performed in local Los Angeles rock clubs to promote the record, in addition to her touring with the Backstreet Boys.
In 2003, Abair signed to Verve Records and released the album It Just Happens That Way, which peaked at No. 7 on the Billboard Contemporary Jazz Chart.[6] 2004's "I Can't Wait for Christmas," the title track to her Christmas album of the same name, became a regional hit, particularly in Buffalo, New York, where both incarnations of WTSS have included the record among their Christmas music playlists.[7]
In 2004, Abair released Come As You Are, which peaked at No. 9 on the Billboard Contemporary Jazz charts.[8] She followed that with Life Less Ordinary in 2006, which peaked at No. 1 on the Billboard Contemporary Jazz Chart[9] and remained in the top 20 for 45 weeks. Her songs "True Blue" and "Bloom" hit No. 1 on R&R.
Abair signed to Concord Records in 2007 and released her genre breaking Stars in 2008 which peaked at No. 4 on the Billboard Contemporary Jazz Chart.[10] Her single "Stars" (co-written and produced by Matthew Hager) charted at No. 29 Adult Contemporary R&R simultaneously with her single "Smile" which reached No. 1 on the R&R jazz airplay charts. She released "Hi-Fi Stereo" in 2010[11] which peaked at No. 6 on the Billboard Jazz Albums chart.[10] The album spawned the No. 1 hit "Be Beautiful" written by David Ryan Harris.[10]
In 2015, after working with Randy Jacobs (founder of The Boneshakers) on the tour for Wild Heart, he and Abair decided to form Mindi Abair and The Boneshakers, which includes Mindi Abair (saxophone, vocals), Randy Jacobs (guitar, vocals), Sweet Pea Atkinson (vocals), Rodney Lee (keyboards), Derek Frank (bass, vocals), and Third Richardson (drums, vocals).[15] In late 2015, they released a live album Mindi Abair and The Boneshakers Live in Seattle via Pledge Music and HeadsUp, which featured a performance from Seattle's Dimitriou's Jazz Alley in February 2015. In summer 2017, the group announced their first studio project via Randy Jacobs' website.[16] Recorded over five days at EastWest Studios with producer Kevin Shirley, The EastWest Sessions, included 11 blues and rock tracks, was released on September 15, 2017.[17]Joe Bonamassa and Fantastic Negrito were featured guests.[18] The album debuted at No. 3 on the Billboard Blues Albums Chart on the week of October 7, 2017.[19]
"Pretty Good for a Girl," a tongue-in-cheek track co-written by Abair and Jacobs for the album, inspired Abair to launch the web platform PrettyGoodForAGirl.net. The goal of the website is to celebrate exceptional women and turn "pretty good for a girl" into a phrase of empowerment.[20]
In October 2018, Mindi Abair and The Boneshakers released their first blues rock holiday album, All I Got For Christmas Is The Blues. It debuted at number 7 on the Billboard Blues Albums Chart, number 1 on the RMR Holiday Album and Song Chart and number 13 on Sirius XM Bluesville. It featured four original songs including "All I Got For Christmas Is The Blues" and five holiday classics including "Merry Christmas Baby" and "The Christmas Song".
In 2007, Abair took over the nationally syndicated radio program Chill with Chris Botti which he had hosted for two years. The name changed to "Chill With Mindi Abair," which she hosted from 2007 to 2015. The focus of the program was chill out music.[23]
She filled in as the saxophonist with the CBS Orchestra on the Late Show with David Letterman on April 3 and 4, 2012.[25] She sat in with the band again on July 29, 2014, and she also performed her original songs "Wild Heart" and "Train."
In 2009, Abair was elected as a Governor on the Board of the Los Angeles Chapter of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, serving for three years until 2012, when she was elected as Secretary. She spent one year serving as Secretary. In 2013, Abair was elected to a two-year term as the President of the Los Angeles Chapter, taking over the position from the previous president, MC Lyte. Mindi was elected to a two-year term as National Trustee of the Recording Academy in 2015.
