Jon Secada has won three Grammys and sold over 15 million records, he has written huge hits for people like Gloria Estefan and Ricky Martin, and now he is using his iconic voice to pay tribute to the legendary Nat King Cole. Fascination sees Secada take on Cole’s greatest songs in both English and Spanish while breathing new life into these classics.
Please press the PLAY icon below for the MisplacedStraws Jon Secada interview –
On what led him to record a Nat King Cole tribute record – I discussed it with my publisher at the time Peermusic, and that was a project that was in the back of our heads for a little while as well as Gonzalo (Rubalcaba), another artist that had worked with already. It was pending as something that maybe if we could put it together, we wanted to. I’m a huge fan of Nat King Cole, especially in the way that I grew up listening to his music. My parents were huge fans of his Spanish recordings actually, and so was I. It was someone that I respected as a musician, as a vocalist, and as a music pop historian, I knew who he was and what he meant to, to popular music all over the world. So, the opportunity came with pure music and the fact that they a lot of the songs that he recorded were published by Peermusic and at the time I had a partnership with Peermusic and things worked out.
On if he had questions about changing some of the arrangements – Oh, yes. In fact, that was that was my biggest hurdle and my biggest assignment to do to do justice to these songs in a way that I wanted to, sing them, express them communicate them in a way that was inspired by Nat King Cole himself, but at the same time, with a touch of what I wanted to, for me as a vocalist. The way that I wanted to express myself and an element of conversational type of singing that I felt was important of storytelling. In a way that I felt it was important from a very conversational point of view. That’s something that for me was very important in this record.
On changing his vocal style to a more conversational style – I had to tap into my education. I had to tap into who I am as a jazz vocalist, and my training and my love for jazz music, period. So yeah, this project really connected with that. Connected with a part of me who is and will always be a jazz musician as well. Working with Gonzalo made things a lot easier. Of course, Gonzalo is a brilliant musician, brilliant pianist. A brilliant artist but with a sense of musicality and depth that made the process a lot easier for me.
On if Cole was a role model as a bilingual artist – Yeah, in many ways he was the, I guess in the opposite sense of things one of the first Anglo crossover artists that broken into the Latin market with the tremendous success. That’s what he did with those recordings. He was known all over all over the Caribbean and Mexico as Nat King Cole the person, the Anglo artist that sang in Spanish and beautifully. So, with this charming accent. That was so him, but because of his musicality and his phrasing he made it work.
On duetting with his daughter Mikaela on “Unforgettable” – Mikaela first and foremost, she’s got a career her own of her own. She’s doing so many things that are part of her own artistry. She graduated from Michigan with a musical theater degree. She’s been on Broadway. She’s working all the time, auditioning all the time between theatrical productions, between TV appearances. So, me asking her meant a lot to me because so much I respect her and respect her career and respect everything that she’s done and keeps doing actually. The fact that we were able to do it, she lives in New York and time allowed, it was just, it was great. It was her first time in the studio doing quite something like that. Again, those few days putting it together, something I’ll never forget.
On if he had to turn from dad to producer while working with Mikaela –No, I did. I did. But that’s something that I feel that I’m pretty good at in terms of working with artists respecting artists. First and foremost, respecting who they are, respecting their craft how they want to do certain things. I treated my daughter in the same way that I’ve treated any artist that I’ve ever worked with. Always considering what she wants to do, how she wants to do it, listening to her listen to her point of view how she wants to address the phrasing, this and the other, and then giving my 2 cents worth. But in a way to make sure that letting her know as well as any artist in that position that I only have their best interest in mind and if just to try things to see if they can live with it. But just as a way to maximize their performance.
On if there is a different type of satisfaction writing a hit for another artist – Not really. The satisfaction, I grew up wanting to be a musician from the minute that I decided to study music and I got my bachelor’s and my master’s degree music. The minute that I started to work as a musician I still feel like a blue-collar musician attached to my craft. I love doing so many things attached to the reason that I got into music. I I’ve always felt that way. I’ve been a professional musician for 40 years. 40, 41 actually. So yeah, it’s, from that perspective, no, it was wonderful. The opportunity is what meant a lot to me. The opportunity to work with Gloria, write with her. Eventually I toured with her and that led of course to my own opportunities as a solo artist. But hearing her song on the radio. A song that I co-wrote with her gave me the same satisfaction as hearing my own song. To this day if I hear a song that I’ve written for someone as opposed to something that I hear of my own, I’m telling you, the life of my kids, I get the same satisfaction. Because it’s something that I created.
On if there are other artists he’d like to work with – I really do in every genre. That they like to mix and match different things until they get their sound and get the essence of what they wanna rep, how they wanna be represented in the industry how they want people to listen to them whether they like it or not. Then, you take it from there and you keep making change and things but there’s so many wonderful artists doing some, so many great work. Every time I hear someone that I feel, it’s just, it’s really kinda generationally making a difference. I think that’s wonderful to see. There’s just a few out there that I feel are making a generational difference.
On his influences growing up – It’s a melting pot and specific writers, so many influences directly and directly. I grew up in a great community that dealt with being bilingual. So, I listened to all kinds of music both English, Spanish, but I always gravitated to Anglo music though. That was always my thing. Pop, R&B, rock, dance music. But I grew up in a community that Spanglish was the way of communicating. Having you talk half English, half Spanish. That became also the fabric of who I am and became eventually the fabric of my music as well. I, for me, that’s just a given. But that comes up by living here in South Florida. And the fact that everything that I’ve done in my career my education, my colleagues the people that first started things for me, that gave me the first opportunity to be who I am as a songwriter and artists. All stemmed from living here in South Florida.
On his scholarship at the University of Miami – The scholarship was, I did it early on in my career. I had been asked to perform in the in the Orange Bowl Show, and I just donated the money to the department that I graduated from. For me it was almost a responsibility to give something back, the fact that I was singing at the Orange Bowl. It became to this day, it is a scholarship given to somebody specific to the studio music and jazz vocal department. I graduated in 1985, so 40 years later, here I am being, still being able to give something back to the university that gave me everything in terms of being a musician and eventually as an artist.
On 2026 touring plans – We don’t know about that. I’m not sure. There’s so many other things that have gone on this year that are gonna be huge things. I can’t speak of them yet. But it does deal with, at this point the legacy of my career, what has happened to me over the last 41 years as a musician as an artist, as a songwriter. It deals with what’s going on in my life as well. So, there’s big things coming for me as an entertainer in terms of my catalog and so many wonderful things. But yeah, big year coming. I can’t really speak of what, of some of the specifics, but yeah, I’m excited about it.
On if he’s contemplated stepping away – I’m gonna be completely transparently honest with you. I thought that maybe this year would’ve been the year that I would, I was just gonna say, “You know what? I’m gonna slow down”. But then all of a sudden, this new opportunity comes in. I’m like, “ah”, I said, “I should do something else”. That’s when I realized that I’m still passionate. Yeah. I’m still passionate. I still feel the passion of what I love and no, I cannot give it up yet. I can’t. So, I’ve been in it, I’ve been in it for 41 years and I’m gonna keep going. Yeah, I have no choice. I gotta do it. I’m feeling it. I’m feeling it, and I can’t say no to it.
