WILL HOLTON had planned on a military career. But, in the late 1990s, he was inspired when he saw Toni Braxton, Kenny G. and others perform in HSBC Arena. It completely changed his lifestyle. Having participated in church music much of his life, Holton, now 29, picked up the saxophone (ordained, he says, by God), and never looked back. The Buffalo native will bring his “Soulful Christmas Affair” to the Tralf at 8 tonight.

Why a Christmas show?

There’s so much going on in the world today; Christmas is unification. The songs are in happy keys, so no matter what race or religion you are, they’re universal.

What makes it “soulful?”

It’s the genre of “soul”—it’s also from the soul. I believe that “culture” means the melting pot of races. Some of the best music comes when people of culture put a twist on it. Like Donny Hathaway with R&B, and Bela Fleck, who incorporates jazz, blues and folk.

Who are your influences?

Early on, they were people like Gerald Albright, Michael Brecker, Everett Harp and Stevie Wonder. Then I was lucky enough to meet Najee, one of the top African-American instrumentalists. He was close to the late Grover Washington. We’ve become friends. More recently, I’ve learned so much from local musicians like Chris Putman, Rodney Apple-by and Kenny Hawkins.

What do you do for fun?

The highlight of my week is Sundays at my parents’ house. My cousin and co-manager, Tony Shep, and I laugh, crack jokes and play John Madden [video games] on a 120-inch wall projector.

If you couldn’t play mu-sic, what would you do?

I’d probably teach. I’d want to be charismatic and smart, like Robin Williams or his Patch Adams character. If I taught history, I’d dress up as Christopher Columbus. If I taught English, I’d teach Shakespeare; do Othello and Macbeth theatrically and relate them to today. If I taught science, I’d want to be like Bill Nye. I’d want the kids to go home and say, “Wow, I learned this!”

What are your musical goals?

I want to entertain, of course, and to bring happiness to people. Of course, I want a successful lifestyle, and I’d like a long career. Najee says that if someone is having a lousy day, you need to be able to heal them with your show. That is what music does for me.

—Jana Eisenberg