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September 20,2003 Edition #300 Previously  |
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Special Presentation - The Very Best of Café Jazz !
It was in the fall of 1997 that Café Jazz first crackled onto the airwaves. Now, six years, several hundred shows, and thousands of selections later, we’re set to celebrate our 300th edition. I love putting together this show and quite honestly I could probably choose enough music for ten or more such programs. Nevertheless, the tunes we have for you are integral to the style and mood of our show and for that reason alone we are calling this program, The Very Best of Café Jazz. Among others we’ll be hearing from Steve Laury, Marcos Valle, and Oleta Adams. You deserve the best, so we’ll be playing tracks from Dave McMurray, Roberto Perera and Nicholas Bearde, among others. There’s also fantastic music from Greg Adams and his solo debut. We have something from that and as well from Doc Powell and Eddie Bullen. Club 1600 is on the show, as is Tom Grant and we’ll also hear from a couple of more Café Jazz favourites namely Fattburger and Allon Sams. And as if that wasn’t enough Peter White, Bona Fide, The Rippingtons and DTTB are on as well. So sit back, relax and get set to enjoy some of the smoothest and freshest music around as we present "The Very Best of Café Jazz"! |
| Highlights Hour One Metropolis - Boney James : He was actually born James Allen Oppenheim but today is known to millions by his distinctive nickname. As a struggling young artist Oppenheim was having trouble making ends meet, so much so that rather than spending his per diem on meals he would save it in order to pay the rent. With the rigors of touring, it wasn't too long before James was noticeably thin. In fact, a fellow musician remarked that if he ate any less he would have to be called "Boney James". Times have definitely changed as Boney is now one of the most popular artists in the SJ genre but the nickname has stuck. From his solo debut, 1992’s Trust we have Metropolis, one of his best. CD: Trust |
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Before
the Rain - Kat Hendrix : Beginning in the late 70s and continuing through until the early 90s, Hendrix provided the drum work for Skywalk, one the finest and most progressive groups to ever come out of Vancouver. Since then, he has continued to perform as one of the leading musicians on Canada’s West Coast. In 1993, however, Kat released a solo venture that found him artfully exploring aspects of contemporary jazz with the able accompaniment of Vince Mai on flugelhorn, saxman Tom Colclough and fellow Skywalk member, Miles Black on synthesiser. From Before the Rain we have the title track. CD: Before the Rain Label: Lion's Gate |
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Coconut
Kiss - the V.I.P. Club : To cap off hour one we'll be hearing from an ensemble led by Wolfgang Haffner called the VIP Club. Haffner was for more than a dozen years, the drummer with Klaus Doldinger in various configurations of the celebrated group Passport. As well during that time, he developed a reputation not only as a top-notch session player but also as an excellent composer and arranger. A couple of years back Haffner decided to put all these talents to use as leader of his own project. The result was Coconut Kiss, the very impressive debut release under the VIP Club banner. From that effort we have the title track. CD: Coconut Kiss |
| Highlights Hour Two | |
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Feelin'
It - Allon Sams : Sams is a brilliant musician and producer based in his hometown of Tampa Florida. Although he started on trumpet & French horn, Allon fell in love with the versatility of the keyboards and chose that as the vehicle for his musical expression. For a time, Sams relocated to Los Angeles after being offered an internship with Josef Zawinul, the famed leader of Weather Report. This association gave Allon invaluable experience in the studio and led to further production work. In the course of events, Allon met up with Paul Brown, one of the top producers in SJ. Not too long afterwards, Paul contacted Allon, and Sams was soon collaborating with artists such as Peter White, Boney James, David Sanborn, & John Klemmer among others. Although he spent seven years in all in the glitter capitol of the world nurturing his career in music, Allon still wanted to record his own music. That and a desire to start a family and to be near his own parents made him decide in the mid 90s to return to Tampa. He released A Place in Time, his sophomore project, locally in Tampa in the summer of 2001. In spite of the fact that he sold the album only at live gigs and thru his website, the cd attracted a fair amount of international attention including of course air play on our own Café Jazz here in Canada, as it made our best of list for the year and as well was an instant add to our "Indispensable SJ Listening List ". The record’s a fitting showcase not only for Sams’ fantastic playing but also for his exceptional composition and production talents. A few years back while he was in LA, Allon appeared on Peter White’s Caravan of Dreams cd. (Allon and Peter co-wrote the tune Together Again.) On A Place in Time, White returns the favour by contributing some of his always fine and tasty guitar work to a couple of the tracks including the one that we're hearing. ***On a personal note, I had the great fortune of meeting Allon this past summer ...please see The Clearwater/Tampa Connection below.*** CD: A Place in Time Label: Blue Water Records Site : AllonSams.info |
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Express
It - Fridrik Karlsson : Karlsson is an amazingly talented and versatile guitarist who's been involved in many diverse projects from productions of Jesus Christ Superstar to TV and film work. He’s performed professionally since the age of 16 and was the first ever graduate from the Reykjavik School of Music. Fridrik’s first taste of international success was as a member of the fusion unit Mezzoforte, one of the hottest bands to come out of Iceland, and one for whom he continued to play for many years. In 1996, he moved to the UK and shortly thereafter began an association with the group Shakatak. Shakatak were on the look out for a guitarist when their long time member, Keith Winter, was forced to leave the group due to a prolonged illness. He’s appeared on several of their cds and as well a few years ago teamed up with keyboardist Bill Sharpe also from Shakatak to record as the duo Espirito. In spite of this busy schedule, Fridrik found time to record A New Day. Released in 2000, the project is an exceptional album featuring a thoroughly enjoyable collection of original tracks. CD: A New Day |
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Blue
Touch - Gregg Karukas : Since around the time that he first heard and saw the Beatles on TV, Karukas had dreamed of playing his own music and somehow creating the same type of magic that he felt back then. Lucky enough to be born with a bit of natural talent, Gregg found his way into the jazz clubs and studios of Washington, DC and Baltimore where he was considered one of the top fusion and studio players in town. In 1983, Karukas moved to Los Angeles. He soon became a major part of the pop jazz scene and appeared as an original member of the Rippingtons in 1986. He earned a reputation not only a highly skilled player but also became well known for his tasteful arrangements. Including his first solo work, which has been re-issued and actually predates his stint with the Ripps, Karukas has recorded a total of 9 cds. We'll be revisiting Blue Touch, Gregg’s impressive offering from 1998 for the musical magic of the title track. CD: Blue Touch |
| New Releases to watch for | Artist Links added this week |
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| More About Your Smooth Jazz Connection |
| Where
to Hear the Show Cafe Jazz is heard in Toronto on it's originating station, 88.5 Saturday midnight until 2 am Sunday morning . It's available on Rogers cable on the following frequencies: As well we are on Cogeco Cable in: And don't forget that after you enjoy the show on the air, you can savour the flavour of Café Jazz again anytime you want, from wherever you want and as often as you want, on our web site! Please note, we try to upload the new program by Saturday, the date that the show airs. So you can hear nine hours of exceptional music, available on demand in the Cafe Jazz Archives: CafeJazzRadio. Available in the Archives August 30: We presented Paul Jackson Jr. with Still Small Voice as the showcase cd. September 6: Let it Ripp by The Rippingtons was the subject of the showcase cd presentation. Café Jazz, After Hours Exclusive to our website! A regular After Hours special presentation is one that we call Then & Now. The title of the segment is somewhat self-explanatory as we hit some of the musical highlights in the career of a top SJ artist . It's a full hour of almost non-stop music so if you prefer music with very little talk, be sure to check this out. |
| Thanks! |
| Thanks for your interest
and fabulous support, it is very much appreciated, and be sure to spread
the word about Jazz Lynx & Café Jazz, Canada's Smooth Jazz Connection.
All for now, Ted P.S. Now Heard Everywhere (on the world wide web) & Read On Four Continents! Although this newsletter goes out primarily to readers in Canada, it is now also read in the U.S. as well as in South America, Australia, and Europe. So, if you know of anyone who might like to be on our mailing list, just let me know and I'll add their name. Now, if by chance, you had this message forwarded to you, and you would like to receive the newsletter on a regular basis, simply hit: Shownotes to register. It's that easy. Alternatively, if you no longer wish to receive our updates, please send an email by using this link: Remove and include remove in the subject. That's all you have to do for quick and reliable removal from our list. |
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