Cafe Jazz Radio Show Notes Contest Page Main Navigation

Showcase CD
Gabriel's Horns - Gabriel Mark Hasselbach:
An award-winning composer and recording artists, Hasselbach grew up in Denver Colorado relocating to Canada's West Coast in the late 70s. Gabriel Mark's initial taste of success came as an original member of the Powder Blues Band. In 1981, however, Hasselbach set out as a solo artist with the release of Solar Winds. Since then he's forged a career as one of the pioneers and innovators in the Canadian SJ scene with a total of nine albums to his credit. Hasselbach's much anticipated Gabriel's Horns cd was released last year and features GMH's unique talents on a variety of instruments. Included are trumpet, flute, flugelhorn, trombone, and digital winds. Gabriel Mark, who splits his time between Vancouver and Hawaii, chooses his musical weapons well. This is particularly true on the tracks that we've selected from this, his finest project to date. As we showcase Gabriel's Horns by GMH we present Soulmates, the title track and Maui Rain.

CD: Gabriel's Horns
Label: Windtunnel Multimedia
Sites: Gabriel Jazz ; GMH.com

Love Song - Alfonzo Blackwell:
Blackwell first broke onto the scene with his debut album in 1995 and since has followed that with several top 10 hits. He's composed for movies as well as for television, having co-written the theme song for the internationally successful Baywatch Nights. Sax You Down is now his sixth release. On the project Alfonzo not only handles Alto, Tenor and Soprano Saxes, but also plays many of the other instruments including bass, drums, guitar and piano. True to the form that he's established on his earlier efforts, Blackwell delivers his distinctive blend of contemporary jazz and urban rhythms on the romantically flavoured selection that we're featuring.

CD: Sax You Down
Label: Utopia Records
Site: Alfonzo Blackwell

Expression - Joyce Cooling:
Jazz fans in the Bay Area of San Francisco have long recognized Cooling as one of that region's most versatile and dynamic performers. It wasn't until the late 90s however, that Cooling burst onto the music scene. It was her single South of Market, and the Playing It Cool cd that took the contemporary music world by storm. Each soared to a #1 position on the charts and earned for Ms Cooling the best new SJ artist of the year award. Teamed since the mid 80s with Jay Wagner, her partner in music & in life, Joyce has now issued a total of 5 albums. This Girl's Got To Play just released on Narada Jazz is the most recent of these and from that we have the fabulous advance single.

CD: This Girl's Got To Play
Label: Narada Jazz
Site: Joyce Cooling

Late Arrival - Bernard Alcorn:
Although he's been playing professionally for many years, involvement in another career kept Alcorn from totally committing to music. After earning a degree in psychology Bernard acted as a social worker for a lengthy period before turning to music full time. As an early advocate of MIDI technology, Alcorn learned to program sequencers. This enabled him to enjoy full accompaniment at his solo gigs. A regular performer throughout the Chicago area Bernard frequently appears at many of that city's finer clubs. In addition to playing both straight-ahead and smooth jazz included Alcorn's mix are various styles such as funk/R&B, Reggae, and Blues among others. Now over 20 years into his life as a musician, Late Arrival is Alcorn's appropriately titled debut cd.

CD: Late Arrival
Label: Independent Release
Available at: CDBaby/Alcorn

Playtime - TekNeek:
This Birmingham, Alabama, based band has now been together for about nine years. Following the success of their debut record a couple of years back, the quintet decided to hook up with a pair of top producers in the likes of Phil Davis & Denny Jiosa. Davis has worked with Boney James, Alex Bugnon, & Norman Brown among others while Jiosa is noted for projects involving artists such as Kirk Whalum & Take 6. The result is Joyride, a smooth affair from beginning to end and one which well showcases the talents of these skilled players.

CD: Joyride
Label: Tek South Records
Available at: CDBaby/TekNeek

Breathless - The Alan Hewitt Project:
Hewitt is a talented musician-producer-songwriter. He comes to us after many years of studio work pumping out great trax for a wide variety of artists from EW&F to Donnie Osmond. He's also a multi-instrumentalist, who is well versed at keyboards, piano, drums, and percussion as well as at drum programming. Although Hewitt has already released several cds under his own name, his latest effort as the Alan Hewitt Project, traverses new & fertile terrain in what is an early bet to be one of the top of albums of the year. Recording this cd as a project enabled Alan "to stretch out creatively in ways that I couldn't have had it just been a solo album featuring keyboards." As we begin to explore this fine outing, we present the dynamic drive of Breathless, featuring the trumpet work of Steve Madaio.

CD: Noche de Pasion'
Label: 215 Records
Site: Alan Hewitt