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July 24, 2004 Edition #332 Previously 
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Highlights
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| Eric Marienthal,Pamela Williams, and Alan Hewitt; and of course there is the customary collection of classics from artists such as Billy Joe Walker Jr., 3rd Force, and Maurice Gordon. Discover the difference, Café Jazz, your escape from ordinary radio! |
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Showcase CD |
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It caused Joyce to reexamine her entire music career
and decide if that was in fact what she wanted to be doing.Finally coming
full circle, Cooling determined and I quote ".., this girl has got to
play", and that prompted the title of her latest album. This effort
contains some of the best work that Cooling & Wagner have recorded
to date and so it's with great pleasure we present for your listening
enjoyment Camelback, The Wizard, & Expression.
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CD:This Girl's Got to Play |
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| Fresh Trax: Part One | |
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Lasting
Impression - James Vargas: James
Vargas actually made his record debut a couple of years ago. The British
sax player had taken part in various gigs around London before hooking
up with keyboardist Oliver Silk. Silk & bassist Danny Sugar were about
to release a compact disc as what else but Sugar & Silk and asked Vargas
to take part. You may recall tracks that we've played from that album
in the past. In any event, working with the pair gained Vargas additional
exposure, enabling him to now release his own self-titled debut. On the
effort, Oliver Silk returns the favour. He appears on all the tracks,
shares in the writing credits, and produced the project. The result is
a highly impressive debut for Vargas, groove laden and loaded with catchy
melodies. From that effort, we present one of the finest, Lasting Impression.
Suffice it to say that Vargas & his music did indeed make a lasting
impression with yours truly. CD: James Vargas Label: Trippin' 'N Rhythm Records Site:http://www.jamesvargasjazz.com/ |
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Guilty
Pleasures - Jonathan Cain: From
the late 70s thru until the early 90s, Cain fashioned a highly successful
career as a member several rock & pop groups. Although he started out
as a solo performer in his native Chicago, Cain joined the British band
The Babys in about 1979. A couple or so years later, that was followed
by a 5-year stint with Journey which spanned their most popular period.
Then finally, he united with a couple of members from each of his former
bands to form Bad English. Along the way, each group enjoyed chart-topping
success. Although Cain continues to perform with Journey on reunion
tours, a few years back, he established a recording studio and also
resumed his solo career. Beginning with Back to Innocence in 1995 and
continuing through to the present, Jonathan has issued 6 releases that
range from new age to smooth. Bare Bones is the most recent of these.
From that effort we have the incredible Guilty Pleasures. |
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| Fresh Trax: Part Two | ||
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Push
- Doc Powell:
Powell is NY native who discovered his love for music early on. By the
age of 6 he was already playing guitar and in his teens he began recording
and performing live. His first big break occurred when Wilson Pickett
chose "The Doctor" as his musical director. This led to a
stint with Luther Vandross and an affiliation that lasted 15 years.
In turn, this raised Doc's profile considerably. It paved the way for
him to work with a lengthy list of top artists and to develop a solo
career that now includes Cool Like That, his latest. From that effort
we chose Push. That's the cool opening track and one that features Kirk
Whalum on sax. |
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Miracle
- Matt Dusk:
Recapturing much of the style & sound of the legendary rat pack, the
Toronto born singer seemed destined for a career in classical music
or perhaps in opera. He was accepted into the St. Michael's Choir School
and underwent 11 years of intensive musical study. It wasn't until Matt
was eighteen that he began listening to performers such as Tony Bennett
& Sarah Vaughan. Dusk was immediately hooked. In 1998, he won the Rising
Star, a prestigious talent contest in Toronto. He enrolled in York University
to study for a BFA in music with an emphasis on jazz music. Dusk studied
theory & vocals and attended master-classes with the great Oscar Peterson.
Subsequently Matt was awarded that university's Oscar Peterson Scholarship.
He had 4 independent cds before he landed the record deal that yielded
Two Shots. This effort however, is more than just return to the sound
of yesteryear. It's clearly a case of the style & sophistication
of a golden era being projected into the 21st century. |
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Let's
Stay Together - Eric Darius:
Darius is just 21 years old and still a student at the University of Southern
Florida. He first became interested in playing sax at the age of 10. Inspired
by the music at his church, he took a few lessons & was performing publicly
soon after. He excelled in high school in academics, athletics & in
music. As a member of the Jazz Ensemble Darius performed at a festival
in New York City and while there, he was asked to jam with Wynton Marsalis
and Paquito D'Rivera; all of this by the age of 17. Following a tour with
the same ensemble to Japan, Eric set about to record his solo debut. He'd
been dreaming about a project since the age of 14 when he wrote Crusin'
in anticipation of getting his driver's license. That turned out to be
the title track for the album which garnered a fair bit of attention for
a debut effort from a young player. As good as it was, Eric has definitely
kicked things up a notch with his latest release, enlisting the talents
of Ken Navarro who among other things, produced the record. Although we're
not partial to covers and there are a total of 8 originals on the disc,
on this occasion we chose Eric's superb cover of the Al Green classic.
CD: Night on the Town Label: Higher Octave Music Site: http://www.ericdarius.com/ |
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