Highlights!
Thanks for joining me on radio show that's custom crafted to relax and excite you! On this edition, we're spotlighting the Where Our Love Grows, the latest cd from Swing Out Sister. In hour 2 we have another gripping installment of Fresh Trax. On this occasion we'll be hearing from Daryl Stuermer, the guitarist with Genesis and also the longtime touring guitarist with Phil Collins. Gabriel Mark Hasselbach, one Canada's top SJ artists is back with First Name Basis and we have a track from that. There's more new music from Daryl Hall & John Oates, the top singing duo of the 80s, George Winston is on the show and we're introducing the music of Madeleine Peyroux. You'll also hear terrific selections from Peter White, Kim Waters, and Tim Bowman and that's in the first set alone. It doesn't stop there though. George Benson, Paul Jackson Jr., Boney James, & Michael Bublé are all in hour 1. Hour 2 includes Les Sabler, Chuck Loeb, Bernard Oattes, Diana Krall and Max Groove. They're all fabulous and each contributes to make this an outstanding program !

Showcase CD
Where Our Love Grows - Swing Out Sister:
Together Corinne Drewery on vocals & Andy Connell on keyboards are SOS and they are now quickly closing in on their 20th anniversary as a band. In spite of the success of one of their earliest singles titled Breakout, SOS has never attained more than a small but avid following in North America. They have achieved greater success back home in the UK, but where their sound has met with the greatest acceptance is Japan where they are one of the most popular acts in the country.

Nevertheless, their latest effort titled, Where Our Love Grows, has just been released here and hopefully this album will lead to a larger and more widespread audience for the pair. Since the formation of the group back in 1985, the Swing Out Sister sound has been characterized by lush & sophisticated arrangements. This cd remains true to that style. The presentation is impeccable. The music is jazz-tinged but laden with catchy hooks, resulting in a listening experience that is emotionally complex and yet highly accessible.

You're Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go - Madeleine Peyroux:
Madeleine Peyroux (pronounced Peru like the country) hails from Athens, Georgia. However, she grew up in various locals including Brooklyn, Southern California and Paris. As a teen, Peyroux got hooked on French culture and was drawn to the street scene in the Latin Quarter of Paris. In 1989, she started to perform with a group of buskers and at early age of 16 she joined a group called The Lost Wandering Blues and Jazz Band, with whom she toured Europe for several years. It was some time later while visiting New York, that Madeleine was spotted performing in a club. This led to a record deal and to the release of Dreamland, her debut album in 1996.

The record drew rave reviews and many compared Peyroux to the late Billie Holiday. Appearances at Lilith Fair and several jazz festivals followed. Meanwhile cd sales worldwide reached 200,000 units. In spite of this success, Peyroux chose to step back and spent the next few years out of the public eye. She returned to her busking roots with street performances and club dates around the world. Now a full eight years after the release of Dreamland, Peyroux recently issued Careless Love her follow up album. From that effort we have Madeleine's cover of the Bob Dylan composition, You're Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go.

CD: Careless Love
Label: Rounder Records Corp.
Web Sites: Madeleine Peyroux ; Madeleine Peyroux (2) ; Rounder Records

Zanzibar - Daryl Stuermer: Stuermer grew up in Milwaukee Wisconsin and began playing guitar when he was 11. During a 1975 tour date , George Duke happened to sit in with Daryl's band and it wasn't too long afterward that he recommended Stuermer for an audition with Jean-Luc Ponty. Stuermer got the gig and at age 22, he went on his first world tour. He ended up recording a total of four albums with the acclaimed jazz violinist. Then in late 1977, Daryl connected with Mike Rutherford, a member of Genesis, and won an audition for their upcoming tour. This began a 20-year association with that band and led to Daryl's selection when Phil Collins formed his own group in 1982. In addition to his touring, Stuermer has appeared on all of Collins' solo albums and shares many of the writing credits.

In between his work with Genesis and The Phil Collins Band, Stuermer began writing and working on his own music. He issued his solo debut in 1988 and now has six albums to his credit. Retrofit, released in September of last year is the most recent of these. I put the record on as soon as it arrived and in a phrase, I loved it! Stuermer has exceptional tone, great technique and a superb delivery! There is a nice variety of music with different tempos and textures, lots of stuff that perfectly fits our show and I've already slotted the album for a future show case feature. In any event, I'm getting just a bit ahead of myself as we still have the FT feature to contend with. To that end I selected a fabulous piece called Zanzibar!

***Café Jazz Pick of the Week***

CD: Retrofit
Label: Urban Island Music
Web Site: Daryl Stuermer

Joy, Hope, and Peace - George Winston:
Thirty-two years after the release of his first album Winston remains one of the hardest working people in music. He maintains a busy tour schedule that includes over 100 concert dates a year and in the process he's created a fan base that stretches around the world. In his early years, George was inspired by blues, rock, R&B and jazz. He began playing on organ and electric piano but he went switched to the acoustic piano in 1971. He recorded his first solo album the following year and now some 24 years after he developed his signature style of melodic folk playing, Winston has come full circle with his latest recording titled Montana - A Love Story. Although he spent his later formative years in Mississippi and Florida, for the most part Winston grew up in Montana. This latest offering continues a thread that George began on a pair of previous albums as he pays homage to his home state.

CD: Montana - A Love Story
Label: Windham Hill
Web Site: George Winston

What You See Is What You Get - Daryl Hall and John Oates:
Hall & Oates first met in 1967 and began working together a couple of years later. They released their debut album in 1972 and eventually went on to become the top selling record duo of the 80s. It's now been about seven years since their last studio effort. For all fans of their blue-eyed Philly style of Soul, I'm happy to say the wait is over. Released a few months ago was Our Kind of Soul, their first album together since 1997. As Hall explains on the liner notes, this is a body of work that he's wanted to record for quite some time. The idea was to take some soul classics and make them sound as though they had been recorded just yesterday.

The two went down to Hall's home in the Bahamas with the idea of recording some drum programming for the album. They came away 5 weeks later having recorded all the material for the complete cd in a 10 by 12 foot workshop overlooking the ocean.

Although most of the lead parts are handled by Daryl Hall, the track that I'm playing features John Oates on lead vocals. What You See is What You Get is our choice. (That selection was first recorded by the Dramatics in 1971 and peaked at #3 on the R&B charts.) A terrific job too by Oates on this one as he shows off his great range and control as a vocalist. And if I might be so bold, I'm going to break with protocol on this occasion and turn things around just a bit, as we feature What You See is What You Get from John Oates and Daryl Hall !

CD: Our Kind of Soul
Label: U-Watch Records
Web Site: Hall and Oates

Take That - Gabriel Mark Hasselbach:
An award-winning composer and recording artist, 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, he set out as a solo artist. Since then GM has forged a career as one of the pioneers and innovators in the Canadian SJ scene. Hasselbach is now back with First Name Basis, his latest release. With each successive project GM has been able to elevate his playing, production, and presentation. Enlisting the aid of Miles Black on various keys and Tony Chamberlist on drums and percussion, this release continues that tradition. From First Name Basis we're featuring Take That, the lead single and one of GMH's finest efforts to date. This is a track that is certain to generate more than just a few ripples of excitement in the SJ community and earn many new fans for one of Canada's top players!

CD: Gabriel...First Name Basis
Label: Wind Tunnel Multimedia
Web Site: GMH

In a 35-year-career, Traum has been featured on over 20 albums and has won recognition as an award-winning artist. Coming out of the Bronx in the late 60s, he made his way onto the music scene in Greenwich Village. Over the years Traum has produced or recorded with dozens of top artists such as Michael Franks and The Band. Although he started out in the folk scene, there was a period when he became absorbed with the sounds of John Coltrane and Miles Davis. He recorded a few projects based in jazz and recently issued Acoustic Jazz Guitar. The album is a retrospective that chronicles much of Traum's best work from that period and includes several superb selections that hit #1 and won national recognition. Letters from Joubee originally appeared on the cd of the same name back in 1993. However, its inclusion on Acoustic Jazz Guitar prompted its selection for our show. This one takes me back as it was one of my favourite tracks of the day. It remains as charged and vibrant as the day that I first heard it and as such made a fantastic choice for the show!

CD: Acoustic Jazz Guitar
Label: Roaring Stream Records
Web Site: Artie Traum