Highlights!
Hold it! I think you're going to love this show!! We're showcasing Retrofit, the latest release from Daryl Stuermer, and a fabulous album for our spotlight feature. The only problem I had was keeping the selections down to 3, our customary number, but three it is and they're dandies! Then, in hour two we're back with a brand new edition of Back Trax. We introduced this segment a couple of weeks ago and it proved so popular that we're at it again. On this installment we take a trip down memory lane with Ray Obiedo, Bob James & Earl Klugh. Listen for those and more as we serve up an incredible blend of favourites both new & old from Nils, Michael Lington, David Lanz, Michael Bublé, Norman Brown, Matt Bianco, Joni Mitchell, and Allon Sams!! So sit back & relax and get set to enjoy two full hours of a totally unique listening experience!

Around that time Genesis was on the lookout for a guitarist to replace the departing Steve Hackett for the "And Then There Were Three" tour. Although Daryl got the gig, he never officially became part of the group but rather joined the band as a "permanent-temporary-part-time member". Nevertheless, this began a 20-year association with Genesis that in turn led to Daryl's selection for Phil Collins' band 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.

On the album, Stuermer exhibits exceptional tone, great technique and a superb delivery! There's a nice variety of styles with different tempos and textures, lots of great stuff that perfectly fits our show and as such it's a great choice for our spotlight feature. We begin with a fabulous tune called Rendezvous that embodies all those aforementioned qualities. An exceptional piece titled Promises opens hour two and closing the show is the exotically flavoured Zanzibar !!

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

Mind Games - Bob James:
Considered one of the pioneers in contemporary jazz, James has enjoyed a 40 or more year career. In 1962 Bob received a Masters Degree in Music and later that same year, he appeared at the Notre Dame Jazz Festival. James & his trio won in every category and in the process caught the eye of Quincy Jones. Soon after, Bob was encouraged to move to New York where he became an in-demand session player and highly regarded as a composer and arranger. A four-year stint as Sarah Vaughan's musical director was followed by the launch of James's solo career in 1974. The remainder of the 70s & 80s were filled with a flurry of record activity that included numerous solo releases and a variety of collaborations. In 1991, James set out on a parallel career as member of the Smooth Jazz super group Fourplay. The band's self-titled debut reached # 1 on Billboard's jazz chart and stayed there for a record 34 weeks. In all, Bob has been involved as a leader or co-leader on well over 30 projects. We go back to 1997, and one of his finest efforts. From Playin' Hooky we're featuring Mind Games, a superb track with Boney James guesting on sax.

CD: Playin' Hooky (1997)
Label: Warner Bros.
Web Site: Bob James

Beautiful - Tony Guerrero:
Guerrero was considered to be one of the leading voices on the contemporary jazz scene, in the late 80s and early 90s. He began playing trumpet at the age of nine and took to it quite naturally. Tony's early fondness for the music of Led Zeppelin & Kiss was balanced with that of Chuck Mangione. It convinced Guerrero that the trumpet was a great vehicle for rock-based music. Over the years he also developed an affinity for jazz and dabbled in playing a variety of wind instruments as well as drums, guitar, bass & piano. When he debuted as a solo artist in 1988, Guerrero's sound was both appealing & versatile and well rooted in jazz, rock, Latin, and pop. Expressive melodies were creatively combined with Guerrero's own signature style as a soloist and resulted in the album being well-received. A series of excellent releases followed among them, Mysterie in 1996. From that effort, we have the melodic and groove inflected track titled Beautiful !

CD: Mysterie (1996)
Label: Nu Groove Records
Web Site: Tony Guerrero

Moodswing - Ray Obiedo:
Obiedo hails from Richmond, California & in his youth Ray would frequently travel to nearby San Francisco to take in concerts from the likes of Jimi Hendrix and Cream. In spite of his love for music, Obiedo didn't get involved in it until he took up the guitar at the rather late age of 17. He was heavily influenced by James Brown, Miles Davis, and EW&F and in his early years, he regularly shifted between playing jazz and R&B. In the process Obiedo developed a highly unique and personal style and one which fused many diverse elements from Latin, jazz, pop and R&B into a very appealing amalgam of styles. A highly imaginative guitarist and keyboard player Obiedo has never been one to dominate his own compositions. This allows for the creation of many fascinating patterns and textures, as Obiedo in effect seems to paint with sound. It's Ray's third release, Sticks and Stones from 1993 and likely one of his best, that we go to on this occasion for the mood altering Moodswing !

CD: Sticks and Stones (1993)
Label: Windham Hill Jazz

Till The End Of Time - Earl Klugh:
Klugh initially gained recognition at the early age of 17 when he appeared on George Benson's White Rabbit release. The Detroit native played with Benson regularly throughout 1973 and the following year enjoyed a brief stint with Return to Forever. In 1976, Earl launched his solo career, making his one of the founding sounds in the Smooth Jazz movement. In the time since he's recorded in excess of 30 projects. In spite of his connections to jazz, Klugh doesn't regard himself a jazz musician. Instead he considers Chet Atkins as his most important influence. For the most part, Klugh's music focuses on melody that are buoyed by light funk based rhythms. That and Earl's attractive tone on acoustic guitar, have been key to his success. From 1995 and Sudden Burst of Energy we selected Till the End of Time, a tune on which Klugh played both guitar & keys. An incredible tune and one of Earl's prettiest pieces ever !

CD: Sudden Burst of Energy (1996)
Label: Warner Bros.
Web Site: Earl Klugh

Stay - Club 1600:
Although Rex Rideout's may not be a household name, he's been Grammy nominated and over the years has built a very impressive body of work. His talents have graced the efforts of everyone from Luther Vandross to Will Downing and from George Howard to Boney James. Rideout's interest in music began when he was ten. After working with a few local groups in Pittsburgh PA, it wasn't too long before he decided to pursue a career in music. Rex moved first to Atlanta and then to New York and subsequently toured on keyboards for a variety of artists. Session & studio work followed with numerous successes including a Grammy nominated effort with The Temptations.

A few years back, Rex decided to take a step out from behind the scenes, and created Club 1600, a concept album that used the New York Broadway address for his office and studio as the title for the project. Rideout not only spearheaded the effort, he produced, composed, & played keyboards. In addition he gathered an all-star cast of musicians, specifically David Mann and Chieli Minucci, who contribute to the track that we've selected. From one of the best albums in 2000, we have the track that was a smash hit for the year. It's Stay as Rideout covers the Temptations track that he produced a couple of years earlier!

CD: Club 1600 (2000)
Label: N-Coded Music