 |
|
|
Highlights! |
|
|
Showcase CD |
 |
|
A multitalented artist who plays flute as well as a little piano,
Williams made her solo debut in 1996 with The Saxtress, an album which
immediately brought her name into the limelight. On that release and
on each of her subsequent projects, Ms Williams has continued to exhibit
a stylish blend of influences as diverse elements of her repertoire
from Latin & jazz, to R&B, hip-hop and house, are expertly incorporated
into her playing. Ever raising the bar higher, Pamela's previous record,
The Perfect Love, represented her most accomplished work to date, that
is until the release of Sweet Saxations! |
|
|
|
It's with loads of pleasure then that we place Sweet Saxations & Ms
Williams in our musical spotlight. Kicking off the feature is Fly Away
With Me, the album's fantastic lead single. Smooth, saxy, seductive,
& suggestive, The Seduction opens hour 2. And then finally we needed
a tune that would represent the quintessential Pamela Williams. It could
easily have been any one of a number of superb pieces, however, none
is sweeter than tune that bears the name of the album. And so we conclude
with Sweet Saxations, the title track ! |
||
Back to Top
| Fresh Trax: Part One | |
 |
Our
Time - Bass X:
Bass X is a group composed of several veteran sidemen that have enjoyed
rich & diverse careers. Spearheading the project is bass player & band
founder Larry Hubbard and joining Hubbard as principle members in the
band are keyboardist Tim Gant, vocalist Michael White & guitarist Keith
Henderson. All hail from the 'windy city' and formed Bass X in 1999.
Although, their debut followed a couple of years later, it wasn't until
2003 and the release of their sophomore effort that Bass X broke nationally
in the US. That album produced Vonnie, a track that appealed to a wide
cross section of listeners & it proved to be a huge hit. What made
the Bass X sound so attractive was their tantalizing blend of Smooth
Jazz & contemporary R&B rhythms. They now seem set to build on &
perhaps even outdo that success with Family Time. From that effort we
present Our Time, the advance single which features the saxwork of Nelson
Rangell. This is a superb piece and one that measures up quite nicely
to the degree of excellence that we're learning to expect as the norm
from Bass X! |
 |
Simple
Pleasures - Jeff Golub: Golub's
blend of blues, rock, and jazz has made him one of the most popular
guitarists in contemporary instrumental music. After attending Berklee
in Boston, Jeff rose to prominence in the mid 80s as a top session player
and sideman, working with artists such as Tina Turner, Vanessa Williams,
and Rod Stewart. In fact, he enjoyed an 8-year stint with Stewart leaving
in 1994, to pursue other musical interests. The resulting project was
Avenue Blue, which served as a platform for Golub to showcase his somewhat
prodigious talents as a guitarist. Three cds were issued under the Avenue
Blue banner, each produced by Rick Braun, a fellow ex-Stewart band mate.
Five more have followed under Jeff's own name with the forthcoming Temptation
release as the most recent of these. From that album we have Simple
Pleasures, a great track & the advance single ! CD: Temptation |
Back to Top
| Fresh Trax: Part Two | ||
 |
After
8 - Ronny Jordan: Ronny
Jordan grew up the son of a preacher, and not surprisingly, the music
that he heard at his church became an integral part of his formation.
Thru Gospel he learned the intricacies of melody & harmony as well as
the most difficult lesson of all, when playing less was in fact more.
Ronny's talents first received broad recognition in 1992 with the release
of The Antidote, his groundbreaking debut CD. Now regarded as somewhat
of an acid jazz classic, many compositions on the album featured the
unlikely fusion of Rap with Smooth Jazz. Now with several great releases
to his credit, the self-taught guitarist, exhibits the confidence and
maturity in his compositions and playing that can only come about through
many years of honing one's craft. After 8 is his latest and from it
we have the title track! |
|
 |
Quando,
Quando, Quando - Michael Bublé with Nelly Furtado:
In
an era when the charts are dominated by pop, rap, & rock, Bublé's landing
his debut in the Top 50 is particularly impressive. It was Michael's
grandfather who exposed him to the music of the swing period & even
early on, it seemed that Michael was destined for stardom. While still
in his teens, he won the Canadian Youth Talent Search, released several
independent albums and performed in a musical review titled Swing that
traveled across the USA The connection with David Foster, the Grammy-winning
producer, resulted in his major label debut. Although it took more than
a year of concerts and promotional appearances, that album nevertheless
eventually climbed to # 47 on Billboard. On his sophomore effort titled
It's Time, Bublé builds on that foundation as he applies his unique
style to a variety of pop classics. From that effort, we have one of
his best! |
|
 |
Don't
Give Up Now - Black Gold Massive:
Out of the Big Apple come Black Gold Massive, a new name on the scene.
However, the man behind the sound of the band is certainly no newcomer
to contemporary music. He is Chris Morgans, creator, co-producer, &
writer for the group. Among other things, Morgans owned & ran Internal
Bass Records for a period of 8 years in the 90s & was also an original
co-creator of Down To The Bone, the premiere jazz-funk unit from the
UK. He left that band in the year 2000 due to creative differences and
started work on Black Gold, so it's really a project that has been 5
years in the making! Chris is responsible for the "Black Gold" part
of the band's moniker. Now the "Massive" are Cindy Mizelle & Simon T
Bramley. Mizelle is one of the most sort after back-up singers around.
She released a solo record in 1994, but when Luther Vandross called,
the rest became history. She's sung with just about everyone in the
business from Steely Dan and Whitney Houston to Beyoncé & George Benson.
Meanwhile Bramley is a producer & bassist who also handles programming.
He's worked with the aforementioned DTTB & also headed up the Mr. Gone
project a few years back. So Chris, Cindy & Simon are Black Gold Massive
and together they're due to release their debut shortly. Judging by
Don't Give Up Now, the advance from that album, this band is sure to
generate oodles of excitement! |
|
Back to Top
