Highlights Hour One
Bridge the Gap - Les Sabler:
Born and raised in Montreal, Sabler graduated as a jazz major from Concordia University before relocating to Florida’s West Coast in 1978. For a time he continued his studies at the University Of Miami and then turned to performing professionally. In 1989, Les was commissioned to compose and produce a soundtrack for the documentary Lost Treasures Of The Titanic for Canadian TV. In the 90s, he had a pair of releases that gained considerable airplay on SJ radio in the US. Between these projects he was selected by the Walt Disney Corporation to perform at the opening of Pleasure Island. A few years back Sabler connected with fellow Floridian Allon Sams, one of our favourites here at CJ, with the result being Les's fabulous "Bridge The Gap" album. On the project Sabler shared writing & production duties with Sams in a collaboration that worked exceedingly well. In what proved to be a huge coup for Café Jazz, we broke the single & the album on the Canadian scene. Bridge the Gap went on to become not only our own most played album by a Canadian artist for the year but also the most played in all of Canada. It earned Les two nominations at the Canadian Smooth Jazz Awards and from it we have the track that started it all!!!

CD: Bridge the Gap (2003)
Label: Sin-Drome
Site: Les Sabler

Talk To Me - Ray Garand:
Ray Garand has been active as a musician since his early teens resulting in a career that spans over 20 years. In 1985, Garand settled on Canada's west coast, where he became involved in various aspects of recording, producing and engineering. Ray has always had a fascination with contemporary jazz so it was only natural that when he set up his own studio, he gravitated to that style of music. This has resulted in three superb projects, Blameless being the most recent of these. We featured a track from it on a past edition of SJIC. But it's an exceptional album so without hesitation we've gone to it again for Talk To Me. This is another incredible tune. In addition to his fantastic bluesy tinged guitar work, Ray plays all the instruments as well as handling the recording and production duties. Falling under the heading of a talent deserving much broader recognition, we present Ray with one of his best tracks! Hopefully it won't be too long before this majorly talented artist gets a well deserved break in his career!!

*** Cover Art by Lori-ann Latremouille. Visit Lori-ann's site.***

CD: Blameless (2002)
Label: Independent Release
Site: Ray Garand

You'll Never Find Another Love Like Mine - Michael Bublé:
It was Michael's grandfather who exposed him to the music of the swing era & early on, it seemed that Michael was destined for stardom. While still in his teens, Bublé won a 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, a feat that is particularly impressive considering that we're in a period when the charts are dominated by pop, rap, & rock. From that effort we've chosen a tune that others seem to have overlooked. It's a cover of one of the most popular tunes from the 70s, but nonetheless Bublé makes the track entirely his own!!!

CD: Michael Bublé (self-titled release/2003)
Label: 143 Records/Reprise Records
Site: Michael Bublé

Zakattak - The Clayton/Scott Group:
Andrew Scott and Jim Clayton met while studying jazz at Toronto's Humber College. After graduating, they went their separate ways. However, upon their return to Toronto, the two reconnected. Shortly thereafter they released August, their debut cd as The Clayton/Scott Group. We here at Café Jazz considered August to be a fine album and we weren't alone in that opinion as the record received a fair degree of critical acclaim. It also garnered enough interest and support for the pair to pursue a follow up project which they entitled So Nice. For their new endeavour Clayton & Scott enlisted the aid of Tony Grace & Rob DeBoar aka Four80East. The aligning of these creative forces resulted in a superb disc. This is one great album that sees the band navigate new waters while remaining true to the smooth groove of today's jazz. It was our most played Canadian album for 2004 and definitely merits consideration as one of the finest Canadian SJ projects ever!!

CD: So Nice (2003)
Label: Boomtang Records
Web Site: CSG

Rue Clarendon - Nura:
Originally hailing from Ottawa, Nura studied voice at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto. She spent several years touring with various groups singing Folk, Rock, and Jazz and it was during this period that she met Stuart Steinhart, a highly innovative musician, bassist, & composer . The two teamed up with drummer Randy Cooke with the result being a fresh amalgams of styles that has evolved into the sound of Nura. Nura's self-titled debut was released a couple of years ago to a fair degree of critical acclaim. From that effort we've selected Rue Clarendon, a CJ favourite since the day that we first heard it. Helping out on the track are Richard Uglow on piano with guest Luis Conte on percussion. This is a SJIC encore presentation for one of the best Canadian smooth jazz tracks ever recorded!!

CD: Nura (self-titled release/2003)
Label: Start Music Productions
Site: Nura

Iridescence - Dino Pacifici:
Dino, or just Dee as he is known to his friends, began his studies in music by focusing on classical guitar. In the course of events however, he also added bass, keyboards, and programming to his repertoire. Developing a style and sound that's grounded in New Age and ambient music, Pacifici blends these various elements with a twist of jazz in combination with his own unique musical identity. Now here's another artist that really should be better recognized for his talent. Last year we featured a track from The Blue Velvet Lounge, on our SJIC special. We go to that same album again for an incredible piece and one of Pacifici's best!!


CD: The Blue Velvet Lounge (2002)
Label: Scorpio Rising Music / Cussy Music
Site: Dino Pacifici