Highlights!!
Hope you can join me as we spotlight Yours Truly, the latest from Rick Braun. Then in hour two we're back with more Back Trax, including some golden listening from The Rippingtons, Dan Siegel, & Brian Tarquin. We've also lined up selections from Tony Gable & 206 and the group Vital Information.

A quick run down of the rest of the line-up: Jay Soto, Alan Hewitt, Bass X, 3rd Force, Vince Mai, Brian Simpson, Dino Pacifici, Steve Oliver & Michael Bublé!! Now have I missed anyone? Oh yeah...Bobby Caldwell, Nicolas Bearde, Steve Barakatt, and Four80East complete our two hour highlight reel !!

Showcase CD
Yours Truly - Rick Braun:
The man who nearly single-handedly revitalized the sound of the trumpet in contemporary music is back with his first studio release in a couple of years. Over the past dozen years, Rick Braun has become firmly entrenched as one of the most popular players in Smooth Jazz. Going back a few years though, reveals that Rick has enjoyed an interesting and somewhat varied career.

It all began in Allentown Pennsylvania where Braun grew up in a family that, apart from his father, was quite musical. His grandparents played the violin and piano while his Mom was self-taught on both banjo & piano. If he'd had his way, Braun would have been a drummer or perhaps a violin player, but the trumpet proved to be less objectionable for a big family living in a small house. So it was that from the third grade on Rick was playing along with all the Herb Alpert records.

Courtesy of the ARTizen site

We begin with Kiss of Life, a tune that Rick performed on many occasions as Sade stood silhouetted on the stage in front of him and it's one of our favourites from the album. Hour two commences with All Around the World, a bit more subtle perhaps than the 1989 Lisa Stansfield hit. Then we close with Love's Theme, the Barry White classic and a piece that Rick heard repeatedly during that drive across the US back in 1977. All in all a fabulous showcase feature as Braun has selected a few of the most popular tracks of the day!!

***Check out The Contest Page for your chance to win a copy of Yours Truly!!***

CD: Yours Truly
Label: ARTizen Music Group
Site: Rick Braun ; ARTizen

She Likes To Watch - The Rippingtons:
Following the success of Russ Freeman's solo debut, there was a fair degree of interest in having Freeman produce an album. As such Freeman called upon a few friends, among them David Benoit, Gregg Karukas, Kenny G, Steve Reid, Dave Koz, and Brandon Fields; and asked if they would be interested in playing on the effort. At the time, they were all nurturing fledgling solo careers and so Freeman rather appropriately chose to title the project Moonlighting. The rest is history as The Ripps went on to become the top group in the 90s. On this occasion, we're heading back to 1986 & that very first Rippingtons release for a track that features the G-Man himself, Mr. Kenny G, and one that remains one of their most recognizable pieces almost 20 years after it was recorded !!

CD: Moonlighting (1986)
Label: GRP
Site: The Rippingtons

Necessary Autumn - Vital Information:
The line-up for Vital Information runs nothing short of an all-star cast. Steve Smith is the group's drummer & founder and has a resume as long as your arm. He may be known best for his stint with the rock group Journey during their heyday but he's also played with Jean-Luc Ponty, The Buddy Rich Big Band, the jazz ensemble Steps Ahead as well as with artists as diverse as Andrea Bocelli, Ronnie Montrose and Savage Garden. As such, you've no doubt heard Steve's drumming on numerous occasions. However, unless you're an avid drum enthusiast, it may be news to you that Smith won Modern Drummer Magazine's #1 All Around Drummer award five years in a row and was voted one of the Top 25 Drummers of All Time in a recent poll. In 2002, he was also voted into the Modern Drummer Hall of Fame.

The other members of Vital Information have credentials that are almost equally impressive. Keyboardist Tom Coster long played with Roland Kirk before his eight year stint with Santana. He's recorded many albums under him own name and tours with Billy Cobham and Bill Evans. Meanwhile guitarist Frank Gambale, first hit the international scene, like Smith, playing with Jean-Luc Ponty. He then later gained considerable attention as an ongoing member of Chick Corea's Elektric Band. Frank has also made many recordings under his own name and tours with his own trio.

In any event, Smith started up Vital Information in 1983 while still with Journey in an effort to record music that was a bit more challenging. Coster joined the band in '86, while Gambale has been a member since about '88 when he filled the guitar chair that had been vacated by Mike Stern. Now in their 22nd year since that initial release, Vital Information continues to be a major force in the realm of fusion. Neverthless, on this occasion, we're heading back to Easier Said Than Done from 1992, and a time when bassist Jeff Andrews rounded out the sound of the combo. From that effort we have Necessary Autumn, a strikingly brilliant track punctuated by musicianship of the highest calibre !!

CD: Easier Said Than Done (1992)
Label: Manhattan
Site: Vital Information

Eastlake Blue - Tony Gable & 206:
During the 70s, Gable was majoring in fine arts when he saw the movie "Woodstock", and became inspired by the outstanding percussion in the Santana performance. Shortly thereafter, he bought a pair of blue sparkle plastic bongos from a pawnshop and taught himself how to play. A short while later, he got into a band and moved to nearby Seattle. Calling themselves Cold, Bold & Together the group quickly became one of the regions most popular acts. Several members are still very active today, including Kenny Gorelick who went on to become the world's #1 instrumentalist as Kenny G. As Gable puts it "The G-man didn't forget his roots and included musicians from Seattle in his touring band and on his … albums."

Meanwhile, Tony's career continued to grow and in time he gathered his own dream assembly of players. The group took its name from the area code for Seattle, from whence several hail, and so it was that Tony Gable & 206 came into being. They had a pair of releases and one EP but for the most part Tony has appeared only locally in the past few years. Nevertheless, it's our pleasure to return to 1995 & Seven Hills, the title being a reference to the seven hills upon which Seattle is built. From that sophomore effort we have Eastlake Blue. In addition to featuring Gable himself on percussion, the tune is highlighted by the guitar of Chad Quist & the saxwork of Jon Goforth & Darren Motamedy. It's a great track and makes me wish that we'd had a chance to hear more from Gable & 206!!

CD: Seven Hills (1995)
Label: Heads Up International
Sites: Tony Gable & 206

Just For The Moment - Dan Siegel:
Born in Seattle, Washington, and raised in Eugene, Oregon, Siegel began piano at age eight. His first professional gig, however, featured Dan as a lead singer and guitarist when he was 12. After receiving a degree in Music Composition from the University of Oregon in 1976, Siegel began recording his own compositions. In 1979 he was signed to an independent jazz label based in New York and his second release, The Hot Shot, reached No.1 on the jazz chart in 1981. A couple of years later, he relocated to Los Angeles to pursue film and television work as well as a more active recording career. Over the years Dan's creativity has shown him exploring a variety of diverse musical styles. Both a prolific and highly regarded pianist, Siegel has issued 15 cds under his own name, one best of release as well as several others as leader of the all-star Birds of a Feather project. In the early days of SJ radio Dan's releases were invariably instant adds and so on this occasion, we returned to the best selling cd in Siegel's lengthy career and one of his prettiest pieces ever !!

CD: Northern Nights (1987)
Label: CBS Records
Site: Dan Siegel

Jive Town - Brain Tarquin:
A native of NYC, Tarquin took up guitar at the age of seven and was playing in rock bands by grade six. His fascination with all aspects of music drew him to successfully pursue an advanced degree in audio engineering. Early in his career, Tarquin composed a variety of jingles for some of NY's most influential audio houses. Meanwhile his growing career in TV brought him to Los Angeles in the early 90s where he composed for the coverage of both the '92 and '94 Winter Olympics. In 1996, Brian trekked up to Montreal and recorded his debut cd which featured a fusion of jazz, pop and world music.

The following year he landed a deal with Instinct Records and ended up in England where he connected with Ernie McKone, producer of a couple of cds for Count Basic. The result saw a welcome shift to the type of acid jazz grooves that Brian had been 'hearing in his head' and the release of Last Kiss Goodbye drew rave reviews as Tarquin exploded onto the scene. Phrases such as ……outstanding writing and production… forward-thinking yet accessible… cosmopolitan flair… and flawlessly executed … were all used to describe the Tarquin sound.

A couple more outstanding projects followed. However, with Instinct's decision to abandon the smooth jazz genre, Tarquin gravitated to more production work as this had in fact always been his bread & butter. Brian now writes and records in his own Jungle Room Studios in LA where he devotes about half of his time to All My Children while he musically explores electronica with his writing partner Chris Ingram under the band name Asphalt Jungle. Nevertheless on this occasion it's a genuine treat to return to 1999 and Tarquin's 3rd cd for a tune that features Cliff Lyons on sax. From Soft Touch, we have the syncopated groove of Jive Town and just a sensational track that ever so nicely wraps up the BT segment !!

CD: Soft Touch (1999)
Label: Instinct Records
Site: Tarquin/Instinct