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Showcase CD
Keepin'
It Cool - Nick Colionne:
Nick Colionne is a Chicago native who grew up surrounded by jazz. He
began guitar at age nine under the tutelage of his stepfather but by
fifteen, he was already playing professionally. Because he was often
the youngest member in the band, Nick would sometimes paint on a mascara
moustache to make himself look just a bit older. For a time he played
rock and R&B and then moved up through the ranks as he enjoyed stints
with the Impressions and Natalie Cole, gigs which took Nick all over
the world. In addition, Paul Anka and Johnnie Mathis both recorded some
of Nick's compositions.
In the course of events, Colionne returned to jazz, and eventually went
solo. He released a well-received debut in '94 with subsequent projects
following in '96 and '99. However, in spite of a small but avid following,
the albums failed to break on a broad scale. Consequently, Nick thought
he might be relegated to playing sideman gigs for a good part of his
career.
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Nevertheless, that all changed in 2004 with Just Come On In, his 4th
release that allowed Colionne to crack the contemporary scene as a major
player while scoring one of the biggest hits for the year with High
Flyin'. I'm pleased to say, we here at Café Jazz were among the first
to jump on that one in a big way and hopefully we played some small
part in its great success.
In any event, with that project still fresh in everyone's mind, Nick
is back with Keepin' It Cool and it appears he's picked up exactly where
he left off with his previous release. The album is right up there with
it's predecessor providing some of Colionne's finest work to date and
it's a treat to share some of these with you today. Therefore, with
pleasure we place Nick Colionne and Keepin' it Cool in our spotlight,
and as is the custom, we've selected a trio of terrific tracks, I think
you're going love them all!
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Courtesy of Nick's Site |
To begin, we have an easy tune called This Is The Song. Colionne's
fluid guitar lines are front & centre on this one as they caress the
melody. Nick's current hit single, the smooth as silk Always Thinking
of You, nicely kicks off our second hour while Can You Feel It is reserved
for our closer. On the latter selection, solid bass runs from Richard
Patterson and in the pocket percussion by Lenny Castro help make this
track a standout! You know, given a bit more time to come to a fuller
appreciation of quality of the music & the calibre of musicianship,
this album may well represent Nick's finest over all effort to date!!
CD: Keepin' It Cool
Label: Narada Jazz
Site: Nick
Colionne ; Narada Jazz
Artist Page: Nick Colionne 
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| Back Trax: Part One |
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This
Masquerade - George Benson :
George
Benson is an expert improviser and vibrant entertainer who is appreciated
both as a musician and as performer. As a kid growing up in Pittsburgh,
Benson honed his skills and talents, by singing, dancing, and playing
ukulele while performing in nightclubs. As his career unfolded, he enjoyed
the opportunity to play with "some of the baddest jazz cats on the planet'
as he puts it, but his desire to entertain never changed and that is
what George Benson says he's really all about.
In 1964, Benson released his debut as The New Boss Guitar, a play on
Wes Montgomery's Boss Guitar, which he considered one of his finest
records. Hooking up with the CTI label in 1970, Benson had a series
of releases that further fuelled his reputation, but after a while,
he wanted to try out something new. It wasn't until he connected with
Tommy LiPuma that Benson received any encouragement or support and we
all know what happened after that.
The result was Breezin', the first jazz record to attain platinum sales.
Released in 1976, the disc provided the instantly recognizable title
track but it was the album's least representative track that propelled
it to #1 on the pop charts. It was Benson's soulful take on Leon Russell's
"This Masquerade", which unveiled the guitarist scatting along with
his solo break. In the process, it ushered a completely new era in contemporary
music and so, it's with pleasure, that we present this seminal track
in smooth jazz !!
Note: This radio edit appeared on the 2001, 25th anniversary reissue!
CD: Breezin' (1976)
Label: Warner Bros.
Site:
George Benson
Artist Page: George Benson
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Eleuthera
- Max Groove:
Hailing
from Kansas City with a career that dates back to 1981, Max Groove can
genuinely be considered a pioneer in contemporary jazz. Noted for combining
the passion and focus of a classically trained artist with the sensitivity
of a great songwriter, Groove does it all within an innovative jazz
framework. The result is an irresistible blend of melody and emotion
that transcends much of today's more mundane fair. Groove enjoyed a
series of well-received releases through the late 80s and 90s but with
the ever-changing climate in commercial radio, he's been conspicuously
silent for some time. Nevertheless, we have a simply fantastic track
from what remains as his most recent release. From It's A Beautiful
day from 2001, we have Max Groove and Eleuthera, a track named for an
island in the Bahamas and one of Groove's finest !!
CD: It's A Beautiful Day (2001)
Label: Orpheus Music
Site: Max
Groove
Artist Page: Max Groove
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After Hours ~ Exclusive to our Web Site : |
For only the second time, we're presenting a Then & Now double bill.
We tried this a few weeks back and it seemed to work out well. Some
established performers have been around for years and have created
substantial volumes of music. However, our mantra has always been
to support artists who may not be as well known, so that's what we're
doing!! First up is Michael O'Neill with three selections, one from
each of his releases and that's immediately followed by an Allon Sams
feature. Once again, we have a series of tracks representing each
of Allon's three albums. Fresh sounds take over after that, as the
remaining selections are new never-before-been-played-on-our-show
tracks, seven in all. Our line-up includes Bob Baldwin, Ron Boustead,
Gene Cannon and Gene Dunlap. We have Pieces of a Dream, Jill Jensen's
on the show, and there's something from Keep on Talkin', Steve Briody's
very impressive sophomore release !!
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Then & Now
Spotlight Artist: Michael O'Neill
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True Love
Creatchy Prod.
1997 |
Never Too Late
Merrimack
2000 |
Funky Fiesta
Green Bean
2005 |
Michael O'Neill: Over
the course of a lengthy career, Michael O'Neill has secured a reputation
as one of the best sidemen in the business and in the process; he's
travelled the world many times over. His first ever tour was with
The Crusaders and Randi Crawford back in 1979. He performed as a member
of Stevie Wonder's band back in the early 80s and then since about
1982 right until the present, O'Neill has toured almost nonstop with
George Benson. In recent years, he also had the chance to play for
Natalie Cole and play with a host of top Smooth Jazz artists, everyone
from Boney James and Rick Braun, to Gerald Albright and Michael Lington.
The Funky Fiesta Five: (L to R) Oscar
Seaton, David Garfield, Alphonso Johnson, Michael O'Neill,
and Freddie Ravel ~ Courtesy of Michael's Site
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In spite of being
on everyone's A-list of studio players, O'Neill's love of the
creative process & his enjoyment of playing with a variety of
top musicians, spurred him to embark on a solo career a few years
back. His debut was released in 1997 on David Garfield's Creatchy
Records label and his sophomore effort followed a few years later.
However, it was five full years between that and his subsequent
project.
Nonetheless, with three excellent solo releases to his credit,
the time seemed right to place Michael himself in our spotlight
for a Then & Now feature devoted to his own music. Consequently
and very appropriately, we've selected a track from each of
his albums.
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Over the course of his recorded efforts, O'Neill assembled
an impressive cast of players having recruited the stellar accompaniment
of, among others, David Garfield, Gregg Karukas, and Everette Harp
with Freddie Ravel, and it's these musicians that are featured on
the tracks that we've selected. In order, they are Again and Again,
Never Too Late, and Yeah That's It from the above albums respectively
!!
Site:
Michael O'Neill
Artist Page: Michael O'Neill
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Then & Now Spotlight Artist: Allon Sams |
Photo: Sams "Feelin' It"!! |
For a time in the late 80s and early 90s,
Sams relocated to Los Angeles after he was offered an internship
with Josef Zawinul, the leader of Weather Report. In the course
of things, Sams met Grammy-winning producer Paul Brown and soon
he was collaborating with Peter White, Boney James, David Sanborn,
& John Klemmer, among others. Although he spent seven years
in the glitter capitol, Sams desire to start a family and to
be near his own parents made him decide to return to Tampa in
the mid-90s. It didn't take Sams long to set up Studio A, his
own production facility and launch his solo career.
Now, you've frequently heard Sams' name on our show in connection
with Studio A. (Please check out the show notes feature from
Sept.20, 2003
The Clearwater/Tampa Connection.)
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Over the past few years, Sams has been integral to many albums that
we've featured, from those of Les Sabler and TFOXX, to Gene Cannon
and José Valentino. In this regard, Sams has for the most part been
content to work behind the scenes. However, this time out it's the
man himself in our spotlight, as we have fantastic selections from
Sams and each of his three solo releases. Distant Rain starts the
set with Gene Cannon on sax. Feelin' It from A Place In Time follows,
that's with Peter White on guitar and Gene Cannon once again on sax.
Finally, That's My Time with some totally tasty guitar courtesy of
John Mayeux, rounds out the feature. Now if you're not a Sams fan
already, I'm certain you will be after hearing this infectious trifecta
!!
Site: Allon
Sams
Artist Page: Allon Sams
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