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February 24th, 2008 Edition #472 Previously 
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| The future husband & wife team met upon June's return to the US and soon after began merging June's Eastern-influenced playing with aspects of "the diverse musical environment of Los Angeles"; their collaboration resulted in the 1979 Hiroshima self-titled debut. On their latest installment - 4th on Heads Up & 16th overall - called Little Tokyo, after a well-known Asian neighbourhood in southern California, Hiroshima acknowledge the importance of diversity in the American fabric and the strength that multi-ethnicity can bring. Buoyed by a philosophy that has always been rooted in idealism over realism, Hiroshima embrace a multitude of styles while continuing to explore their creativity - a fact which well born out by the selections on the disc. It's therefore now our pleasure to thrust Hiroshima and Little Tokyo into the splendour of our showcase spotlight!! | |||
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| Fresh Trax: Part One | |
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Laws of Groovity - Patrick Yandall:
Beginning with his 1992 solo debut, reissued in '94, Patrick Yandall has developed into one of the most prolific guitarists in smooth jazz with eight records in the past 10 years or so. In the past, Patrick has frequently been the focus for features in a variety of contexts on our humble show. The San Diego-based performer has just released Laws of Groovity, now his 9th project overall and so it's a pleasure to spotlight Mr. Yandall once again. From that album, we present vintage PY on the title track!! CD: Laws of Groovity Label: Zangi Records Site: Patrick Yandall |
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Headin' Home - Mike Levine: Based in the Sunshine State, veteran keyboardist Mike Levine is one of the premiere sessionists on the Miami music scene. With a career that stretches back to the early 80s, the University of Miami alumnus made his record debut in 1981 as co-leader of The Ross-Levine Band with a project upon which Pat Metheny guested. Since that time, Levine has among others, worked with Michael Bolton and saxophonist Ed Calle, while touring and writing for radio & TV. Levine recorded From the Heart, his smooth jazz debut back in 2006, although the project has just entered its promotional phase to coincide with its official release. From that effort, we've selected the first track issued to radio in the tune Headin' Home; but, as we insist on doing things right, we've opted for the full-length version with Mike Scaglioni of Miami Sound Machine fame, contributing some tasty licks to this melodic groover!! CD: From the Heart Label: Rhombus Site: Mike Levine ; Levine/Rhombus |
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| Fresh Trax: Part Two | |
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Love and Paragraphs - Chris Standring : The new album from guitarist Chris Standring called Love and Paragraphs will be his 5th North American solo release (there was also a semi-best of issued across the pond in 2001 that was primarily a compilation of Chris's first 2 albums) and follows closely on the success of his 2006 Soul Express cd. After a few record label trials and tribulations with his past endeavours, Standring unfurls his entrepreneurial skills with Love and Paragraphs as the debut on his newly formed Ultimate Vibe label. Basking in the glow in having co-written one of the top tracks for 2007 in R n R with Rick Braun & Richard Elliot, Chris is promising not only his most mature work to date, yet one that is both artistic and commercially appealing. Judging from the advance single and the album's superb title track, Love and Paragraphs may indeed prove to be Standring's most articulate effort to date!! CD: Love and Paragraphs Label: Ultimate Vibe Site: Chris Standring |
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View
From Above - Walle Larsson & Fjord 7:
For many years, Smooth Jazz has thrived in Canada's heartland due in no small way to the effort of saxman Walle Larsson. Larsson has long been active on the Winnipeg scene both as a musician, and as a radio announcer - for several years, Walle hosted the very popular Lights Out radio program and currently he's on the air on 99.1 Groove FM once again here in Winnipeg. Larsson's professional career has taken him from Montreal to Japan and beginning with his 1990 debut, he's released four albums. A short while back, Walle hit upon the concept for Fjord 7 in his production studio in partnership with various soundtracks and his computer. The project saw the creation of View From Above, an experimental single, which aired locally and which eventually will lead to a new Walle Larsson album - hopefully before too long. We're now pleased to debut that single to the rest of the world!! CD: Unreleased Label: Independent Site: Walle Larsson |
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Crossing
Borders - East of West: |
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| After Hours ~ Exclusive to our Site and Select Affiliates : | |||||||||||||||||||
| On this edition ... it's the music of Slim Man, as part of our Then & Now spotlight - we've chosen a selection from each Slim cd for a 7-track-set of Slim Stuff and that'll be about a dozen or so minutes into today's presentation. In the meantime, we have music that is new to the show. Our line-up includes more from Les Sabler. We're introducing the Sax Pack comprised of Steve Cole, Jeff Kashiwa and Kim Waters. Brand new to the Café Jazz studios are the sounds of Dr. Guy's Musiqology. As well we have the latest from U-Nam, Paul Hardcastle, saxman Jaared, and bassist extraordinaire Michael Manson!! | |||||||||||||||||||
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Slim Man: Tim Camponeschi worked as in-house songwriter for the Motown label in the late 70s and early 80s and was on the verge of releasing a solo album when changes at the top saw his project shelved. Later in the decade, he MC'd a traveling country music talent show and it was during this period that he adopted the Slim Man handle to escape being tracked down by irate contest losers. After a few moderately successful efforts fronting a rock band and penning tracks for a singer named Brian Jack, Camponeschi launched his solo career as Slim Man with a 1995 debut that yielded a top 10 hit!!
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