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April 27th, 2008 Edition #481 Previously 
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| The release of Velvet, Standring's solo debut in 1998, spawned one of the biggest hits for the year in the track Cool Shades, and thereby firmly entrenched Chris as a solo performer on the smooth scene. Love and Paragraphs, now Standring's fifth solo release, is the debut on his own newly formed Ultimate Vibe label with Chris unfurling his entrepreneurial skills. Basking in the glow in having co-written one of the top tracks for 2007 in R n R with Rick Braun & Richard Elliot, this latest effort presents a project with artistic merit and commercial appeal. It's therefore with a certain degree of pleasure that we subject Mr. Standring to our showcase spotlight featuring as we typically do a complement of musical treats - beginning appropriately enough with the tasty Have Your Cake and Eat It. | |||
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| Fresh Trax: Part One | ||
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Undercover - Bradley Leighton:
Growing up in Tacoma Washington, Bradley Leighton developed a love for the big band swing style of Kenton, Herman, and Ferguson while also being drawn to the funk driven sounds of Tower of Power and Earth Wind & Fire. In time, he picked up the flute and became involved in a variety of school bands but right after high school, he enlisted in the Army, where he rose to become the jazz ensemble musical director for the 9th Infantry Division. Following a tour of duty to Seoul, Korea and after his discharge, Leighton remained in the Orient to teach and perform. Yet, to realize greater professional opportunities he eventually returned to the Seattle area. By now, an accomplished performer, Leighton spent the next fifteen years playing in a variety of R&B and straight-ahead groups. In 2001, he relocated to San Diego, released his solo debut a couple of years later and just recently issued Soul Collective, now his 4th project. Uniquely unifying elements of swing and funk into a hip and soulful blend, from that effort, we have Undercover with Evan Marks on guitar and Greg Adams on trumpet!! CD: Soul Collective Label: Pacific Coast Jazz Site: Bradley Leighton ; Leighton/PCJ |
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Feel The Love - Nate Harasim: It seems as though it was only last year that Nate Harasim burst onto the scene with his Next In Line debut - and indeed, it was. Nevertheless, the project faired well reaching the #5 spot on our in house end of the year list of favourites while the former US Navy rescue swimmer garnered the #1 spot as our break-thru artist for all of 2007. After landing a record deal, Harasim is now ready willing and able to build more broadly on that success with his sophomore release entitled Love's Taken Over - from that forthcoming effort we have Feel The Love, the advance single!! CD: Love's Taken Over Label: Nu Groove Records Site: Nate Harasim ; Nu Groove |
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| Fresh Trax: Part Two | |
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Groove - Present Tense : Describing their music as organic & theatrical, Richard Frank on acoustic bass and Ronnie Kaufman on drums lay down the grooves that define the sound of Present Tense. With a background in jazz and R&B, Kaufman established himself as one of today's pre-eminent drummers with the GAP Band. Meanwhile, Frank's career has been solidly grounded in classical, jazz, 70s rock, and world music so that now he sees his roll on acoustic bass in the broader context of supplying both rhythm and harmony. The duo released their debut as Present Tense back in 2002, and although it's been several years between, their recently issued Smooth Talkin' sophomore effort sees the pair seize this opportunity by presenting an ultra-polished yet potent mix. Augmenting the PT sound on various selections are Eric Marienthal and Alex Acuna while percussionist John Pickell, formerly with Gold Coast, is a band stalwart virtually thruout. From that effort, we begin our explorations of this outstanding disc with the track that's suitably entitled Groove!! CD: Smooth Talkin' Label: PT Records Site: Present Tense |
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Shine Like A Diamond
- André Berry : Over the past few years, André Berry has been one of the busiest sidemen in the business lending his funky bass lines to tours & projects by Dave Koz, Rick Braun, Warren Hill, Jeff Golub, and Mindi Abair among many others. The Cleveland native continues to be sought after while developing his own solo career. After releasing his debut effort a couple of years back, Berry now continues to mount an assault on the smooth jazz fortress with his readily accessible For The Moment sophomore cd. From that recently issued effort, we've chosen the sparkly Shine Like a Diamond with Mindi Abair guesting!! CD: For The Moment Label: LBG Records Site: André Berry |
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Friday
Afternoon - David Wells: |
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| After Hours ~ Exclusive to our Site and Select Affiliates : | |
| On this edition ... we again take a unique approach to song selection as every track has the word midnight as part of its title. We're calling this our Midnight Reflections Special - and the musical clock chimes 13 times as we've included Café Jazz favourites from Rick Braun, Brian Culbertson, and Spyro Gyra. Also featured are Chris Camozzi, Bob Mamet, Ray Parker Jr., and the tune from Les Sabler that lent its name to the segment. Other selections with midnight in the title will be courtesy of Rhythm Logic, Briza, and Nils, while rounding out the hour we have Louis Shelton, Bona Fide, and David Blamires!! |
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