Patrick Yandall Showcased; with Harvey Mason, Michael Dowdle, Allon Sams, Santana, & Tom Borton; After Hours

Featuring the Smooth Groove of Today's Jazz!
This Week at CaféJazz.ca

March 29th, 2009
Edition #520 Previously

This Week at CafeJazz.ca ...
On this edition, it's Patrick Yandall in the spotlight with A New Day - we've selected three great tracks and have those ready and cued for the showcase segment. In part 2 of the show it'll be time for Back Trax with a 5-pack of favorites from back in the day - included on this installment are Harvey Mason & Santana - also appearing: Allon Sams and Michael Dowdle, while rounding things out is saxman Tom Borton. Then a bit later in the hour, we have The Rippingtons and Althea René, as well as Tom Grant and Warren Hill; while featured thru out are Marion Meadows, Earl Klugh, and David Benoit! So as we get ready for a radio show unlike any other, we begin with Pete Gitlin and the track Full Circle!

In This Issue:

SHOWCASE CD :
A New Day - Patrick Yandall

BACK TRAX :
It's You - Harvey Mason
Cruise Control - Michael Dowdle
Distant Rain - Allon Sams
Oye Como Va - Santana
Wherever You Are - Tom Borton

AFTER HOURS : New Music
SPINLIST:

Showcase CD
A New Day - Patrick Yandall:
It was during a lengthy convalescence with a broken hip when he was six, that Patrick Yandall tried his hand at both trumpet and guitar. Guitar won out and with a Dad who was a jazz musician, early exposure to the music of George Benson and Wes Montgomery led to them becoming major influences. Yandall became equally adept at playing progressive rock and jazz, and by his early teens, the native of Bay City, Michigan was playing underage clubs. In the late 70s, he toured with the fusion group Clockwork, before returning to his study of music. Based on a summer symposium at Berklee in Boston and his admiration for the stylings of Jeff Lorber, Yandall has for the most part followed a path based in jazz and blues. In the early 80s, he relocated to San Diego, briefly went back east to attend Central Michigan, and then later hooked up with Devotion, a band in the style of Earth Wind & Fire that boasted a five-piece horn section. Additionally, he established himself on the LA-San Diego session circuit while launching his solo career in 1994.

Over the years, Yandall has issued a series of well-received releases all the while demonstrating many flashes of brilliance along the way! Early in the new millennium, he gained national exposure with his Of Two Cities - the title no doubt an allusion to aspects of his career as they pertained to his regular migrations between LA and San Diego. Meanwhile, we here at The Café have been tuned to PY for quite some time, a period during which Yandall has become firmly entrenched as a favourite on our hip but humble show!

Patrick Yandall

In recent years, Yandall's output has become nothing short of prolific with the recently issued A New Day bringing his tally to five projects within the past five years alone. In spite of the cd title, this album fortunately delivers more of Yandall's patented groove richly layered with elements of jazz and blues, all of which have long been hallmarks of his sound. It's therefore with pleasure that we now pause to present Patrick Yandall and A New Day as the subject for the showcase segment. To begin we've selected the beamy and somewhat tongue in cheek titled Sun Diego. Opening the second half of the show is If You Love Me, a tune with a romantic bent, which ably illustrates the lyrical aspects of Mr. Y's style while I Am There assertively punctuates the feature. Confident and engaging, compelling and charismatic, with A New Day Patrick Yandall affirms his place as one of the most musically coercive voices on today's smooth jazz scene!

CD: A New Day (2009)
Label: Zangi Records
Site: Patrick Yandall

Back Trax: Part One
	It's You - Harvey Mason: Recognized as one of THE most in-demand drummers of all-time, Harvey Mason has done thousands of sessions. He's played hundreds of film scores, been a four-time Modern Drummer winner, and a first call musician for the Academy Awards on 16 occasions. After attending Berklee in Boston and the New England Conservatory, the Atlantic City native gigged with George Shearing for a year before moving to LA. There he quickly became established on the session circuit and graduated to high profile gigs with the likes of Streisand & Mancini. In addition, Mason contributed to several seminal releases in jazz. He played on Herbie Hancock's Head Hunters, Grover Washington Jr.'s Mister Magic, and George Benson's Breezin' - the list goes on to include Lee Ritenour's Captain Fingers, and John Klemmer's Touch! In the early 90s, Mason became a founding member of the super group Fourplay, while on the solo front he's released projects as far back as 1976. On this occasion, we're checking out the '96 Ratamacue release for the track It's You featuring Harvey on drums, vibes, and assorted keys! CD: Ratamacue (1996) Label: Atlantic Records
	Cruise Control - Michael Dowdle : Working professionally in the studio since 1979, Dowdle has done thousands of sessions in every style of music. Additionally, he's written for film, TV, and radio with some of his work being broadcast during the 2002 Salt Lake Olympics. A recording artist in his own right, over the years Dowdle has issued three jazz flavored albums, three seasonal releases and eight more projects with instrumental hymns and religious music. For his efforts, he's been recognized with 13 Pearl Awards from The Faith-Centered Music Association, while also receiving a pair of LDSBA Listeners Choice Awards! Back in November of 2000, Michael performed on the main stage at the Catalina Island Jazz Trax Festival in support the most recent of his smooth releases. From that effort entitled Soulmate, we've selected the excellent Cruise Control! CD: Soulmate (2000) Label: Treble V Site: Michael Dowdle

Back Trax: Part Two

Distant Rain - Allon Sams :
A native of the Tampa area in Florida, Allon Sams took to playing the trumpet and French horn before switching to the keys. Early on, he gigged throughout the USA, the Caribbean, Jamaica, and Mexico with cover bands, and followed that with a 3-month solo stint in Japan. After graduating from the Full Sail Center for the Recording Arts, Sams was offered an internship with Josef Zawinul, leader of Weather Report, and so for a time in the late 80s and early 90s, he relocated to LA. There he connected with Grammy-winning producer Paul Brown - soon he was collaborating with likes of Peter White, Boney James, and others - it was during this period more than any other that Sams developed his acute ear for music production! Although he spent seven years in all in the glitter capitol, Sams desire to start a family and to be near his own parents made him return to Tampa in the mid-90s. In relatively short order, Sams set up his own production facility in Studio A and over the years he's produced a steady stream of quality projects for likes of Les Sabler, TFOXX, Gene Cannon, and José Valentino, and more recently Mark Barrios and BK Jackson. In this regard, Sams has for the most part been content to work behind the scenes. However, this time it's the man himself we're featuring. From his solo debut we have the exquisite Distant Rain with Gene Cannon on sax!

Addendum: A couple of years later, Sams remastered Distant Rain for his sophomore A Place In Time release. That version is available on iTunes and many other mp3 music services worldwide!

CD: Bayshore (1999)
Label: Maestro Madness Music

Oye Como Va - Santana:
In 1955, José Santana, a professional violinist, relocated his family from their home in Autlán de Navarro in Mexico to the border town of Tijuana and it was about that time that his son Carlos took up guitar. Inspired by the music of BB King, Ray Charles, and Little Richard, the younger Santana was in his early teens when he began performing. A few years later, the family moved again, this time to San Francisco's Mission District, where Carlos got the chance to see many of his idols perform live while also being exposed to jazz and a variety of influences including the burgeoning hippie movement. After washing dishes and playing on the streets for several years, in 1966, Santana formed the Santana Blues Band with David Brown and Gregg Rolie. The project soon became known just as Santana and with a highly original blend of influences that included rock, jazz, blues, and salsa, all infused with Latin and African rhythms, Santana gained a strong following as part of the SF club scene. The now legendary performance at Woodstock in 1969, led to a record deal and the release of the eponymously titled debut that same year. The following year saw the issue of Abraxas, which reached number one and went on to sell over four million copies. From that effort, we've opted for Santana's re-make of a Tito Puente classic!

CD: Abraxas (1970)
Label: CBS Records
Site: Santana ; Santana/Space

Wherever You Are - Tom Borton:
Based in LA, saxman Tom Borton had a pair of promising releases in the early 90s before making music production his primary focus. In that regard, he's internationally recognized and been involved in over a hundred projects covering a gamut of styles. Emmy nominated, Borton has composed music for a wide variety of TV concerns; nonetheless, it's his smooth debut that we're going to on this occasion. Backed by the likes of Rayford Griffin on drums and Kevin Chokan on rhythm guitar, from that effort entitled Dancing With Tigers, we have the buoyant Wherever You Are!

CD: Dancing With Tigers (1990)
Label: Blue Moon
Site: TB/Space

After Hours ~ Exclusive to our Site and Select Affiliates :

New Music ... it's a new music segment with 13 selections tasty & fresh! Here's what we've queued for today. First up is French guitarist Daniel Domenge and following are Alex Gershovsky, Jackiem Joyner, and Joe Ercole formerly the keyboardist with the hip & funky band known as Bona Fide. A new name to the show in Brian O'Neal kicks off set #2 while also appearing are Darren Rahn and Mike Levine - as well there's music from Paula Atherton and U-Nam & his new one. Then in our final set, we're spinning the first single from Paul Brown & Marc Antoine and their forthcoming collaboration. Also appearing are Mark Kunkel and Jeff Kashiwa - and finally there's a brand new track from Terry Disley and that'll be today's closing selection!

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