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Showcase CD
Funked Up & Chilled Out - Candy Dulfer:
She's
been performing since the age of seven; she scored an international
hit when she was 19; and aside from some basic tips from her father,
a renowned jazz musician in his own right, she's pretty well self-taught;
she's Dutch-born sax lady Candy Dulfer. After making a name for
herself in her native Holland, Candy appeared with Prince on Saturday
Night Live - but on the verge of accepting an offer to tour with
His Royal Badness, she opted to continue fronting her own band.
Before SNL, Candy had cut a few tracks with Dave Stewart formerly
of The Eurythmics - when the tune Lily Was Here, reached #1 all
across Europe, it led to a record deal and the release of Candy's
1990 Saxuality debut. That cd went on to sell over a million copies
- she's since performed with Prince on several occasions as well
as with Pink Floyd and other top names - meantime she's issued
over a dozen cds of her own!
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14th and latest is a deluxe double package called Funked Up & Chilled
Out and a project whose dichotomous approach is well encapsulated
by its title - the first disc is where Candy puts her funky style
to the test; while the second has a down-tempo/lounge-oriented feel.
Long known for the energy of her live show, Dulfer has frequently
delved into the ambient - so now, nearly 20 years after her Grammy-nominated
initial offering, we're provided with a more complete glimpse into
the diversity of those styles. So regardless of whether you're into
an evening of revving it up or cooling it down ... or maybe even
both ... Funked Up & Chilled Out will nicely fill the bill! |
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Candy Dulfer
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And
so it's now a pleasure to nudge author and album into the sheen
of the showcase spotlight. To begin we've selected from the chilled
half of the project - first up is Anything You Need while Tambores
eases us into hour 2. Meantime there's the brash & upbeat first
single to radio in On & On as the climax to the feature. Her
model good-looks notwithstanding, there's certainly a lot more to
Ms Dulfer's music than meets the eye - so that after many listens
to Funked Up & Chilled Out we were moved to use the title from
an old tune that seemed well-suited to the occasion in the phrase
'I want Candy' - that's Candy Dulfer that is!
CD: Funked Up & Chilled
Out (2009)
Label: Heads Up / Concord Music Group
Links: 
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| Back Trax: Part One |
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Let's Try Again - Sapphron Obois:
Growing
up near Chicago, Sapphron Obois started as a pianist and violinist and
earned a scholarship to study in Rheims in France - although, after picking
up a sax she was soon performing in 'the windy city' on Rush Street with
the likes of The Art of Chicago and her own quartet. Upon moving to San
Francisco, she continued to lead her own band while also touring and recording
with the likes of Tower of Power, Hall & Oates, and Sheila E. Over the
years, she's had three releases and recently has been on tour with Chi-Town
Blues Band, yet likely she's drawn the most attention with her '99 debut
that was simply titled Sapphron. From that initial release we have the
pretty Let's Try Again!
CD: Sapphron (1999)
Label: Domo Records
Links:
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7th Journey - Jango :
Jango
was a project conceived of by L.A. songwriters, Steve Le Gassick and Michael
Price working in conjunction with Steve Barri, VP for A&R at the Samson
Music record label. The band was actually the duo's second go round -
and with Price playing a strictly behind the scenes role, Jango featured
keyboardist Le Gassick and saxman/vocalist Steve Nieves who were joined
by Nick Kirgo on guitar, Leon Johnson on bass, and Dave Beyer on drums
- all were active on the LA session scene. Released in 1999, Dreamtown
was their debut and a cd that was inspired by the success and despair
prevalent in the city of dreams that they called home. From that mix of
vocals and jazzy instrumentals, we have 7th Journey, a heady excursion
on a different level!
CD: Dreamtown (1999)
Label: Samson Music
Links: 
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| Back Trax: Part Two |
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Loveland
- Lawrence Barris:
Detroit
native, Lawrence Barris started playing guitar early on and by 13 he was
playing in and around the motor city with an R&B band called The Black
Nasty. Incorporating instrumental versions of a few pop tunes of the day
into his repertoire, Barris had expanded into jazz by his early 20s. With
influences from Wes Montgomery and The Beatles to Aretha Franklin and
Sergio Mendes, Barris has worked / performed with George Benson, The Supremes
and Ben E. King plus many others while issuing a pair of projects under
his own name. From his 2001 self-titled debut we've selected the soulful
and smooth stylings of a track entitled Loveland!
CD: Lawrence Barris (2001)
Label: Pretty World Records
Links: 
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One For Albert
- Heads Up Super Band:
The Heads
Up Super Band was comprised of Joe McBride, Gerald Veasley, Kenny Blake,
and Keith Carlock - in the 90s McBride, Veasley, and Blake were all bona
fide recording artists in their own right on the Heads Up Record label
- hence the name. 'Steel City' saxman Kenny Blake had signed with Heads
Up in 1991 after a stint with Cabo Frio and had issued 4 popular solo
cds before his Super Band date. Dallas-based pianist & vocalist Joe McBride
was coming off Double Take and the biggest success to that point in his
career. Meantime, bassist Gerald Veasley's previous release was a star-studded
affair that featured the likes of Grover Washington Jr., Rick Braun, Dianne
Reeves, and others. Having appeared thruout Europe, the combo had rarely
played the US but was set for a string of festivals beginning with The
Berks Jazz Fest. The evening's activities were captured to disc and released
as what proved unfortunately to be a one-off concept. From that live date
we have the excellent One For Albert featuring Joe McBride! 
CD: Live at The Berks Jazz Fest (1998)
Label: Heads Up International
Links:
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Tu Do Bem - Chris Boardman :
After
a stint at Utah's Weber State, Glendale CA native Chris Boardman continued
his formal training at Cal State Northridge, all while checking out night
and weekend record sessions just to see how they were done. He was just
22 when he became Mitzi Gaynor's musical director and then he followed
that with a Tom Jones gig. After a two-and-a-half year world tour with
Seals and Crofts, he arranged their Vegas act while virtually at the same
time he got his start in scoring for film & TV. With credits that include
The Wiz and The Color Purple (for which Boardman was an Oscar-nominee),
he's written sound tracks for over 100 motion pictures. Additionally,
Chris has been awarded an Emmys on six occasions for specials such as
Julie Andrews in Concert.
In the midst of this, Boardman launched his career as a jazz performer
with the band Wishful Thinking - from '84 thru to '91 they recorded three
albums. Then in 1991, he released his own solo debut in Tu Do Bem - Portuguese
for Everything's OK. In the time since, Boardman's recorded a couple of
other projects but for the most part he's concentrated on composing and
arranging. Nonetheless we're lucky enough to have that early offering
and from it we present Tu Do Bem the title track - a super up tempo mover
that combines Boardman's Brazilian sensibilities with his orchestral flair!
CD: Tu Do Bem (Everything's OK) (1991)
Label: Headfirst / Dominion Entertainment
Links:
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| After Hours ~ Exclusive to our
Site and Select Affiliates : |
| … it's another in our series of feature shows - this
one is called The James Gang the idea being to include any artist or selection
that had James in their name or title. So you may wanna stay tuned and
catch all the action as we spin selections the likes of James Café and
Smooth James by artists such as Boney James and James Vargas for a total
of 13 "James-related" tracks in all. The opening set features Anthony
James Baker and Dean James - they're followed by James PJ Spraggins, and
Gordon James. The second set begins with Bob James and continues with
Daniel Domenge and the track Smooth James. There's also the combo calling
themselves James Michael Joseph, as well as Jimmy Sommers with the tune
James Café, meantime keyboardist James Hollihan rounds it out. Then wrapping
things for the closing frame are Bob James again, this time with Earl
Klugh, as well there's James Vargas and harpist Catrin Finch with a tune
naturally 'nough entitled James - while in the end it's Rick Braun & Boney
James. So, it'll be James, James, and more James yet still on this The
James Gang special edition!
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