Steve Baxter Showcased; with Richard Chadwick, Pamela Williams, Ken Navarro, Marty Q, & Gregorie Howard; After Hours

The Drive to Keep the Groove Alive!
This Week at CaféJazz.ca

February 21st, 2010
Edition #559 Previously

This Week at CafeJazz.ca:
… in our spotlight on today's show, it's trombonist Steve Baxter - the new release is Sugar On The Bone and from it we've selected and cued three great tracks which we'll be featuring on the showcase segment. Then in hour 2 it'll be time for Fresh Trax with all the latest and best in new music. Highlights on this edition are courtesy of Vancouver's Richard Chadwick and Pamela Williams, the first lady of sax. Also appearing is Ken Navarro while debuting are saxman Marty Q and trumpeter Gregorie Howard. Then just a bit later that same hour, we're balancing the new with the tried and true - there'll be music from Tony Gable & 206 as well as from Steve Barakatt. Additionally, we have Germany's DeeLight plus Down To The Bone - while the remainder of the show is tantalizingly spiced with selections by Rick Braun, Mike Levine, and Wine & Chocolate. But as we set up the pins for the radio show with the drive to keep the groove alive, we're checking out Steve Laury - from Keepin' the Faith, it's a pretty tune called Astoria!

In This Issue:

SHOWCASE CD :
Sugar On The Bone - Steve Baxter

FRESH TRAX :
Dawn Over Brazil - Richard Chadwick
Pillow Talk - Pamela Williams
Shared Air - Ken Navarro
Table for 2 - Marty Q
Shuffle - Gregorie Howard

AFTER HOURS : Living Under The Sun
PLAYLIST:

Showcase CD
Sugar On The Bone - Steve Baxter:
A multi-dimensional musician hailing from Houston Texas, trombonist and composer Steve Baxter started playing the baritone horn at 14. He performed with the award winning high school stage band and then from 1980 thru to 1983, his training continued at Howard University in Washington, D.C. where he majored in Jazz Studies. In 1991, Baxter moved to LA, to pursue his musical destiny and in the time since, he's shared the stage with some of the biggest names in Ray Charles, Gladys Knight, Barry Manilow and Bette Midler, all while garnering a reputation as nothing less than an ace sideman! Additionally he's appeared on American Idol, Dancing with the Stars, and the Grammy's. Debuting as a front man in 2003, Sugar On The Bone is his latest. With tempos ranging from funky jazz to bluesy gospel, here's an effort upon which Baxter reveals the full potential of the trombone as a lead instrument!

In fact, to our thinking there hasn't been a trombone player with this sort of charisma since Wayne Henderson's days as a member of The Crusaders - not surprisingly when that band "re-formed" to play the Mt. Fuji Jazz Festival in 2004 it was indeed Steve Baxter "on the bone"! For those very reasons - it's now our pleasure to focus the spotlight upon Steve Baxter - the 'big payback' as some call him - and the sweet sounds of Sugar on the Bone!

Steve Baxter - New Orleans Jazz
& Heritage Festival

To begin, we have Jet Lag Mambo, the tune named for the change in body rhythms caused by high-speed travel coupled with the motions of a ballroom dance! Exploring a more sensitive side of Baxter's music, we begin hour 2 with Let It Go, Don't Wait - a heartfelt ballad featuring vocalist Val Davis. Meantime, we close with Owta The Blue - a progressive jam highlighted by the interplay of Baxter's "bone-work", the sax stylings of Brandon Fields, and some aggressive guitar courtesy of Brian Monroney. In actuality, there isn't a weak performance on the disc, making Sugar On The Bone a confection unlike any other!

CD: Sugar On The Bone (2009)
Label: Slubba Bub Records
Links:

Fresh Trax: Part One
	Dawn Over Brazil - Richard Chadwick: Hailing from Montreal, guitarist Richard Chadwick grew up on the rock of the 60s and 70s with Clapton, Beck, and Page as early influences. He worked a variety of local gigs on that city's cosmopolitan scene before he moved to Alberta in the mid 70s - where for a time he was caught up in the Country and Western craze. Relocating to LA in 1981 to study at GIT, Chadwick drew closer to jazz & blues. Then as a sideman working from LA to London, he continued to add to his sonic palette. Finally ending up in Vancouver, Chadwick has been active on the club and session circuit while working toward a solo debut. After 5 lengthy years in the making, that cd, produced in conjunction with perennial Café Jazz favourite Ray Garand, is finally here. Entitled Still Dreaming, the project is a reflection of the many styles that Chadwick has assimilated over the course of his career and from it we've selected the piquant flavours of a tune called Dawn Over Brazil! CD: Still Dreaming (2010) Label: Independent Links:
	Pillow Talk - Pamela Williams: Dubbed 'The Saxtress' since the issue of her 1996 debut, thruout her career Pamela Williams has remained one of the most popular performers on the smooth scene. We here at The Café have long held Pam's musicianship in the highest regard, and it's for that reason that we've elevated Ms Williams, referring to her instead as the first lady of sax! Just out is Chameleon, now Pam's ninth and latest cd and one that she refers to as her 'jewel'. She chose the moniker after the famed Herbie Hancock track that she covers, but moreover Pam feels the name describes her as a musician. She share's "I've always been an Artist of many colors, always changing styles to reflect my creative personality and my admiration for different genres of music." Filled with a variety of styles from Neo Jazz to Old School Funk, from that effort we have Pam's great take on Pillow Talk - the big hit by Sylvia from 1973! CD: Chameleon (2009) Label: Saxtress Entertainment Links:

Fresh Trax: Part Two
	Shared Air - Ken Navarro: As he writes on one of his blog posts, for Ken Navarro "the musical journey continues". It began in 1990 with The River Flows and now with the imminent release of Dreaming of Trains, his 19th cd, Navarro is on the verge of issuing a project that represents his "very best work so far"! Following The Grace of Summer Light, named the Jazz Times #1 Contemporary Jazz CD for 2008, Navarro continues his exploration of strong melodic themes. Within each, there's a complex progression uniquely coupled with a remarkable accessibility that has long been a part of Navarro's signature style. Deriving some of its steam from world-class players in the likes of Jay Rowe, Tom Kennedy, and Joel Rosenblatt, Dreaming of Trains is an excursion into Navarro's psyche wherein he expresses concepts that are both meaningful and deep. Although the official release date is March 16th, the album is currently available on Ken's website and from it we present the inspired mini-opus called Shared Air! CD: Dreaming of Trains (2010) Label: Postive Music Links:
	Table for 2 - Marty Q: Saxman & vocalist Marty Q is a veteran musician with a recording career that dates back to 1997. After a recent appearance on Shanachie Records' Smooth Jazz Plays Motown's Favorite Love Songs, Marty hooked up with that label's resident whiz in producer Chris 'Big Dog' Davis to do his own project. Entitled Table for 2, the release is already Q's 8th in a total that includes 2 seasonal projects and a live effort. The Waterbury Connecticut native is now poised to enter the smooth jazz arena with his most fully refined release to date. From that effort we present Table for 2 - the intimate title track! CD: Table for 2 (2009) Label: www.martyq.net Links:
	Shuffle - Gregorie Howard: So who's the man behind those shades? Well it's none other than Gregorie Howard, the New Orleans musician and songwriter who currently remains a man of some mystery. After taking part in the Iraqi Freedom Mission in 2004, the trumpeter is back on native soil but there's much that remains to be disclosed. Soon however, Gregorie Howard may well find himself the epicenter of attention in 2010 in so far as smooth jazz is concerned! Enlisting the aid of many of the superstars in the genre, Howard has issued a spectacular debut! Backed by the likes of Marc Antoine, Jessy J, Philippe Saisse, and Gregg Karukas, as well as Ron Reinhardt, Ricky Lawson, Roberto Vally, and Alex Al, the project was produced by two-time Grammy winning Paul Brown. From an album that we expect to be in full contention as one of the break-thru release for the year we have the groovalicified motion of a track called Shuffle! So stay tuned - the answer to who Gregorie Howard is will be deliciously revealed in the weeks ahead! CD: Gregorie Howard (self-titled) (2009) Label: Gregory Howard Links:

After Hours ~ Exclusive to our Site and Select Affiliates :

Living Under The Sun: … on this edition it's a theme show called Living Under The Sun as each & every selection has sun, sunrise, or some such variation in its title. So stay tuned for tracks such as Little Sunflower, As The Sun Sets, and Brazilian Sunrise as we present 13 radiant tracks in all. Highlighting the opening set is Fridrik Karlsson; he's followed by Burt Brion, and Yaron Gershovsky, plus there's Dal Martino and Reiner Winterschladen as Nighthawks. Featured in set #2 is a 5-pack of tracks beginning with the band Fattburger - we then continue with Stevie Williams out of the UK and the tune for which we named the segment. Additionally, we have selections by David Crawford, Jeff Golub, and Allon Sams. Then wrapping things in the final frame there's Keiko Matsui and Brian Hughes together with Solar Wind while in the end it's keyboardist Bob Gaynor!

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