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This Week at CaféJazz.ca

April 24th, 2011
Edition #612 PreviouslyThis Week at Café Jazz.ca - Edition #611 Next

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This Week at CafeJazz.ca:
… featured on this current show is Sammy Peralta with his new one called Love Affair. We'll tell you a bit about Sammy and listen inside that release, all as part of the showcase segment. In the second half, it's another exciting Vintage Collection - this installment features the great vibe player Gary Burton. Also appearing is Max Bennett, who for nearly 50 years was one of the most versatile bassists on the session scene; while rounding the set are David Hughes, Chris Ho and Michael e. Also appearing are Nils, Brian Simpson, Peter White, Will Sumner, Saskia Laroo, Rick Braun, Boney James, and Rocco & Rahj ... to paraphrase Bob Marley, when music hits you, you don't feel any pain!
In This Issue:

SHOWCASE CD :
Love Affair - Sammy Peralta

VINTAGE COLLECTION:
Reunion - Gary Burton
Hide and Seek - Chris Ho
Your Sweet Voice - David Hughes
Mardi Gras - Max Bennett
Barcelona - Michael e

AFTER HOURS : Nightshift
PLAYLIST: Playlist for Ed#612

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Showcase CD
Love Affair - Sammy Peralta:

A few weeks ago, Sammy Peralta debuted on our show through a decade-old jazz release called On The One, but in actuality he's much better known as a major force in the world of Mix, Club, & Dance as a producer, writer, and arranger. In addition, Peralta has been described as one of the "sickest" DJ's on the New York club scene; all the while Peralta credits jazz as a prime influence. For Sammy it all began when, as an elementary school student he attended a classical music concert. Right then and there, he knew that music was his calling. In junior high he opted for the sax rather than sports and in the time since, he's become right at home on piano, keys, percussion, drums, bass, oboe, flute, and rhythm guitar as well as programming. Graduating from NYU in 1993 with a Bachelor in Music, Sammy in one way or another performed, recorded and/or studied with Tito Puente, Kenny Kirkland, and Joe Lovano, all bona fide jazzers, although his influences extend far beyond this select circle! Even so, Peralta unashamedly accepted gigs in the worlds of pop and dance to help make ends meet.


Sammy Peralta - Love Affair
Released just a couple of months ago is Sammy's long over due follow up in Love Affair - the title signifying his lifelong love affair with music. On the liner notes, Sammy confides that it's difficult for him 'to convey in words the joy and happiness' he feels with this release - particularly as it's been issued on his own Funkatronik Music label. The project was many years in the making and there have been a few changes in direction along the way; however, thru it all Sammy says he's evolved as a musician. And, although Peralta handles the majority of the instrumentation, the credits also include drummer Lenny White (ex of Return to Forever), who co-produced Sammy's debut back in 2000. So it is that we're pleased to present Sammy Peralta and Love Affair as the focal point for the showcase feature. To initiate the segment we have the track Simple Pleasures - as Sammy acknowledges that children are this world's most precious resource. The exquisite Quedate, a gorgeous & melodic ballad with Julio Virella featured on acoustic guitar, leads into hour 2, while Let's Talk resolves the story!
Sammy Peralta Sammy Peralta
Now we're borrowing a bit of what follows from our friends at Smooth Jazz.de when they were reporting on Sammy's premier release, but much of this still rings true. For Sammy, his career goal has always been to contribute to music as an art form and when all is said and done, there really isn't any loftier objective for a true musician. And, speaking from our own humble perspective, Love Affair shows Sammy is clearly on the road to fulfilling this deep-rooted ambition!

CD: Love Affair (2011)
Label: Funkatronik Music
Links:

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Vintage Collection: Part One
Gary Burton - Reunion
Reunion - Gary Burton:
With a career that stretches back to the early 60s, Gary Burton is considered a true original on the vibraphone; he pioneered a four-mallet technique and has been heralded as an innovator. Hailing from Indiana, Gary was self-taught on the vibes and at seventeen he made his record debut with Chet Atkins. A couple of years later, he left Berklee in Boston to hook up with George Shearing and subsequently joined Stan Getz. Working with Getz from 1964 thru until 1966, Burton won Down Beat's Talent Deserving of Wider Recognition award in 1965. By the time he formed his own quartet in 1967, Burton had already recorded 3 projects under his own name.

Well known for his work in jazz fusion, Burton was named Down Beat's Jazzman of the Year in 1968, while he won a Grammy in 1971 for Alone at Last, a solo concert performed at the 1971 Montreux Jazz Festival. Recording with Chick Corea, Burton was awarded a couple more Grammy's while in the 70s; in all he's been nominated 13 times having won on five occasions. Also in the 70s Burton began he began his long tenure as a major figure in jazz education at Berklee in Boston and in 1996 he was appointed Executive Vice President. With a career includes somewhere around 60 releases, we've settled on Gary's 89 Reunion cd - a project well-named as it features Pat Metheny who had played in Burton's band back in the early mid-70s. From that effort we have the inspired title track!

CD: Reunion (1989)
Label: GRP
Links:
Chris Ho - Growing Up
Hide and Seek - Chris Ho:
Chris Ho is an LA based keyboardist and a prolific composer who has written over 6000 pieces of original music. Many of Chris's composition have been published including several that have been co-published with Motown legend Smokey Robinson. Additionally, Ho toured and recorded with Robinson for over 20 years. Starting with his debut in 1996, Chris has issued a string of four well-received cds. These, together with many of his uplifting live performances throughout the greater LA area, led to a special commendation for helping to enhance the culture and enrich the lives of those in the community. On this occasion we're using a Chris Ho track from his sophomore release to enhance and enrich this 'Vintage Collection'. From that effort we have the superb lead track in Hide and Seek featuring the emotive saxwork of Wayne Wayne!

CD: Growing Up (1998)
Label: Merrimack Records
Links:

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Vintage Collection: Part Two
David Hughes - Foreign Shores
Your Sweet Voice - David Hughes:
Born and raised in Sweden, David Hughes studied at the Royal College of Music in Stockholm before relocating to LA. He attended the Bass Institute of Technology and after being named their 'outstanding student', he joined the faculty while making inroads in the studio and as a live musician. His first big break was when he was asked to join the Jazz Crusaders but additionally his credits have grown to include backing the likes of Chaka Khan, Melissa Etheridge, and Burt Bacharach as well as playing for film and TV. In 2003, Hughes issued his debut, and while touring and recording with David Benoit, he's continued his career as a front man. Foreign Shores, his 2007 sophomore effort involved highly interactive performances and from that cd Gregg Karukas and Eric Marienthal join Hughes on the beautifully sensual Your Sweet Voice!

CD: Foreign Shores (2007)
Label: Suburbank Records
Links:
Max Bennett and The Maxx Band - Great Expectations
Mardi Gras - Max Bennett and The Maxx Band:
With a career that dates back to the 1949, bassist Max Bennett has earned a reputation as one of the most versatile musicians on the music scene. His career was briefly interrupted by a stint in the army in the early 50s, but in the time since, there has been a steady stream of high profile gigs with everyone from Frank Sinatra to Frank Zappa. In addition to playing for the The Monkees, Bennett has toured and/or performed with jazz greats from Miles Davis and Charlie Parker to Stan Getz and Dizzy Gillespie while also backing the likes of Ella Fitzgerald, Joni Mitchell, Barbra Streisand, Peggy Lee, Aretha Franklin, and countless others. Internationally known, Bennett has composed for feature films as well as for TV while his many years in the studio have resulted in 17 Grammys in a variety of genres. In the 70s, Max was part of Tom Scott's groundbreaking The L.A. Express, while as a front man he's led various configurations as Freeway, Private Reserve, or as in this case The Maxx Band. The 1993 Great Expectations release saw a guest list that included Tom Scott, Joe Sample, and Russell Ferrante, and from that effort we have the party sounds of Mardi Gras with future Rippingtons Dave Hooper on drums and Scott Breadman on percussion!

CD: Great Expectations (1993)
Label: CMG
Links:
Michael e - A Better World
Barcelona - Michael e:
After playing in a variety of cover bands at US bases thruout Europe, Michael e conceived that with today's technology he could handle all the aspects of creating a record totally on his own. Out of this vision his dream was realized with his 2006 debut and in the period since he's become prolific. With 8 albums plus a Charlie North collaboration, word of Michael e is beginning to spread like wildfire as he's now appeared on over 100 down-tempo compilations. From the 2008 A Better World cd and the 3rd in the series, we present the up tempo vibe of Barcelona to help fan the Michael e flame!

CD: A Better World (2008)
Label: Michael e
Links:

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After Hours ~ Exclusive to our Site and Select Affiliates :
Nightshift: …it's the 5th in our nighttime series entitled Nightshift after a track by Gregg Karukas. We have 12 selections including In the Middle of the Night by Dave Grusin, and Heart of the Night from Spyro Gyra - so turn down the lights, cuz the night shift is when the work gets done! Playlist for Ed#612

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