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This Week at CaféJazz.ca

December 4th, 2011
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This Week at CafeJazz.ca:
… on this edition it's the band Watson's Riddle in the spotlight. Their debut is self-titled and we'll look inside that cd with a choice sampling of selections as part of the showcase segment. The second half of the show has new music with the Fresh Trax feature. Headlining this edition are Pete Gitlin and Rocco & Rahj. Bassman David Hughes is on the show plus we have Richie Cannata and Terrence Young. But Acoustic Alchemy is first up - their cd AArt is now fully ten years old and from that effort we're ready to savor the favor of Senjo Wine!
In This Issue:

SHOWCASE CD :
Watson's Riddle - Watson's Riddle

FRESH TRAX :
Dave's Song - David Hughes
Lucky in Love - Pete Gitlin
Café Jazz - Rocco & Rahj
Love Ballad - Terrence Young
Living for the Moment - Richie Cannata

AFTER HOURS : It Seems to Hang On
PLAYLIST: Playlist for Ed#636

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Showcase CD
Watson's Riddle - Watson's Riddle:

Watson's Riddle is an exciting project featuring four musicians of distinction - collectively they are among the most recorded in the history of southern music. Giving their name to the band are guitarist Steve Watson and drummer Paul T. Riddle, while featured on keys is Chuck Leavell with bassist Tim Lawter rounding the combo.

Steve Watson earned a Masters of Music in Jazz Guitar from the Frost School of Music at The University of Miami. He taught at the school as a graduate assistant and as an adjunct professor, and after playing with The Bruce Hornsby Band, he moved to LA where for 10 years he worked in various studios. His credits include TV series such as Hill Street Blues and the film Dragnet while additionally he's backed BB King, Dolly Parton, and others. For a time, Watson taught at USC while currently he is President of Watson Wood Music.


Watson's Riddle - Watson's Riddle
For his part Paul T. Riddle was a founding member of the Marshal Tucker Band, and as Buddy Rich was one of his main influences, Riddle's jazz stylings were unique to the rock & roll stripe. In the 90's, Riddle played drums for the Allman Brothers Band and has written for Modern Drummer Magazine on an ongoing basis. In 1996, Riddle was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame while additionally, he's an expert in the studio and has taught lessons, clinics, and camps for over 25 years.

The concept for the Watson's Riddle came about when Steve was encouraged by Douglas Appleby, M.D., a student and a friend, to create music that was "transforming to the human soul." Watson wrote a few tunes and eventually took the project to Riddle who brought in Chuck Leavell and Tim Lawter. Leavell's gigs include the legendary Allman Brothers and The Rolling Stones while Lawter is a rock-solid bassist also formerly with Marshall Tucker. With Watson composing the 10 tracks and Riddle producing the album, the music of Watson's Riddle melds elements of jazz, R&B, and pop into a totally appealing mix! And so it's now our pleasure to engage as savvy a bunch as you're likely to find for this section of the show as the spotlight cd.
Watson's Riddle
Watson's Riddle - Live !!
As usual we have 3 tasty selections starting with the promise of Days Ahead, the opening track. By Candlelight, at the top of the hour strikes a romantic chord; whereas a tune that's simply called Livin … is an upbeat anthem for our times and it's the show closer. With moments that range from introspection to playful funkiness, there's interaction galore on this the debut from Watson's Riddle!

CD: Watson's Riddle (2011)
Label: Palmetto Records
Links:

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Fresh Trax: Part One
David Hughes - Hopeful Romantic
Dave's Song - David Hughes:
The multitalented David Hughes was born and raised in Sweden, and studied at the Royal College of Music in Stockholm before moving to LA. There he attended the Bass Institute of Technology and after being named 'outstanding student', he promptly turned around and joined the institute's teaching faculty. In addition, Hughes has made substantial inroads in the studio and as a live musician; his credits include the Jazz Crusaders, Chaka Khan, and Melissa Etheridge as well as playing for film and TV. Although he debuted as a lead man in 2003, for the most part Hughes has flown below everyone's radar with his solo efforts as for many years he's enjoyed a steady gig touring and recording with David Benoit! With the recent issue of Hopeful Romantic, Hughes now has a catalogue of 4 cds to his credit and from that release we have the aptly titled Dave's Song!

CD: Hopeful Romantic (2011)
Label: Independent
Links:
Pete Gitlin - Lucky in Love
Lucky in Love - Pete Gitlin:
After a lengthy hiatus from music, in 2008 Phoenix-based Pete Gitlin connected with Turning Point drummer & producer John Herrera. Their ensuing collaboration resulted in the release of Full Circle and The Great Temptation. Although the project title, a combination of two track titles, was a witty play on words, to us it held deeper meaning. It signified not only Gitlin's full circle return to his life's passion but also a highly tempting release. In keeping with this, we wrote the effort bode well for Gitlin and for the genre as a whole - we're now pleased to present a sneak peak into Pete's forthcoming release and from it we have Lucky in Love!

CD: Amplifier (2012)
Label: Coming Together Music
Links:

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Fresh Trax: Part Two
Rocco & Rahj - Beach Life
Café Jazz - Rocco & Rahj:
The duo of Rocco & Rahj has been a staple on Café Jazz since we turned on to their sounds a few short months ago. Based in Indian Rocks Beach, just outside Tampa Florida, 'the kings of beach jazz' have conceived of a sub-genre that's all their own. Describing the style as 'old school hot jazzy grooves - chilled with a cool island breeze of soul', they recently completed the final mix for the forthcoming Beach Life cd and as nod to yours truly, as we were the first to air their music, they called the track Café. Well boys here's a big nod right back at cha - as we debut Café Jazz by Rocco & Rahj on our hip but humble show!

CD: Beach Life (2011)
Label: House Of Hofa Records
Links:
Terrence Young - Love Stories
Love Ballad - Terrence Young:
Based in Columbia S.C., Terence Young continues to grow his reputation as one of the most respected guitarist in the nation. Young has shared the stage with everyone from En Vogue to Phil Perry and Joe Sample. He's played guitar with the likes of Ashford and Simpson and Angie Stone just to name a few and in addition to managing the Southeast's top party band Finesse, Young serves as lead guitarist at the Brookland Baptist Church. Moreover, he's recorded 6 inspirational jazz flavoured cds that display his many talents both as a songwriter and as a musician. Love Stories released in 2010 was the most recent, and an effort that cracked many charts. Now we here at The Café pride ourselves on being way ahead of the wave on all the sounds that matter, but in this instance I must admit that the wheels came off our musical wagon! Undeterred we've re-tooled and so it's now a pleasure to present the poetic and heart-felt Love Ballad by Terrence Young!

CD: Love Stories (2010)
Label: Independent
Links:
Richie Cannata - Richie Cannata Living for the Moment - Richie Cannata:
A member of Billy Joel's band from 1975 to 1981, Richie Cannata was born in Brooklyn. Growing up on Long Island, he studied classical piano and the clarinet but he also plays flute and keys whereas the sax is his main instrument. For ten years Cannata was a member of The Beach Boys, playing on their records and taking part in the world concert tours. He's produced for Phoebe Snow and Rita Coolidge; he's played for Celine Dion & Brian Wilson; he wrote the theme music for the Barcelona Olympics, while more recently Cannata has doubled as the musical director for The Bernie Williams Band. His self-titled release is his debut and a project that he produced with Julio Fernandez of Spyro-fame - from that effort chock-full of R&B and funk we present a real nice change up in the Latin-flavored Living for the Moment!

CD: Richie Cannata (2011)
Label: Brown Dog Records
Links:

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After Hours ~ Exclusive to our Site and Select Affiliates :
It Seems to Hang On: ... the unfolding of a concept we began 5 shows ago. On the first edition in our cover tune series Peter White started with a tune recorded by Jr. Walker & The All Stars. So 60 selections down the road we're now nearing the end of the run and we've come full circle, as today's parting track is a read on another Jr. Walker classic - from Dave McMurray it'll be Walk in the Night. Also cued are Cindy Bradley and Marion Meadows, there's Chuck Leavell and appearing as well are Stanley Jordan A. Ray Fuller. With tracks ranging from pop and rock to jazz, soul and beyond, we're calling the segment It Seems to Hang On for a Paul Hardcastle tune - there are 12 selections with Scarborough Fair, So May It Secretly Begin, and Oye Como Va on this the fifth installment in a multi-part feature. And to begin it's Russ Freeman with a tune recorded as part of a tribute to the late Grover Washington, Jr. ! Playlist for Ed#636

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