This Week at CafeJazz.ca:
... we've chosen
some nifty tunes by Walle Larsson from After the Night all as part
of the showcase segment. In hour 2 on Back Trax it'll be time to
kick it ole skool with the band Fingerprints and electric violinist
Noel Pointer. There's the group Malo led by Jorge Santana, keyboardist
Neil Larsen is on the show, as is the hip German combo called Christian
Prommer's Drumlesson … could well be one of our best sets to date!
That's followed later in the hour, by some of the freshest and most
exciting sounds around as we've queued Nils and Jonathan Fritzen,
plus there's music by Marion Meadows and Chris Standring; also on
the show are Rick Braun, Tom Grant, and Gerald Albright. But for
the curtain raising track there's a tune by Joe Bonacci & The Soca
Joe Band - this one also features David Mann on sax - as the musical
razzle-dazzle continues! |
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Showcase CD
After the Night - Walle Larsson:
Based
in Winnipeg, Manitoba Walle Larsson has for many years worked
tirelessly as the chief standard bearer for smooth jazz in the
Canadian heartland. Going as far back as 1990, Larsson has issued
a string of four well-received releases while additionally for
over a decade he's promoted the genre that he loves as a radio
show host as well as thru live appearances and as the entertainment
co-coordinator for a series concerts at The Lyric band shell,
Winnipeg's premier outdoor venue.
Having played all across Canada, Larsson also performed internationally
gigging from New York to Tokyo. He's appeared with Mel Tormé,
Tony Bennett, David Clayton Thomas and the Toronto R&B group The
Lincolns. More recently, Larsson's affiliation with The Lyric
has afforded the opportunity to test his chops in the company
of Brian Hughes, Les Sabler, Four80East, and others.
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Walle Larsson
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Now seasoned and polished, Larsson just recently delivered After
The Night, his 5th and latest. Featuring an ultra-smooth blend of
flavors, here's a cd that has the full potential to become one of
the break-thru releases for the year. As a consequence, we're more
than just a little stoked with the prospect of an After the Night
spotlight feature - in keeping with which we have a choice selection
of tracks chosen specifically for the occasion. Leading in is the
lead single in the tune Beaches and the sultry grooves on this one
are already creating quite a splash. The atmospheric gem entitled
View From Above creates a reverent space at the start the second
half of the show while the hopeful vibe of the title track provides
the crescendo to the set. Upbeat & optimistic, with After the Night,
Walle Larsson appears ready & poised for a grander stage!!
CD: After the Night (2010)
Label: DockSide Records
Links: 
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| Back Trax: Part One |
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Drive Time - Noel Pointer:
Noel
Pointer studied violin classically before signing with the Blue Note record
label in the early '70s. Over the course of the next 20 years, he recorded
a series of instrumental cds exploring a union of pop and fusion while
often accompanied by a variety of guest vocalists. Never Lose Your Heart
recorded in 1993, sadly proved his final album as the following year Pointer
succumbed to a stroke at the early age of 39. From that cd, there's a
rhythmic excursion called Drive Time!
CD: Never Lose Your Heart (1993)
Label: Shanachie
Links: 
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This
Time Tomorrow - Neil Larsen:
Keyboardist
& composer Neil Larsen is a Sarasota, Florida native who relocated to
LA in 1977 after a few years of honing his chops in NYC. Hooking up with
some of the top producers of the day, Larsen quickly distinguished himself
with appearances on a variety of albums and on film & TV soundtracks.
This led to a record deal at A&M and in the course of time this all blossomed
into a highly successful career. Debuting in 1978, Larsen earned a Grammy
nomination with his second cd, and while further pursuing music as a lead
man, he's played on hundreds of albums, backing the likes of George Harrison,
Kenny Loggins, and Rickie Lee Jones. Additionally, many of Larsen's compositions
have made their way onto the records of George Benson, Gregg Allman, and
others. He's toured with Robben Ford, and been featured on albums by BB
King and Diana Krall. As well, Neil currently works on the TV show Boston
Legal as an arranger and pianist.
Over the years Larsen has issued 4 critically acclaimed projects under
his on name together with a couple more upon which he and guitarist Buzz
Feiten share the billing. Most recently, Larsen reappeared with a 2007
live cd. Even so, on this occasion, we're returning to High Gear, Neil's
1979 Grammy nominated sophomore cd. Accompanied by an all-star cast including
Michael Brecker, Feiten, Steve Gadd, Paulinho Da Costa, and Abe Laboriel,
the track This Time Tomorrow exemplifies some of the finest fusion of
the day!
CD: High Gear (1979)
Label: A&M Records
Links:
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| Back Trax: Part Two |
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Whisper - Fingerprints:
With
the issue of their fifth and current release called Dream Life, the Texas
band Fingerprints have not only revealed "one of the best kept music secrets
in the South," they've also issued an open invitation to explore their
catalogue of past music. Founded in 1986 by guitarist Roy Machado and
bassist Frederick Nichelson while both were students at the University
of North Texas, Fingerprints made their record debut with an eponymously
title release in 1991 - that cd was updated and re-released in 2003. In
the meantime, Nichelson has continued to guide the fortunes of the veteran
band as they perform at standing-room-only venues and music festivals
throughout the Southwest. Perhaps soon to be soon to be replaced by their
latest release, we return to what remains the band's most popular album
to date. From their '94 sophomore cd, we have the quiet hush of a tune
called Whisper with none other than Marion Meadows guesting!
LP: Summertime Music (1994)
Label: M&N Records
Links: 
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Suavecito
- Malo:
Inspired
by his older brother Carlos and while still in high school, in the
late 60s Jorge Santana was playing with Sounds Unlimited, a four
piece blues band in San Francisco, when he was asked to join The
Malibu's. A nine-piece R&B ensemble complete with horns, the group
refined their sound thru a steady stream of gigs before changing
their name to Malo. Emerging in 1972 with their self-titled debut,
the band presented a fresh fusion of rock, soul, and Latin music.
That project climbed to the #14 album for the year propelled by
the track Suavecito. Boasting "a deft balance between improvisatory
instrumental passages, solid multi-layered percussive rhythms, and
emotional, romantic singing in both Spanish and English," *
the sensual grooves became one of the biggest radio hits of the
day. From Malo's Best Of, we have the radio edit that helped define
the sound of California Latin rock!
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And a big Café Jazz shout out goes out to Michael Godin for helping
us track down that particular selection. Michael is not only the
host of Treasure Island Oldies
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is also the resident expert on all the best music of the era!
CD: Malo (1972)
Label: Warner Bros.
Links:
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The Best of Malo
GNP / 1992 |
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Can You Feel It - Christian Prommer's Drumlesson :
Christian
Prommer's Drumlesson is a progressive project that fuses the organic style
of jazz with the rhythms of techno dance. Producer, percussionist, and
DJ Christian Prommer, first began experimenting with electronica in the
late 80s and over the past 20 years he's continually moved between electronic
"modernism and Blue Note cool". Trained by virtuoso piano players and
master drummers, the Munich-based Prommer's initial concept was to present
a one-off track, an acoustic read on one of his favourite dance classics.
A positive reaction in the studio led to the release of a 12" that became
a fast-moving phenomenon. In short order, Christian Prommer's Drumlesson
came into being with the specific intent of fusing the influences of Prommer's
two musical planets.
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Issued
in 2007, Drumlesson Vol.1 presented jazzy interpretations of 10
of Prommer's favourite dance tunes. With Wolfgang Haffner on drums,
Dieter Ilg on bass, Roberto Di Gioia on keys, and Ernst Ströer
on percussion, Mixmag's four-star review gushed, "Makes you feel
cool just listening to it." - prompting us to include a personal
favourite and one of the hippest tracks in the bunch!
CD: Drumlesson Vol.1
(2007)
Label: Sonar Kollektiv / Defend Music
Links: 
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| After Hours ~ Exclusive to our
Site and Select Affiliates : |
... it's the second in our two part feature called
Ladies Night Out with another full hour devoted to the great ladies in
smooth jazz. And ready for this show are Keiko Matsui, Pamela Williams,
Valarie King, Mindi Abair, and Queen Latifah to name but a few! 
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