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July 24, 2004 Edition #332 Previously 
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Highlights
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| Plus we have Pamela Williams, Alan Hewitt; and the customary collection of classics from artists such as Billy Joe Walker Jr., 3rd Force, and Maurice Gordon. Discover the difference, Café Jazz, your escape from ordinary radio! |
| Showcase CD This Girl 's Got To Play - Joyce Cooling: It's frequently true, that all it takes is one song for a performer to become an overnight sensation. Such was the case with Joyce Cooling. Joyce grew up in the New Jersey and New York areas. Through her family and friends she was exposed to a wide variety of music. Her developing tastes ranged from diverse to eclectic as she amassed a huge record collection that included everything from folk and R&B to punk, metal and rap. One day she inherited a large number of Jazz albums which spurred her love of that musical style. When Joyce moved to the San Francisco Bay Area in the early 80s she began dabbling in keyboards and percussion. Music had long been the most passionate part of her life, but an actual career as a musician started taking shape only after she began hanging around an African drumming class. It all crystallized when she heard a solo by guitar legend Wes Montgomery. According to Joyce, " From then on, it was as if the guitar had chosen me". Teaching herself how to play the instrument, Joyce developed a style of finger picking that has given her playing its unique sound. |
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| Fresh Trax: Part One | |
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Lasting
Impression - James Vargas: James Vargas actually made his record debut a couple of years ago. The British sax player had taken part in various gigs around London before hooking up with keyboardist Oliver Silk. Silk & bassist Danny Sugar were about to release a compact disc as what else but Sugar & Silk and asked Vargas to take part. You may recall tracks that we've played from that album in the past. In any event, working with the pair gained Vargas additional exposure, enabling him to now release his own self-titled debut. On the effort, Oliver Silk returns the favour. He appears on all the tracks, shares in the writing credits, and produced the project. The result is a highly impressive debut for Vargas, groove laden and loaded with catchy melodies. From that effort, we present one of the finest, Lasting Impression. Suffice it to say that Vargas & his music did indeed make a lasting impression with yours truly. CD: James Vargas Label: Trippin' 'N Rhythm Records |
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Guilty
Pleasures - Jonathan Cain: |
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| Fresh Trax: Part Two | ||
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Push
- Doc Powell: Powell is NY native who discovered his love for music early on. By the age of 6 he was already playing guitar and in his teens he began recording and performing live. His first big break occurred when Wilson Pickett chose "The Doctor" as his musical director. This led to a stint with Luther Vandross and an affiliation that lasted 15 years. In turn, this raised Doc's profile considerably. It paved the way for him to work with a lengthy list of top artists and to develop a solo career that now includes Cool Like That, his latest. From that effort we chose Push. That's the cool opening track and one that features Kirk Whalum on sax. CD: Cool Like That Label: Heads Up International Site:Doc Powell |
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Miracle
- Matt Dusk: Recapturing much of the style & sound of the legendary rat pack, the Toronto born singer seemed destined for a career in classical music or perhaps in opera. He was accepted into the St. Michael's Choir School and underwent 11 years of intensive musical study. It wasn't until Matt was eighteen that he began listening to performers such as Tony Bennett & Sarah Vaughan. Dusk was immediately hooked. In 1998, he won the Rising Star, a prestigious talent contest in Toronto. He enrolled in York University to study for a BFA in music with an emphasis on jazz music. Dusk studied theory & vocals and attended master-classes with the great Oscar Peterson. Subsequently Matt was awarded that university's Oscar Peterson Scholarship. He had 4 independent cds before he landed the record deal that yielded Two Shots. This effort however, is more than just return to the sound of yesteryear. It's clearly a case of the style & sophistication of a golden era being projected into the 21st century. CD: Two Shots Label: Decca Site: Matt Dusk |
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Let's
Stay Together - Eric Darius: At 21 years of age, Eric Darius is a student at the University of Southern Florida. He first became interested in playing sax when he was 10. Inspired by the music at his church, he took a few lessons & was performing publicly soon after. He excelled in high school in academics, athletics & in music. As a member of the Jazz Ensemble Darius performed at a festival in New York City and while there, he was asked to jam with Wynton Marsalis and Paquito D'Rivera; all of this by the age of 17. Following a tour with the same ensemble to Japan, Eric set about to record his solo debut. He'd been dreaming about a project since the age of 14 when he wrote Crusin' in anticipation of getting his driver's license. That turned out to be the title track for the album which garnered a fair bit of attention for a debut effort from a young player. As good as it was, Eric has definitely kicked things up a notch with his latest release, enlisting the talents of Ken Navarro who among other things, produced the record. Although we're not partial to covers and there are a total of 8 originals on the disc, on this occasion we chose Eric's superb cover of the Al Green classic. CD: Night on the Town Label: Higher Octave Music Site: Eric Darius |
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