 |
|
|
A Café Jazz Special Presentation: |
|
Back to Top
|
Highlights Hour One
For You - Brian Hughes: Long one of Canada's brightest musical ambassadors, Brian Hughes has been at the forefront of our contemporary scene for nearly two decades. In the early 80s, the Alberta native relocated to Los Angeles to hone his chops enrolling at the Guitar Institute, returning to Canada in 1987 and setting up shop in Toronto. Not long afterward, he connected with Loreena McKennitt, with whom he recorded and toured extensively. A demo tape led to a record deal with Montreal's Justin Time and the release of Brian's debut in 1991. That album and its follow-up received extensive airplay in the U.S. and abroad. Winning a competition sponsored by Guitar Player magazine led to Brian being picked up by an American label. Nevertheless, for several years he split his time between McKennitt's band and his career as a jazz front man. That changed in the late 90s with the release of a pair of brilliant albums that show cased Hughes' appealing mix of jazz, Latin, and pop. Perhaps always a bit under appreciated in his native land, Brian once again moved LA early in the new millennium to further his career. From what proved to be his final 'made in Canada' release we have Brian with an exceptional track featuring various members of then label-mates 3rd Force !! CD: Shakin' Not Stirred (1999) Label: Sylvan House Music/Higher Octave Jazz Site: Brian Hughes |
 |
Back to Top
 |
Maui Rain - Gabriel:
Once described as Canada's best kept musical secrete, within the past couple of years GMH has made vast inroads to alleviate that situation, and we've been right there with him. We discovered Gabriel back in about 1998 shortly after the release of his landmark Double Life double cd and he's been at or near the top of our in house list of most played Canadian artists ever since. His 2003 release and in particular it's lead single did much to get the rest of the world hip to the sounds of this terrific trumpeter and excellent multi-instrumentalist!! |
 |
El Baile del Sol - Amarosa:
Amarosa
is the latest from Lou Bartolomucci & Tony Carlucci, two of Toronto's
most highly regarded & versatile musicians. Trumpeter Carlucci has been
an integral part of the Studio Scene in Toronto having played with Cory
Hart, Percy Sledge, & Alfie Zappacosta, while Bartolomucci focused his
efforts on jazz studies and on performing on guitar & piano. Upon graduating
from York University, Lou too became part of the session scene, performing
with local and international artists such as Lou Christie & Gary US
Bonds. |
Back to Top
| Highlights Hour Two | |
 |
Desire - Paul Lamoureux:
A native of Edmonton, Lamoureux graduated from North Texas State with
a Masters in Music. He enjoyed a two-year stint at Opryland in Nashville
and followed that with a 16-month gig at a resort in the Cayman Islands.
In 1988, he did a bit of touring in the U.S. and Canada, before returning
to Canada where he was in demand as a freelance musical director and
music producer. In 1995, Lamoureux did some work for the TV series Jake
& the Kid. That was sandwiched between two solo releases, Paul's self-titled
debut in 1994, and then Scenario two years later. Soon after the release
of Scenario, Lamoureux relocated to Toronto where he is now active as
a bandleader, teacher, and producer. On this occasion, we return to
Paul's sophomore release for one of his most creative pieces!! |
 |
Martini Lounge - Gordon Sheard:
A top producer and a former member of Manteca and Montuno Police, Sheard
is a Toronto native who studied at York University. Following his graduation,
Sheard toured most notably with Chuck Mangione and Lionna Boyd while
earning a reputation as a consummate group player. In 1991, he replaced
keyboardist Aaron Davis in the veteran fusion-based band Manteca, then
a couple of years later he joined Rick Shadrach Lazar & Montuno Police,
recording a project with each ensemble. In the time since, his creative
talents have highlighted a variety of records, films, and jingles. In
the midst of it all, Sheard took time out to record Stirred at the Martini
Lounge and from that, we have the properly chilled almost title track
!! |
 |
Mr.Guaraldi - The Clayton/Scott Group:
Andrew Scott and Jim Clayton met while studying jazz at Toronto's Humber
College and, although it took some time for their paths to cross again,
their partnership has proved to be one of the most creatively successful
on the Canadian contemporary jazz scene. For his part, Scott developed an interest in jazz through his mom's record collection and lists Brian Hughes as one of his first teachers. He helped start One Step Beyond, recording a pair of albums with them and in 1998, he moved to Boston to attend the New England Conservatory of Music, earning a Masters in Historical Musicology. Scott might have remained there had he not been accepted into the PhD. program at York University. In more recent news, Andrew successfully defended his dissertation/thesis and convoked this past June, so it's now Dr. Scott thank you very much!! In addition, to his various undertakings, Andrew is currently recording a solo cd, his second, while teaching at his Alma Mater, Humber College. Meanwhile, Jim Clayton is a multi-talented writer, instrumentalist, and studio engineer, who has honed his many talents over the past several years as music director for the Emmy Award-winning company The Second City. He's worked as an accompanist, arranger, and copyist; he's a gifted soloist; he's produced music for several TV network projects and in addition, he currently teaches music theory at George Brown College. The two first worked together in 1997, when Scott guested on the final track of Clayton's solo release entitled Muskoka. Shortly after Andrew's return to Canada in 2000 they reconnected. Upon the prompting of radio personality Bob Farrow, Jim and Andrew recorded an entire project together, the result being August their debut release as The Clayton/Scott Group. So Nice followed a couple of years later and in the process Jim and Andrew were recognized for their efforts as Canada's top smooth jazz group for two past years running. We now present one of their prettiest pieces, Jim Clayton's gorgeous tribute to Vince Guaraldi!! CD: August (2002) Label: Independent Release Site: Clayton/Scott |
Back to Top