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December 14th, 2008 Edition #506 Previously 
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This Week at CafeJazz.ca! In the spotlight is guitarist Tim Bowman with his self-titled cd - we've cued a trio of tracks and we'll be spinning those at selected points in the show. Hour 2 sees the Back Trax segment with highlights from Steve Cole and Azymuth - also appearing are Joe DeRenzo and Matt Marshak, while the UK's East West Connection rounds out the feature. Then a bit later, we balance the old with new and current favourites by Pete Gitlin, Shaun LaBelle, Voodoo Village, and flautist Althea Rene. But to get things rolling there's something new from guitarist Freddie Fox. From the release Feelin' It, we're set to cruise with the track No U Turn - as we pop the cork for another sparkling Café Jazz, your champagne of smooth jazz listening! Late Breaking News! Yours truly, Ted Hasiuk, is now a two-timer! Recently nominated as CSJA Broadcaster of the Year for 2008, this is my second nod in the last 3 years! |
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| Back Trax: Part One | |
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When I Think Of You - Steve Cole: Steve Cole grew up studying sax thruout high school and attended Northwestern University to polish his technical skills. However, not being entirely certain about a career, for a time Cole abandoned his musical training and earned a BA in economics. He spent a few years in the world of high finance, and was in the process of acquiring an MBA, before he finally realized that his heart gravitated to the sax and not stocks. He gigged on the club scene, did work for radio and TV, and toured with Bob Mamet, before connecting with fellow Chicagoan, Brian Culbertson - he ended up playing on three of Brian's albums. All of this led to the release of Stay Awhile, Steve's 1998 debut, which, propelled by the smash success of When I Think of You, earned Cole recognition as Best New Artist for the year at the 2000 Oasis Smooth Jazz Awards! We return to that very disc for what is likely one of the greatest smooth jazz sax-tracks of all time!
CD: Stay Awhile (1998) Label: Atlantic / Bluemoon Site: Steve Cole ; Steve's Space |
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Lenore - Joe DeRenzo: Like many others from the era, Jo DeRenzo was inspired after seeing The Beatles on TV - he even made his own set of drumsticks. Drawn to the music of Hendrix and Cream by their album covers - these sounds were in sharp contrast to his dad's music collection, which included the likes of Sinatra and Ellington This juxtaposition of jazz and rock laid the foundation that led to DeRenzo exploring artists such as Chick Corea, Weather Report, and others of the day. These influences continued thru the years culminating in DeRenzo's 2005 debut and a follow-up project released the following year. From that effort entitled Core Beliefs, we have Lenore, with Tom Zink on piano and Brian Hughes on Spanish guitar, as DeRenzo superbly covers one of his favourite Chick Corea tracks! CD: Core Beliefs (2006) Label: DeRenzo Productions Site: Joe DeRenzo ; Joe's Space |
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| Back Trax: Part Two | |
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Friday
Afternoon - Matt Marshak: Matt Marshak has already made a significant impact in smooth jazz even though he didn't take up guitar until he was 17. After discovering contemporary jazz, Marshak knew he'd found his calling and so, as if to "make up for lost time", he would practice up to 10 hours a day while taking lessons three times a week! The Long Island native quickly moved thru the ranks and soon felt ready to record on his own. In 2001, he released his Preservation debut, the name of the album being a bit of a nod to the legacy of bands such as The Jazz Crusaders. He's gone on to record four cds in all while winning the Best New Smooth Jazz Artist in New York City, and establishing his own record label, not to mention becoming firmly entrenched as a perennial favourite on our own humble show! The track Friday Afternoon from Marshak's debut was recently reprised this past year by friend and label mate David Wells for his cd of the same name and we've played it frequently. Nevertheless, on this occasion we did in fact go back to Marshak's '01 release for the original take!
CD: Preservation (2001) Label: Kemistre Site: Matt Marshak ; Matt's Space ; Marshak/Kemistre ; Nuance |
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Last
Summer In Rio - Azymuth: The veteran combo Azymuth came together in the early 70s, to back Brazil's Marcos Valle on a soundtrack project. Taking their name from one of the selections (Azimuth) while slightly adjusting the spelling, Azymuth released an EP in 1975 while gaining international attention a couple of years later. Originally a four-man unit, the band persevered thru the tragic death of their percussionist and while issuing a string of successful releases they established themselves as one of only a handful of great global jazz bands. They've continued to record both individually and collectively thru until the present, but on this occasion we returned to 1981 and the Telecommunication cd for Last Summer In Rio, a tune that remains one of their best known. Coming in at a full 10 minutes or so, we opted instead for our own Café Jazz edit of the track! CD: Telecommunications (1982) Label: Milestone Records Site: Azymuth ; Azymuth's Space |
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Surgical
Spirit - East West Connection: Formed in the UK around 1994 or thereabouts, East West Connection brought together two of the brain-thrusts on the London underground scene. DJ and presenter Dr. Bob Jones, who lectures on Black American music, came from the city's East side, while Lofty, long time main man for the Flying Records store in Soho, represented the west. With the inclusion in '96 of keyboardist Neil Cowley, formerly of the Brand New Heavies and later of Down To The Bone, the "connection" was complete. They released their debut in 2000 with the cd The More I Get. From that effort, we selected the quizzically titled Surgical Spirit! And as a bit of a footnote, a big time Café Jazz shout-out to Neil Cowley - even though he took a bit of a back seat for the band's second album as he puts it, Neil helped immeasurably by contributing much of the band bio info for this article! CD: The More I Get ... (2000) Label: Chillifunk Records / Internal Bass Records |
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| After Hours ~ Exclusive to our Site and Select Affiliates : |
| Dream Your Dream … the fourth and final installment in a four-part series, wherein every selection has 'dream' in its title. This time we're calling it Dream Your Dream based on a long-time favourite by Duncan Millar and that'll be coming up in the first set - moreover it'll be dreams and nothing but with selections such as Only in My Dreams, Out of a Dream, and Dreamwalk. At the start, we have Doc Powell and then in addition to Duncan Millar, there's Hadley Hockensmith, and Warren Hill. The middle frame opens with Patrick Yandall - that's followed by Bill Evans, Gerald Veasley, and Najee. While in the end, it's Acoustic Alchemy, Dan Siegel, Peter White, and Ken Navarro! |
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