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This Week at CaféJazz.ca

May 10th, 2009
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This Week at CafeJazz.ca ...
... we're spotlighting So Far From Home by Torcuato Mariano - we've cued three exceptional selections and those'll be featured on the showcase segment. Stay tuned for Fresh Trax in the second hour for all the latest and best in new music. Included on this edition are Paul Hardcastle and Jay Soto. Jack Prybylski is on the show, making his Café Jazz debut is keyboardist Brian Kelly, while the British soul-funk-unit in Stuart Wade's Down To The Bone rounds out the set. Then later in the hour, we're trippin' down memory lane - this time that includes Rick Braun and Chicago's Bass X. As well, there's Ken Navarro and the man calling himself Doc City - while casually sprinkled thruout there's a glitzy collection with the likes of Marion Meadows, Oli Silk, Gregg Karukas, Patrick Yandall, Philippe Saisse, Althea René, The Benoit-Freeman Project, Eric Marienthal, Joyce Cooling, and Brian Culbertson!
In This Issue:

SHOWCASE CD :
So Far From ... - Torcuato Mariano

FRESH TRAX :
Ice Cream - Jack Prybylski
Smiling South - Brian Kelly
Bayou Blues - Jay Soto
The Circle - Paul Hardcastle
Future Boogie - Down To The Bone

AFTER HOURS :
Feature - In The Full Moon Light
SPINLIST: Spinlist

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Showcase CD
So Far From Home - Torcuato Mariano:

Argentine-born Torcuato Mariano grew up listening to the music of his native land but in his youth he was also influenced by many American artists such as Santana and Stevie Wonder. When he was just 14, Mariano moved from Buenos Aires to Rio de Janeiro and spurred by that vibrant scene, he went on to win the Sharp Prize (equivalent to a Grammy) as Best Pop Composer. Soon after, Mariano's focus turned to jazz - he spent several years as a sought after sessionist and he then went on to perform and record with greats such as Djavan and Leo Gandelman, as well as touring with Ivan Lins and doing sessions with Sergio Mendes. It was in the early to mid 90's that Mariano first moved to establishing a solo career. Both his '94 Paradise Station debut and its follow up faired well with the sophomore Last Look cd, reaching the year-end top 30 in the USA while the single, Ocean Way, placed in the top 20 songs for 1995!

Torcuato Mariano - So Far From Home
In spite of these successes, Mariano opted to become head of A&R for a major label back in his adopted homeland of Brazil. However, after a several year hiatus, he signed to 215 Records and resurrected his solo career in 2004. Now with a couple more well-received and critically acclaimed albums to his credit, Mariano is well into this newest phase of his career, having just issued So Far from Home, his NuGroove debut and fifth overall. Word on the street has it (and we couldn't agree more) this may well be Mariano's most solid effort to date! As such, it's indeed a privilege to present Torcuato Mariano and So Far From Home as the focal point for the spotlight feature!
Torcuato Mariano Photo courtesy of Torcuato Mariano MySpace
We've chosen a trio of exceptional selections - beginning with the track Ipanema Sunset upon which Mariano displays the richness of his Brazilian heritage! The nostalgic vibe of New World opens the second half of the show, while citing the legendary Jeff Beck as a primary influence, Torcuato emulates his hero on Back To The Road - a real attention grabber! With flavours of jazz laced with bits of fusion, Latin, pop, and the sounds of Brazil, Torcuato Mariano provides a melodic & heart-felt reflection of his career and ample evidence that he's among the elite of today's guitarists!

CD: So Far From Home (2009)
Label: nuGroove Records
Links:

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Fresh Trax: Part One
Jack Prybylski
Ice Cream - Jack Prybylski:
Based in Buffalo NY, Jack Prybylski graduated from SUNYAB and with over a decade as a teacher and player, he's been a part of several releases. Seven were as a member of the eclectic Them Jazzbeards while as lead man he debuted in 2001. More recently, his Window Shopping sophomore effort produced by Ken Navarro, hit the charts. Now with a few more years to further refine an already sweet sound, the ten-time Buffalo Music Awards winner as Top Saxophonist has teamed with Four80East - due for release later in the year that project may well be 'the breakthru effort for 2009'. From that forthcoming and as of yet untitled cd, we have the lead single!

CD: Radio Single (2009)
Label: Sushan Music
Links:
Brian Kelly - Afterplay
Smiling South - Brian Kelly:
Born in New York City and raised in Palo Alto, California, Brian Kelly began piano at age 8. At 10, the Beatles Abbey Road and Beethoven's First Piano Concerto helped in moulding his musical preferences. Early experiences as a stage actor and four years singing in an a cappella group, served to further form a rich creative style. After studying composition at Hampshire College and jazz piano with Art Lande, Kelly won recognition from Keyboard Magazine for one of his original compositions. Now residing in the San Francisco Bay Area, Kelly received a New Age Reporter nomination as Artist of the Year for his 2005 debut. Issued just last year Afterplay is Kelly's sophomore release that steers into contemporary jazz and from it, we have an upbeat and highly melodic tune in Smiling South!

CD: Afterplay (2008)
Label: SkyLight Music
Links:

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Fresh Trax: Part Two
Jay Soto - Mesmerized
Bayou Blues - Jay Soto:
At age 36, guitarist Jay Soto is just beginning to live the life he's dreamed! After gaining some valuable experience with the Christian group Vessel and with the acclaimed Latin group Zum Zum Zum, in 2004, he came within an eyelash of winning Guitar Center's "Guitarmageddon" competition. That proved a game changer as since then, Jay's career has steadily accelerated. Soto got his foot in the door with Long Time Coming, his smooth jazz debut released the following year, and then a couple of years later, that door swung wide open with the release of Stay Awhile, Jay's sophomore cd. With the latter project, Soto landed a NuGroove Records deal while spinning off the #2 smooth jazz hit for the year in the tune Slammin'. In addition to having toured, recorded with and/or opened for many top acts such as The Rippingtons, Jeff Lorber, Acoustic Alchemy, and others for the past two years or so, in the interim Soto became a first time father! Finally able to get back into the studio, Jay's just issued Mesmerized, a title that in many ways very nicely conveys our state of being while listening to Mr. Soto! From that effort, we've selected the deliciously swampy sounds of Bayou Blues!

CD: Mesmerized (2009)
Label: NuGroove Records
Links:
Paul Hardcastle - The Collection
The Circle - Paul Hardcastle:
Since bursting onto the smooth scene in 1991, Paul Hardcastle has emerged as one of the most successful and most prolific artists in the genre. Having issued a lengthy string of well-received releases under monikers such as The Jazzmasters and Kiss the Sky as well as under his own name, Hardcastle has earned countless accolades while racking up #1 hit singles as though they were going out of style. Although there have been a variety of compilations issued over the years chronicling a career that's quickly becoming legendary, the most recent in series simply entitled The Collection, may very well be among the best. From that same effort due for release in scant days from now, we have the here to for previously unrecorded The Circle and a track that may well prove to be yet another #1 selection for one of the most potent players in the game! Paul Hardcastle Then & Now Spotlight Feature - Ed#380 October 16th, 2005

CD: The Collection (2009)
Label: Trippin 'n' Rhythm Records
Links: Fan Sites:
Down To The Bone - Future Boogie
Future Boogie - Down To The Bone:
Stuart Wade and Down To The Bone celebrated the milestone of their first decade a couple of years back and they're now set to embark on the newest phase in their career. With the departure of longtime front man for the live act in Paul 'Shilts' Weimar one album ago, Britain's premier soul-funk unit is back and sounding as cohesive as ever with a slightly revamped line-up. Mainstays in the current configuration are holdovers Neil Angilley on keys and Tony Remy on guitar as well as Julian Crampton on bass. Additionally, there's a horn section that's been described as 'code red' consisting of James Knight (alto sax), Tim Smart (trombone), and Pablo Mendelssohn (trumpet). Future Boogie is the latest and first on the Shanachie label and a project that Wade describes as an "eclectic mix of tracks … from straight ahead funk to summer time soul". From that effort, now their eight overall to along with one "best of", we have the kinetic title track!

CD: Future Boogie (2009)
Label: Shanachie Ent.Corp.
Links:

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After Hours ~ Exclusive to our Site and Select Affiliates :
In The Full Moon Light ... on this episode we're eclipsing a show from two shows ago wherein we went lunar. Therefore, this is the second and final chapter in a two-part series as each of our spin selections has either the word moon or moonlight in its title - we're calling it In The Full Moon Light. So stay tuned for tracks such as Lady of the Moon, Moonlight Montreal, and Bridge Over The Moon, with 13 tunes dedicated to that mystical orb of the night. We have Steve Oliver opening the show and he's backed by Swiss harpist Andreas Vollenweider as well as Eric Marienthal and Kim Pensyl. Thom Rotella kicks off set #2 and we continue with The Jazzmasters and 3rd Force who provide the track for which this segment was named. Then as well, there's Jeff Kashiwa and Peter Kater. The closing set has Peter White and Spyro Gyra in addition to the band Shikandaza - while in the end it's Matt Marshak. So, as evening begins to creep over the land there's a slight glimmer of light on the horizon with Steve Oliver's Shadow of the Moon on this In The Full Moon Light special!

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