Showcase CD
South Beach - Brian Simpson:
Keyboardist
Brian Simpson continues creating albums that rate a solid 10 on
the Café Jazz wow factor! South Beach is a trendy section of Miami
Beach, and now it's also the name of Simpson's latest cd - the 4th
in his catalogue and likely Brian's most accomplished effort to
date. Every night of the week, SoBe becomes a major entertainment
destination and that milieu provided the inspiration for the project!
Growing up in Gurnee, Illinois, north of Chicago, Simpson was exposed
to jazz thru his father's record collection and early on, he became
a confirmed jazzman. Picking up piano when he was 10, Oscar Peterson
was his first and greatest influence and, after graduating from
Northern Illinois University, Simpson moved to LA where he quickly
became a part of that city's vibrant jazz scene. However, his musical
journey took a detour when in quick succession he found himself
touring with Teena Marie, Sheena Easton, and Janet Jackson. |
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to put a new spin on an old saying, you can take the man out of
jazz but you can't take the jazz out of the man. In due course,
Simpson gravitated to the genre that loves, performing with many
of the greats on the contemporary scene, such as George Duke & Larry
Carlton. Meanwhile his own record career just naturally veered in
that direction. Simpson released his solo debut in 1995, but for
over a decade he's been a member of Dave Koz's tour band and for
most of that he's also been Koz's musical director. 2005 saw a resurgence
in Simpson solo career with It's All Good, an overdue follow-up
and one of the finest releases for the year! Then in 2007 we were
floored by Above the Clouds, a cd that surged to #3 on our in house
list of favourites. Now subsequent to a well-deserved nomination
as keyboardist of the year for the upcoming ASJA, comes an album
with the full potential to be a chart-buster! |
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Reflecting upon the release Brian shares the following, "While working
on South Beach in my studio I often stepped back to a corner of
the room and closed my eyes, as if listening for the first time,
to see if the music compelled an emotion. I truly hope the listener
can feel the love and care that all of the musicians contributed
to the recording." Perfectly complementing Simpson's glistening
keys is Steve Alaniz on sax - actually Steve appears on each of
the three tracks we've selected starting with All I Want Is You.
Peter White guests on Never Without You, a gorgeous piece that Brian
dedicates to his daughter Shawndra and that's at the top of hour
2. Finally, there's some tasty soloing from Brian, Steve, and Yarone
Levy on guitar on the tune Our Love, an outstanding selection! Passionate
yet gentle, reflective, and caring, this is one slick cd! Brian
Simpson's South Beach is an exhilarating listen that's filled with
tender exquisite moments - they really don't come any finer!
CD: South Beach (2010)
Label: Shanachie Records
Links: 
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| Back Trax: Part One |
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Midnight Rendezvous - Gil Parris:
After
briefly attending Berklee in Boston, Gil Parris toured Europe as part
of a musical troupe. Then immersing himself on the New York session scene,
he made a name for himself playing with the likes of David Sanborn and
Bob James, and in the early 90s he appeared on records by Cissy Houston
and Syndicate of Soul. Transcending classification, Parris has issued
releases across rock, blues, jazz and pop and he's been Grammy nominated.
Additionally, his technique & style have been described as "breathtaking",
"mind-boggling", and "an absolute monster of the guitar"! In 1998, Parris'
"smashing debut" made inroads on the smooth jazz arena and from it we
have the tune that garnered him some great exposure!
CD: Gil Parris (1998)
Label: RCA Victor
Links:
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Southwest Latitude - Larry Ellis, Jr.:
With
a grandfather who was a musician, Larry Ellis began taking piano lessons
when he was six. He learned chords and theory, and from there on in, it
was jazz all the way. Herbie Hancock, Billy Cobham, and others of the
day, were early favourites and highly influential, so that in time Ellis
felt moved to record on his own. His initial effort in 1996 proved a learning
experience but it did enable Larry to begin opening for major acts. A
couple of years later Ellis recorded again, this time it was a cd called
Impressions that received national airplay. More recently, that album
was re-issued together with a current effort. Now on this occasion, we're
turning back the hands of time and revisiting Impressions for Southwest
Latitude, the opening track on the disc. A rhythmic & catchy melody, this
is one is further enhanced by a sweet refrain featuring Larry on keys
and Ed Simentel on sax! In recognition of these efforts, in June of this
year, Larry received BMA "Sounds Of Soul" Music Awards for Best Jazz Musician
and Best Jazz Band!
CD: Impressions (1999)
Label: Ivory Market Records
Links:
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| Back Trax: Part Two |
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Brazilian Sunrise
- Michael Fair:
Based
in Nashville TN, trumpet & flugelhorn player Michael Fair might be considered
a bit of an anomaly. Fair took up the trumpet at the age of 12 and began
playing along to the Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass records that his
parents were listening to. He earned a Bachelors of Music from Middle
Tennessee State University in 1979 and, in addition to his session work,
backed many of the top performers appearing in Music City USA. Over the
past 20 years, the Nashville native has been playing and recording smooth
jazz in a city that's much better known for its country and Christian
music scene. Back in 1995, Fair connected with Brandon Barnes, a recipient
of numerous songwriting awards and over the years they've collaborated
on 3 well-received projects. From How Close are We and the second of these,
we have the mellifluous tones of Brazilian Sunrise! This is the quintessence
of smooth jazz and definitely a project and artist deserving of much broader
recognition!
CD: How Close Are We? (2004)
Label: Captain Flugel
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The Low Spark of High Heeled Boys
- Traffic:
Steve
Winwood had already enjoyed success as a 15 year old front man for the
Spencer Davis Group when he connected with Jim Capaldi, Dave Mason, and
Chris Wood to form the band Traffic in 1967. Although Traffic emerged
during the heyday of psychedelic rock, the four man combo incorporated
unusual instrumentation, improvisation, and elements of jazz. A creative
but stormy relationship ended with Mason eventually leaving and the remaining
members disbanding in 1969 before making any further records. For a time
Winwood joined the super group Blind Faith before enlisting the aid of
Capaldi and Wood for a solo project - in due course that effort, John
Barleycorn Must Die, was issued as a Traffic reunion cd. An expanded line
up appeared on the follow up in The Low Spark of High Heeled Boys released
in 1971. Supplementing the sound of the core Traffic trio were Jim Gordon,
Rick Grech, and Rebop Kwaku Baah; the latter two passed in 1990 and 1983
respectively. From that effort we present a 12-minute anthem of the era
in the kaleidoscopic title track!
CD: The Low Spark of High Heeled
Boys (1971)
Label: Island
Links: 
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Os
Grilos (Crickets Sing For Anamaria) - Deodato :
Hailing
from Rio de Janeiro, Eumir Deodato was musically self-taught. He learned
quickly; he started on accordion when he was 12 and then moved on to
piano - by 17 he had taken part in his first record session while also
developing his skills as an arranger. Playing Rio's Bossa Nova scene,
in the late 50s and early 60s, he worked with many of Brazil's finest
- including Marcos Valle. With Valle as the composer and with Deodato
playing various keys and arranging, they formed a creative tour de force!
Deodato's credentials were already well established when he relocated
to the US in 1967 during the military dictatorship in his country and
it's there that his career sky-rocketed. He wrote for Frank Sinatra,
Roberta Flack and many others but his best known project was Prelude
his initial US release in 1973 that contained a funky arrangement of
Also Sprach Zarathustra the Theme from 2001: A Space Odyssey for which
he won a Grammy. Since that time, Deodato has been much in demand as
a producer and arranger - he's worked on over 500 albums with 15 of
them reaching platinum status. This time we return to a period early
in his career. From the compilation Summer Samba: Eumir Deodato plays
Marcos Valle we had the tune Crickets Sing For Anamaria first issued
way back in 1965!
LP: Ataque (1965)
CD: Summer Samba: Eumir Deodato plays Marcos Valle (2002)
Label: Irma Casa Di Primord
Links:
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| After Hours ~ Exclusive to our
Site and Select Affiliates : |
| … on tap for this edition are 14 tracks - each
has a day of the week in its title on a feature called, This Hour Has
14 Days. For some reason, the week days don't seem to be quite as well
represented as the weekend - so over half the show is devoted to just
those two days alone. Artists appearing include: Everette Harp, The Rippingtons,
Tim Bowman, Steve Cole, David Wells, Patrick Yandall, Joe McBride, & Jay
Soto as well as 6 others! |
