Nils Showcased; with Nicholas Cole, Shilts, Marc Antoine, Michael Fair, & Bahama Soul Club; After Hours

Your Knight Without Armour!
This Week at CaféJazz.ca

October 24th, 2010
Edition #587 Previously

This Week at CafeJazz.ca:
… Nils takes center stage - the new one is What the Funk? and that'll be the spotlight cd on the showcase segment. The Fresh Trax feature follows in hour 2 with our usual cutting-edge blend of new music. The header for this show has Shilts and Marc Antoine! Also appearing are Michael Fair and Bahama Soul Club, while debuting is Nicholas Cole. Later in the same hour we have Peter White and Tony Guerrero - there's music by Steve Allee, plus Tom Saviano and Thom Rotella team on a track from year 20-00. But the lead off number is by Steve Laury - we play this one right around this time every year when all things in nature seem to be in perfect harmony. The tune is called October and it's the curtain raising track!

In This Issue:

SHOWCASE CD :
What The Funk? - Nils

FRESH TRAX :
Crank It Up - Nicholas Cole
5 O'clock in Rio - Shilts
Dreamer - Marc Antoine
Danza Del Verano - Michael Fair
King's Wig - Bahama Soul Club

AFTER HOURS : Wherever The Tide ...
PLAYLIST:

Showcase CD
What The Funk? - Nils:
He recorded the most played track for the past decade in Pacific Coast Highway and now Nils is back with a new one called What the Funk? After relocating to the US in the mid-80s, Nils set up shop in Southern California and over the years he made inroads composing for film & TV, teaching guitar, and sessioning as a rhythm guitarist. 1998 proved a busy & watershed year with Nils appearing on George Benson's Standing Together cd. He was also enlisted by ace producer Paul Brown for releases by Gabriela Anders (Wanting) and Rick Braun (Full Stride); additionally he issued his own Blue Planet debut. In spite of a lag of several years between releases, or perhaps because of it, Nils was allowed the luxury of experimenting with and fine tuning his sound - the result was the mammothly successful PCH cd. Now with several more #1 hits to his credit plus a best guitarist nomination at the 2010 American Smooth Jazz Awards, Nils has upped the ante with WTF, his fourth on the Baja record label and his 5th overall.

Nils

The title of this latest project clues you in right off - this effort is rife with soulful riffs and full of danceable grooves. So it that Nils find himself the center of attention as the focal point for our spotlight feature. And to begin, we're boosting our battery with Jump Start, the lead single. On the softer side, the romantic Shine Your Light On Me leads us into hour 2, while Dance With Me provides the finishing spin! Packed with power & energy while tenderly stating affection and care, Nils' What The Funk? is highly charged and a funk-lover's fiesta!

CD: What The Funk? (2010)
Label: Baja Records
Links:

Fresh Trax: Part One
	Crank It Up - Nicholas Cole: Like many other smooth jazz artists of the day, keyboardist Nicholas Cole got his start in music by playing in his church, an activity that he stills enjoys. His greatest inspirations have come from gospel as well as from jazz, but Cole's musical expression has been enhanced by exposure to a wide range of styles. A Journey of One is his debut and a project upon which Cole's musical maturity belies his years. From that cd we've selected the aptly titled Crank It Up! CD: A Journey of One (2010) Label: Independent Links:
	5 O'clock in Rio - Shilts: Hailing from London England, Paul "Shilts" Weimar has been playing sax since his early teens. At 15, he joined the National Youth Jazz Orchestra and that's where he first got a taste for a life in music. In 1994, he was invited to become a member of the British soul funk band The Brand New Heavies and from there he went as the front man for Stuart Wade's Down To The Bone - a nice gig that lasted over a decade. Nonetheless, during his career Shilts has played jazz in a variety of forms as well as soul and pop having toured and recorded with international stars such as David Bowie, Mel Tormé, and The Temptations, to name but a few. With his solo debut Shilts garnered consideration for the best new artist in smooth jazz and in the time since he's worked hard at establishing his solo presence thru records and live appearances. Going Underground is now his 4th and latest and features contributions by Rick Braun, Nick Colionne, Ricky Peterson, Marc Antoine, & Brian Simpson. From that release we have the samba flavoured 5 O'clock in Rio! CD: Going Underground (2010) Label: Blanket Records Links:

Fresh Trax: Part Two
	Dreamer - Marc Antoine: Growing up in Paris, Marc Antoine began guitar when he was 11 and he underwent formal training at the International School of Classical Guitar. When he was 16, Marc won a scholarship to the Conservatory of Music - attending by day, he jammed at clubs late into the night! An accident in 1981 nearly ended Antoine's career when he severed tendons in his left wrist. What followed were three long and painful years of rehab and practice, but by 1984 at the age of 22, he was back on the Parisian circuit! After a stint in London during which he toured with Basia, Antoine moved to LA in the early 90s. There he recorded his critically acclaimed Classical Soul debut and he's since become a mainstay of the smooth jazz genre. Just issued is My Classical Way, Antoine's 10th cd and his first since the Foreign Xchange collaboration with Paul Brown. Now residing in Madrid, with this new album Antoine revisits that period earlier on when he was studying in Paris. From an effort upon which he re-defines his position as guitarist, we have a track called Dreamer and Marc's spin on a theme from Reverie, the Claude Debussy composition written over a century ago! CD: My Classical Way (2010) Label: Frazzy Frog Music Links:
	Danza Del Verano - Michael Fair: Nashville trumpet & flugelhorn player Michael Fair, and Grammy nominated writer/producer Brandon Barnes, once again combine their talents on the cd titled Funk in the Trunk. The two connected back in 1995 and this current release is now their 4th joint effort. As with their previous collaborations, this project is impeccably produced and presents a variety of styles from hard driving funk to beautiful ballads. From this latest offering, we have an upbeat Latin groover called Danza Del Verano, translating to Summer Dance! CD: Funk in the Trunk (2010) Label: Michael Fair Music Links:
	King's Wig - Bahama Soul Club: The main man behind the sound of the Bahama Soul Club is Oliver Belz. A 30-year veteran of the German music scene, Belz began as a drummer, but over the years his purview grew to include composing, engineering, and producing. In 2006, The Latin-tinged rhythms of The Juju Orchestra presented the first incarnation of his musical vision. Then a couple of years later, that view morphed into The Bahama Soul Club and the debut release. Indicative of the rich bouillon served by Belz and his cohorts, the track But Rich Rhythms did a bit of ocean hopping and debuted on our own hip but humble show back in February of '09. Now the latest stage in the evolution of the concept is Bossa Nova Just Smells Funky and the second in the BSC series. As described in a review by Craig Charles, "There is something quite unique and mesmerizing about the sound of The Bahama Soul Club, it is a gumbo in the best sense of the word, throwing in Bossa, Soul, Afro-Latin, and Jazz all into the pot and coming up with a sound that is both immediate, timeless, and above all has the sun shining through every single tune." From that cd, we have the neo-retro soul and jazzy opening cut called "King's Wig"! CD: Bossa Nova Just Smells Funky (2010) Label: Buyú Links:

After Hours ~ Exclusive to our Site and Select Affiliates :

Wherever The Tide Takes Us: The theme for this installment falls under the banner of Wherever The Tide Takes Us after a tune by Billy Eric! From the opening tracks in Take Another Look and Take Me There to the closing selections in Take Me With You and Take Me Back to Rio, each and every tune on this show is guaranteed to take you away!

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