Showcase CD
Island of a Thousand Dreams - Chris Geith:
Chris
Geith started on piano when he was six, and after classical music
and jazz, he branched into mood and groove, as well R&B. Geith
earned a Master's degree from the Manhattan School of Music, and
then in 1995 he gained key recognition as the recipient of a Keyboard
Magazine award. The 2000 Prime Time release, his 3rd album, made
Geith one of the most downloaded artists in the history of the
old mp3.com site. He then went on to issue Timeless World, and
a project that climbed to the #2 spot on the list of Café Jazz
favourites for all of 2008. In the interim, Geith was very active.
His compositions were featured on network TV and he produced commercials
for several high profile clients. Additionally, he performed at
top venues such as the Birdland Jazz Club and the Apollo Theatre,
both in New York City, while appearing at a number of international
festivals! Meanwhile in 2002 he recorded Window on the World,
a project which remains unreleased. However, fortunate for us,
most of the music was redone, rerecorded, and ended up on Chris's
current effort in Island of a Thousand Dreams! |
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now following on the momentum he built with Timeless World, Chris
is back with that very release and a cd that blends new age, smooth
jazz, and classical influences. Good things continue to happen to
Mr. Geith as right out of the box this project has been a top seller
for several months with several tracks earmarked for play on The
Weather Channel where Geith has earned the status of a perennial
favourite! |
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Chris Geith...promo shot
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It's therefore with a measure of satisfaction that we direct the
Café Jazz spotlight at Chris and Island of a Thousand Dreams as
the focal point for the showcase segment. For the ice breaking track
we have Once in a Lifetime and a tune which well illustrates that
Geith has made substantive stylistic gains over the years. On The
Mirror of Happiness, Chris demonstrates his classical training,
while Coastal Daydreaming is the upbeat show closer. So come along
as we sail away to Chris Geith's Island of a Thousand Dreams - it's
a place where your musical fantasies will soon be fulfilled!
CD: Island of a Thousand
Dreams (2010)
Label: Timeless World Productions
Links: 
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| Back Trax: Part One |
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Aula de Matemática - Paul Winter
& Oscar Castro-Neves:
Hailing
from Rio de Janeiro in Brazil, Oscar Castro-Neves emerged in the early
'60s as one of the founding figures in the movement that became known
as Bossa Nova. His first song recorded at 16 became a national hit and
in 1962, he helped lead the Bossa Nova invasion of the U.S. Subsequently,
Castro-Neves went on to record historic albums with some of the biggest
names in music. For his part, Paul Winter was 17 when he embarked on his
first professional tour. In the early '60s, Winter formed a jazz sextet
which the U.S. State Department sent on a six-month stint of 23 Latin
America countries. The junket affected Winter deeply. For a good part
of the mid-60s, he made Brazil a second home - he assimilated the musical
culture and recorded several albums. Each has credentials much too lengthy
to mention here. Having worked together on several occasions during various
stages in their careers, the 1998 Brazilian Days release was a reunion
for effort from two gifted and well-traveled musicians and featured interpretations
of many bossa nova favourites. From that cd we have Aula de Matemática
translating to A Mathematics Lesson. Now having taught Math for the past
37 years, this tune is nothing short of a natural for us!
CD: Brazilian Days (1998)
Label: Living Music
Links: 
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Sky Islands - Rodney Lee:
Rodney
Lee spent a few years designing circuits for Bell Labs after graduating
with a Bachelors and a Masters in Electrical Engineering. Nevertheless,
with a background in classical and jazz piano he relocated to LA in the
90s to pursue a career in music. In 1994, he began a five-year stint with
the group B-Sharp and then a couple of years later, Lee teamed with Chris
Standring to release a project entitled Solar System. The pair has continued
to collaborate with Lee co-producing Standring's break-thru debut and
subsequent projects. Additionally, Rodney has scored for film and TV;
he's backed the likes of El DeBarge, Marc Antoine, Mindi Abair and others
- all while releasing several projects on his own. The Satellite Orchestra
released in 2006 was Lee's journey into what he terms as jazz-tronica
and from it we have the track Sky Islands!
CD: The Satellite Orchestra
(2006)
Label: Innocent Bystander Records
Links:
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| Back Trax: Part Two |
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While It's Good
- Joe Sample and The Soul Committee:
Houston
native Joe Sample started out playing hard bop but he veered in the direction
of electric during the days of fusion. In the late 50s, Sample helped
found The Jazz Crusaders, who garnered numerous awards over the course
of nearly three decades thru to 1987. Concurrently, Sample launched a
successful solo career staring in 1978 and had several top-selling records.
In 1994, Sample led a one-off all-star gathering billed as The Soul Committee.
Featuring A-listers such as Oscar Brashear on trumpet, Lenny Castro on
percussion, Steve Gadd on drums, Michael Landau on guitar, and Ready Freddie
Washington on bass, the project presented a slightly more assertive approach
than Sample had employed on many of his solo efforts. From the album cleverly
titled Did You Feel That? (following the big LA Northridge quake of '94)
we have the after-the-shaking-had-stopped relative calm of While It's
Good with Joel Peskin on sax!
CD: Did You Feel That? (1994)
Label: Warner Bros.Records
Links: 
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Wey U
- Chanté Moore:
Chanté
Moore was born to a gospel minister and grew up singing in her church.
She decided to pursue a career in music while in high school and at age
twenty-two, she signed a record deal. Moore debuted in 1992 and then a
few years later, she appeared on the soundtrack for the film Waiting to
Exhale, which was scored by Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds. The cd spawned
4 top 10 hits, although with Moore still early in her career, she may
have been overshadowed by the likes of Whitney Houston, Brandy, Toni Braxton,
Aretha Franklin, Patti LaBelle, and Mary J. Blige. Even so, Chanté's
hypnotic vocalise set a personal high water mark for the project!
CD: Waiting to Exhale (Original
Soundtrack) (1995)
Label: Arista
Links: 
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Cielo
Bailarin - Kenny Pore :
Coming
from a musical family, Chicago native Kenny Pore left high school
at the age of 16 to pursue a career in music. He was attracted to
pop festivals around the country and eventually found himself playing
on the street-corners of San Francisco. He took a few guitar lessons
and after stops in Detroit and Dallas, he landed up in LA with a
demo project. Nobody seemed interested; so after working the midnight
shift as a hotel bellhop and sleeping in his car, he went back to
Dallas. In due course, Pore picked up a few production skills and
back in LA he booked a three hour block of studio time. Alex Acuna
was scheduled to take part in these sessions, but because of a scheduling
mix-up, Vinnie Colaiuta became a final minute replacement. So it
was that Kenny debuted in 1984.Supported by Rick Riso, Russell Ferrante,
John Patitucci, Brandon Fields, Tommy Emmanuel, Michael Landau and
others, Together As One in 1989 was Pore's 4th
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album and to date, it remains his most recent original project.
From that release, we've selected the fusiony flavours of Cielo
Bailarin or Sky Dancer, a tune that Pore reprised for the '99 compilation
Sessions Volume One!
CD: Together As One
(1989)
Label: TBA Records
Links:
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Sessions Volume One
KGP / 1999 |
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| After Hours ~ Exclusive to our
Site and Select Affiliates : |
… on the burner are 13 tracks as part of our current byway/highway
series. Each of these selections is loosely connected to the name of some
form of roadway and they’re on this Route 101 feature named after a terrific
Herb Alpert track from the early 80s. Included are Mack Avenue, Pathway
to Glory, Adderley Street and Caledonia Road, while it’s Coast Road Drive
getting us underway!  |
