Showcase CD
North End Soul - Vincent Ingala:
Now
here's a major blip on our smooth jazz radar! Although still in
high school, Vincent Ingala is a 17 year-old who displays a musical
maturity well beyond his years. Since starting on drums when he
was 4, Ingala has gone on to add guitar, keys, and sax. The latter
has become his primary vehicle, although he can play 4 different
instruments in all as well as handling vocals. Based in Waterbury
Connecticut, Ingala is an honour student who's a member of both
the school concert and jazz bands. In addition to the increasing
demands of his solo schedule, which included a recent invitation
to appear at the Vegas Hilton, Ingala occasionally sits in with
different ensembles to help broaden his spectrum and to remain
current; meanwhile he still finds time to perform at charity events
and local fundraisers. |
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long ago, Ingala was awarded a scholarship to a summer jazz program
at the prestigious Eastman School of Music while he also won a 1st
place jazz award for his school division. One of his proudest moments
came when he opened for Dave Koz and now with his debut entitled
North End Soul, to reflect growing up on the north side of the city,
Ingala is poised to become the next big break-thru performer in
the genre! |
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Vincent Ingala - promo shot
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On
the album, Vin clues us in right off - he's a prodigy as he not
only handles all instrumentation, he produced, recorded, and mixed
the project while penning 6 of its tracks. Meanwhile, with the influence
of Richard Elliot, Euge Groove, and other top sax players prevalent
on many of the tracks, this cd is as good as anything that's out
there! Therefore it's with pleasure that we present Vincent Ingala
as the subject of the spotlight segment. First up, It Is What It
Is followed by Free to Groove at the top of hour 2, a pair of tunes
upon which Ingala ably demonstrates his grasp of the groove! Finally
disco lives! We have Vin's great read on the old MFSB classic called
K-Jee from the 1977 film Saturday Night Fever. So that moving object
on our screen … why it's Vincent Ingala, an artist whose trajectory
indicates he's destined for greatness!
CD: North End Soul (2010)
Label: V-Sound Entertainment
Links: 
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| Fresh Trax: Part One |
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She Loves the Water - Cal Harris, Jr.:
As
the son of a Grammy-nominated sound engineer, Cal Harris Jr. had his earliest
exposure to music while wandering the renowned LA Motown Studios. He went
on to become an accomplished programmer, engineer, and keyboardist in
his own right having worked with many of the giants in the industry such
as Earth Wind and Fire, Whitney Houston, and Prince. Now, after over a
decade of working behind the scenes, Harris felt the time was right to
step into the limelight with his own release and reveal his passion for
playing and composing. The debut titled Inside Out features Harris's dynamic
collaborations with some of LA's most gifted musicians and from that release
we have a gem called She Loves the Water!
CD: Inside Out (2010)
Label: CHI International Music
Links: 
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Warm
- Brad Rambur:
Based
in San Diego California, saxman Brad Rambur had long felt the need to
communicate thru his music. He found the thought of performing in the
studio surrounded by equipment a bit of a challenge but after connecting
with Eric Marienthal, Rambur received the encouragement he needed for
his debut. For the project, the two-time Grammy winning Marienthal enlisted
the talents of Jeff Lorber and with that, the process began. Featuring
compositions by Lorber and Marienthal, Can't Put It Down is a blend of
jazz, funk, and blues - five tracks were studio dates while the other
five were recorded live. From that effort, we have the opening cut, a
toasty but tasty tune called Warm!
CD: Can't Put It Down (2010)
Label: Brad Rambur
Links: 
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| Fresh Trax: Part Two |
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Peace Song - Gabriel:
In what
is quickly approaching a 30-year solo career, Gabriel Mark Hasselbach
continues to set the standard on the Canadian contemporary scene. Gabriel
is an award winning multi instrumentalist well versed on a variety of
apparata - among these are trumpet, flute, flugelhorn, valve trombone,
and digital wind instruments. He's issued over a dozen projects under
his own name, while he's had a hand in many other releases as a player
or producer. In addition to gaining recognition as a Juno award winner,
Gabriel has received numerous accolades - most recently there have been
a string of nods from the Canadian Smooth Jazz / Wave Awards. As a matter
of fact, the shrink wrap was barely off the disc for his latest entitled
Told Ya So when he was named a double nominee for Album of the Year and
as Instrumentalist of the Year. From that very cd we present the island
flavoured Peace Song with Gabe doubling on trumpet & flute!
CD: Told Ya So! (2010)
Label: Wind Tunnel Records
Links: 
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Midnight Groove - Nate Najar:
Nate
Najar picked up his first guitar at around the age 9 or 10. With a background
in classical musical, and a love for R&B, Soul, Gospel, Jazz, Latin and
other styles, Najar considers himself a product of his many passions.
He developed a taste for the nylon string acoustic, and dating back to
2002, he's issued a series of mainly straight ahead releases. Nonetheless
the St. Pete's Florida native grew up a hardcore fan of instrumental groove
music, and he adopted a funkier edge to his playing when he added the
electric guitar to his repertoire. In the past few years he's performed
regularly with some of today's top names - among them Eric Darius, Jackiem
Joyner, Brian Simpson and Marion Meadows. This prompted Najar's own move
to that arena. In 2009, he issued Until Now, his smooth jazz debut and
fourth release overall, and its success has sparked a follow up in that
vein. From the recently issued Groove Me EP, we have the lush bluesy vibe
of Midnight Groove!
EP: Groove Me (2010)
Label: Woodward Avenue Records
Links:
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Candleglow - Darren Motamedy:
Since
the late 80s, Darren Motamedy has been a mover & shaker on the Sea-Tac
music scene. After a pair of releases as one-half of the duo Mottoretti,
Motamedy released his solo debut in 1994. In the time since, he's worked
with John Raymond, Tony Gable & 206, and many other notables in the region,
while a few years back he also took part in the pH7 project fronted by
Dean Krippaehne and Erik Hall. Additionally, Motamedy has played countless
gigs and done loads of sessions as well as recording several more well-received
albums. After years of tearing up the Emerald City and its surrounding
area, Darren recently relocated to The City of Lights, Las Vegas. Now
it appears Motamedy is none the worse for wear from the change in venue
- at least judging by Gruv' Horn, his just issued cd. From that effort
we have the upscale sounds of Candleglow battening down the Fresh Trax
feature!
CD: Gruv' Horn (2010)
Label: Mashhad Music
Links: 
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| After Hours ~ Exclusive to our
Site and Select Affiliates : |
| … here we go with the 6th and final installment in what
has come to be known as our roadway series. Cued are a dozen selections
– each is connected to or named for some form of byway - be it 59th Street
or Lakeshore Drive, The Road Less Travelled or Shoreline Highway. In addition
we have Alligator Alley by Gregg Karukas and Trail of Tears by Fattburger,
the latter being the tune for which we named the feature. But this final
leg in the journey begins at the Crossroads and that's from Marc Antoine!
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