This Week at CafeJazz.ca:
… on this edition
it's the band Watson's Riddle in the spotlight. Their debut is self-titled
and we'll look inside that cd with a choice sampling of selections
as part of the showcase segment. The second half of the show has
new music with the Fresh Trax feature. Headlining this edition are
Pete Gitlin and Rocco & Rahj. Bassman David Hughes is on the show
plus we have Richie Cannata and Terrence Young. But Acoustic Alchemy
is first up - their cd AArt is now fully ten years old and from
that effort we're ready to savor the favor of Senjo Wine!
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Showcase CD
Watson's Riddle - Watson's Riddle:
Watson's
Riddle is an exciting project featuring four musicians of distinction
- collectively they are among the most recorded in the history
of southern music. Giving their name to the band are guitarist
Steve Watson and drummer Paul T. Riddle, while featured on keys
is Chuck Leavell with bassist Tim Lawter rounding the combo.
Steve Watson earned a Masters of Music in Jazz Guitar from the
Frost School of Music at The University of Miami. He taught at
the school as a graduate assistant and as an adjunct professor,
and after playing with The Bruce Hornsby Band, he moved to LA
where for 10 years he worked in various studios. His credits include
TV series such as Hill Street Blues and the film Dragnet while
additionally he's backed BB King, Dolly Parton, and others. For
a time, Watson taught at USC while currently he is President of
Watson Wood Music.
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For
his part Paul T. Riddle was a founding member of the Marshal Tucker
Band, and as Buddy Rich was one of his main influences, Riddle's
jazz stylings were unique to the rock & roll stripe. In the
90's, Riddle played drums for the Allman Brothers Band and has written
for Modern Drummer Magazine on an ongoing basis. In 1996, Riddle
was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame while additionally,
he's an expert in the studio and has taught lessons, clinics, and
camps for over 25 years.
The concept for the Watson's Riddle came about when Steve was encouraged
by Douglas Appleby, M.D., a student and a friend, to create music
that was "transforming to the human soul." Watson wrote a few tunes
and eventually took the project to Riddle who brought in Chuck Leavell
and Tim Lawter. Leavell's gigs include the legendary Allman Brothers
and The Rolling Stones while Lawter is a rock-solid bassist also
formerly with Marshall Tucker. With Watson composing the 10 tracks
and Riddle producing the album, the music of Watson's Riddle melds
elements of jazz, R&B, and pop into a totally appealing mix! And
so it's now our pleasure to engage as savvy a bunch as you're likely
to find for this section of the show as the spotlight cd. |
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| Fresh Trax: Part
One |
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Dave's Song - David Hughes:
The
multitalented David Hughes was born and raised in Sweden, and studied
at the Royal College of Music in Stockholm before moving to LA. There
he attended the Bass Institute of Technology and after being named 'outstanding
student', he promptly turned around and joined the institute's teaching
faculty. In addition, Hughes has made substantial inroads in the studio
and as a live musician; his credits include the Jazz Crusaders, Chaka
Khan, and Melissa Etheridge as well as playing for film and TV. Although
he debuted as a lead man in 2003, for the most part Hughes has flown below
everyone's radar with his solo efforts as for many years he's enjoyed
a steady gig touring and recording with David Benoit! With the recent
issue of Hopeful Romantic, Hughes now has a catalogue of 4 cds to his
credit and from that release we have the aptly titled Dave's Song!
CD: Hopeful Romantic (2011)
Label: Independent
Links: 
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Lucky in Love - Pete Gitlin:
After
a lengthy hiatus from music, in 2008 Phoenix-based Pete Gitlin connected
with Turning Point drummer & producer John Herrera. Their ensuing collaboration
resulted in the release of Full Circle and The Great Temptation. Although
the project title, a combination of two track titles, was a witty play
on words, to us it held deeper meaning. It signified not only Gitlin's
full circle return to his life's passion but also a highly tempting release.
In keeping with this, we wrote the effort bode well for Gitlin and for
the genre as a whole - we're now pleased to present a sneak peak into
Pete's forthcoming release and from it we have Lucky in Love!
CD: Amplifier (2012)
Label: Coming Together Music
Links: 
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| Fresh Trax: Part Two |
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Café Jazz
- Rocco & Rahj:
The
duo of Rocco & Rahj has been a staple on Café Jazz since we turned
on to their sounds a few short months ago. Based in Indian Rocks Beach,
just outside Tampa Florida, 'the kings of beach jazz' have conceived of
a sub-genre that's all their own. Describing the style as 'old school
hot jazzy grooves - chilled with a cool island breeze of soul', they recently
completed the final mix for the forthcoming Beach Life cd and as nod to
yours truly, as we were the first to air their music, they called the
track Café. Well boys here's a big nod right back at cha - as we
debut Café Jazz by Rocco & Rahj on our hip but humble show!
CD: Beach Life (2011)
Label: House Of Hofa Records
Links: 
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Love Ballad - Terrence Young:
Based
in Columbia S.C., Terence Young continues to grow his reputation as one
of the most respected guitarist in the nation. Young has shared the stage
with everyone from En Vogue to Phil Perry and Joe Sample. He's played
guitar with the likes of Ashford and Simpson and Angie Stone just to name
a few and in addition to managing the Southeast's top party band Finesse,
Young serves as lead guitarist at the Brookland Baptist Church. Moreover,
he's recorded 6 inspirational jazz flavoured cds that display his many
talents both as a songwriter and as a musician. Love Stories released
in 2010 was the most recent, and an effort that cracked many charts. Now
we here at The Café pride ourselves on being way ahead of the wave on
all the sounds that matter, but in this instance I must admit that the
wheels came off our musical wagon! Undeterred we've re-tooled and so it's
now a pleasure to present the poetic and heart-felt Love Ballad by Terrence
Young!
CD: Love Stories (2010)
Label: Independent
Links:
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Living for the Moment
- Richie Cannata:
A member
of Billy Joel's band from 1975 to 1981, Richie Cannata was born in Brooklyn.
Growing up on Long Island, he studied classical piano and the clarinet
but he also plays flute and keys whereas the sax is his main instrument.
For ten years Cannata was a member of The Beach Boys, playing on their
records and taking part in the world concert tours. He's produced for
Phoebe Snow and Rita Coolidge; he's played for Celine Dion & Brian Wilson;
he wrote the theme music for the Barcelona Olympics, while more recently
Cannata has doubled as the musical director for The Bernie Williams Band.
His self-titled release is his debut and a project that he produced with
Julio Fernandez of Spyro-fame - from that effort chock-full of R&B and
funk we present a real nice change up in the Latin-flavored Living for
the Moment!
CD: Richie Cannata (2011)
Label: Brown Dog Records
Links:
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| After Hours ~ Exclusive to our
Site and Select Affiliates : |
... the unfolding of a concept we began 5 shows
ago. On the first edition in our cover tune series Peter White started
with a tune recorded by Jr. Walker & The All Stars. So 60 selections down
the road we're now nearing the end of the run and we've come full circle,
as today's parting track is a read on another Jr. Walker classic - from
Dave McMurray it'll be Walk in the Night. Also cued are Cindy Bradley
and Marion Meadows, there's Chuck Leavell and appearing as well are Stanley
Jordan A. Ray Fuller. With tracks ranging from pop and rock to jazz, soul
and beyond, we're calling the segment It Seems to Hang On for a Paul Hardcastle
tune - there are 12 selections with Scarborough Fair, So May It Secretly
Begin, and Oye Como Va on this the fifth installment in a multi-part feature.
And to begin it's Russ Freeman with a tune recorded as part of a tribute
to the late Grover Washington, Jr. !  |
