Peter White – In NYC July 20th

Posted on July 8, 2011 by Groov-a-holic

Smooth Jazz guitarist Peter White is one of my favorites. His soulful smooth style allows you to sink into the couch and become one with your stereo. It actually wasn’t until recently that I discovered he had performed with Al Stewart and co-wrote Stewart’s Top 10 Hit “Time Passages.” I was attracted to that song back in 1978, so it is good to know Peter White has been consistent in delivering a strong melody.

Peter White is British and in 1990, having been a backup musician for 15 years and inspired by the English group “Acoustic Alchemy”, he decided to start recording his own music and released his first CD “Reveillez-Vous”, a French title in honor of his French mother, Gilberte. It means “Wake Up”. Many other solo CDs followed, with several songs becoming No.1 hits on Smooth Jazz radio, such as “Midnight in Manhattan,” a song he recorded with one of my idols, Grover Washington Jr. You can find post on Grover Washington on this site as well.

Below is a video of “Midnight in Manhattan.”

Sadly there are not many great high quality videos of Peter White available on YouTube, something Peter’s management company may want to consider making available. But don’t let this deter you from listening to this great guitarist.

Peter White will be in NYC on July 20th playing beside saxophonist Gerald Albright (who we also wrote about) and trumpeter Rick Braun (who we will write about) on the Smooth
Jazz Cruises around Manhattan. I’ve been on these cruises, they are worth every penny.

By now this great, soulful  guitarist has played with the who’s who in the industry, including Dave Koz, Gato Barbieri, Rick Braun, Richard Elliot, Craig Chaquico, Jeff Golub, Lee Ritenour, Third Force, The Rippingtons, Kirk Whalum, Boney James and Marc
Antoine. I hope you enjoy him as much as I do.

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Major act performance in small club setting – The Dangling Success

Posted on July 4, 2011 by Groov-a-holic

SmoothJazz.com wrote that their performances were “events to behold.” Not a bad description for an upcoming act that can be caught still paying their dues in small clubs as well as at big festivals. The Dangling Success is a New York City-based group and they play throughout the NYC/Hudson Valley region regularly while also traveling to perform at events like the Hartford International Jazz Festival in CT, and to festivals in Maryland and New Jersey. I have a feeling you’ll see them performing everywhere soon enough.

Their CD and single, “City Life,” broke the top 40 of the Smooth Indie Charts last year. They shot a low budget video for the song in Harlem, NY after a show at the famed Shrine. Audience members quickly followed the band onto the sidewalk as the spontaneously videotaped with two handheld consumer recorders. Enjoy the video and song below.

This band gets the audience involved in their show and everyone who sees them says the same thing, “these guys are great.” As with many upcoming artists, they need to get exposure, so go see them if you can. We will periodically introduce you to more new artists as well as keep you informed on new happenings of already established artists. Hope you enjoy it!

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Miracles do Happen – Marion Meadows!

Posted on July 1, 2011 by Groov-a-holic

Everyone’s story to success is a bit different, but no matter how you got there, the likelihood is that you deserved it.  While some folks have the luxury of “knowing
someone in the business,” most of us don’t. This is where just being damn good and being willing to do anything matters. The story of one of Smooth Jazz’s hottest performers, Marion Meadows, is just one such story.

Marion Meadows was “discovered” while playing in NYC’s Grand Central Station. Jay Chattaway, who was working with Bob James at the time introduced himself and eventually signed Marion to his record label, TappenZee.

Meadows was born in West Virginia and grew up in Stamford, Connecticut. He
began playing the clarinet and studying classical music at the age of eight. In
high school, Meadows began to play the soprano saxophone and played tenor
through most of his college years. His passion for music led him to appreciate
the work of many jazz musicians such as Stevie Wonder and Duke Ellington. After
studying jazz with Anthony Truglia, Meadows attended Berklee College of Music,
where he majored in arranging and composition. He later went to the SUNY
Purchase School for the Arts, where he studied under Ron Herder.

Although Meadows’ first recording went unreleased, the experience of
recording with Bob James put him on the road to his eventual success. Meadows
collaborated up with numerous artists and musicians in the 80s, recording or
performing over the years with Brook Benton, Eartha Kitt, Phyllis Hyman, Jean
Carne, The Temptations, Michael Bolton, Angela Bofill, Will Downing and Native
American flute player Douglas Spotted Eagle, among others.

He has 9 Albums to his name! Do we even call them Albums anymore?

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Anuhea:Hawaii’s Refreshing Jazz internet radio station

Posted on June 26, 2011 by Groov-a-holic

We have addressed the issue of terrestrial radio in many regions abandoning the smooth jazz format in favor of teenie-bopper pop or classic rock, but the smooth jazz market is meeting demand through the proliferation of Internet and satellite radio stations (click the “about” link for more info on this phenomenon).

A new one was recently bought to my attention is Anuhea: Hawaii’s Refreshing Jazz internet station. They recently reached out to us for material so I’d like to give them a little exposure here. While this station compiles their playlist under palm trees and work diligently to keep the sand out of their keyboards, you and can listen to them either on itunes or by going directly to their website: http://www.anuhearefreshingjazz.com/.

Periodically I will bring you new places to tune into some of the best music being written and performed today. Let me know how you like them. Ciao for now.

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Smooth Jazz Sax-man Gerald Albright comes to NYC

Posted on June 26, 2011 by Groov-a-holic

Prepare NYC, smooth jazz sax-man Gerald Albright is coming to town July 20th with Peter White and Rick Braun, who I will write about in upcoming posts.

Albright’s contemporary and straight-ahead collections have established the Los Angeles-based musician as one of the most prominent artists. Indeed, Albright was one of the ten featured saxophonists who performed at President Clinton’s inauguration. He was also featured at the Presidential Summit, as well as several private functions for the President. In addition to numerous appearances at clubs and jazz festivals, Albright had also been a part of the popular Jazz Explosion tours, which saw him teaming up with contemporary jazz stars like Will Downing, Jonathan Butler, Hugh Masekela, Chaka Khan, and Rachelle Ferrell, to name a few.

Albright had sold over 1,000,000 albums in the U.S. alone. His self-produced music features him on bass guitar, keyboards, flutes, drum programming, and background vocals. Gerald has definitely earned the reputation as the “musician’s musician.”

Albright played on albums by a wide variety of artists — including Anita Baker, Ray Parker, Lola Folana, Atlantic Starr, Olivia Newton-John, the Temptations and Maurice White. He also toured extensively with Les McCann, Rodney Franklin, Jeff Lorber, Teena Marie, the Winans, Marlena Shaw, Debra and Eloise Laws, Quincy Jones, Whitney Houston, Phil Collins, and many others.

With 9 CDs under his belt and one collaboration CD, Albright has definitely gained his place in the music world as a player, songwriter and producer.

He is an artist worth selling out some cabbage to catch live. He will perform on the smooth Jazz Cruise around Manhattan. For more information visit: http://www.smoothjazznewyork.com/

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The Ambassador of Smooth Jazz – Dave Koz

Posted on June 19, 2011 by Groov-a-holic

In a career that spans twenty years and a dozen albums,
saxophonist Dave Koz has established himself as one of the most prominent
figures in contemporary music.

Music – and more specifically, the saxophone – has been
Koz’s primary survival tool since his childhood and adolescence in L.A.’s San
Fernando Valley. He started playing as a means to land a spot in his brother’s
band, but somewhere along the way, “the saxophone became my best friend, my
most trusted ally, because it enabled me to communicate feelings that I didn’t
have the words for. In many ways, it saved my life.”

After earning a degree in mass communications from UCLA,
Koz took the leap into a career as a professional musician – a decision that
immediately led to touring gigs with vocalist/multi-instrumentalist Bobby
Caldwell, keyboardist Jeff Lorber and pop singer Richard Marx. He signed with
Capitol and released his self-titled solo debut in 1990. Noteworthy follow-ups
included the gold certified Lucky Man (1993), Off the Beaten Path
(1996) and three holiday albums – December Makes Me Feel This Way
(1997), Dave Koz & Friends: A Smooth Jazz Christmas (2001) and Memories
of a Winter’s Night (2007). The gold certified The Dance (1999) and Saxophonic
(2003) each spawned five Top 5 hits on the contemporary jazz charts

Hello Tomorrow, his debut on Concord
Records was released on October 12, 2010. Produced by Grammy winners John Burk
and Marcus Miller (who also appears on most tracks), the album features a
diverse army of high-profile guests: Herb Alpert, Jonathan Butler, Brian Culbertson,
Sheila E., Boney James, Jeff Lorber, Keb’ Mo’, Ray Parker, Jr., Lee Ritenour,
Christian Scott and others. Each of the thirteen tracks – most of them written
by Koz and his collaborators, others penned by friends and legends – focuses on
being open to new beginnings, and trusting that the future is unfolding in all
the right ways for all the right reasons.

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Where the world tunes into Smooth Jazz

Posted on June 11, 2011 by Groov-a-holic

Since it has become more difficult to find smooth jazz on terrestrial radio, internet and satellite radio have stepped in to fill the void. Thankfully smooth jazz attracts an audience more likely to be plugged into these newer formats and more readily able to afford them. Many people are finding great stations online in places like itunes. One station that can be found there, as well as online at their own website, is Absolutely Smooth Jazz Radio on SKY.fm.

Tune in to Sky.fm Smooth Jazz and listen while reading the rest of this post.

Throughout the week the SKY.fm service is free of talk interruptions and perfect for background music to soothe away the troubles of the day.

But on Sundays they take a break from the usual schedule and go live from London for a couple of hours to give their listeners a chance to get acquainted. They also use the opportunity to get to know their listeners too. Throughout the show people post messages on their forum, which Jimmy King, Smooth Jazz’s premier DJ, reads live from the studio. Listeners also use Skype and Facebook to beam messages directly into the studio from all around the world. You’ll hear listeners posting from Poughkeepsie, NY to Prague in the Czech Republic.

Check out this station. We’ll direct you to others soon too.

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Eric Darius – Mr. Excitement

Posted on June 8, 2011 by Groov-a-holic

 

This artist is one of the most exciting new artists to hit the scene. He has energy, excitement, passion and, most of all, groove. His name is Eric Darius. But before you read on, watch this performance … it will inspire you to read the rest of this post.

Darius’ explosive arrival on the contemporary jazz scene at age 17 caused a frenzy. This was not a surprise as the ambitious saxophonist, who has shared the stage with everyone from Prince, Carlos Santana, Wynton Marsalis, Wyclef Jean, George Benson, and Brian McKnight, had just released an auspicious recording debut and several years prior had already made an appearance at the famed Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland. Garnering accolades from critics, musicians and fans alike, there seemed to be a consensus that this young man was bringing a sense of history but yet a youthful and forward-thinking approach to the genre. Eric Darius, who has scored a #1 on Billboard’s Contemporary Jazz Charts and several top ten hits, has steadily proven to be anything but your typical ‘smooth jazz guy.’ The savvy business school grad whose iPod features a mix of everyone from John Coltrane and Bob Marley to Jay-Z , the Rolling Stones and Alicia Keys, confesses, “Contemporary jazz is the genre that has embraced my music, but I see myself as a musician first. I play every style of music from Jazz, R&B, Pop, Reggae, Hip-hop, Rock to Gospel. As I continue to evolve and grow musically, it’s the journey to explore new things that keeps me excited and hungry to do what I do.”

Eric Darius released his latest album and Shanachie Entertainment debut, On A Mission, in the summer of 2010. Danny Weiss, VP of Jazz A&R for Shanachie states, “If you think of jazz as a wonderful tree whose trunk is its great tradition and whose branches are the never ending innovations of its young disciples, then Eric Darius is the newest branch of that tree. He can swing like the masters and funk like a hip-hopper; truly the blossoming of tomorrow’s jazz.” The seeds have been sown and Eric Darius unearths his talents not only as a saxophonist but equally important, as a composer and co-producer on On A Mission. The saxman ,who first started experimenting with writing at age thirteen, cites Stevie Wonder and Herbie Hancock as among his biggest compositional influences. Darius acknowledges that music has always been an outlet for him to express his emotions and experiences. The Tampa-based musician says, “Stevie Wonder is incredible and I love the way his music can’t be categorized.  The same is true for Herbie Hancock. With Herbie, his whole music catalog varies from album to album and even to this day, he continues to evolve as an artist and is not afraid to take chances, artistically.”

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Grover Washington Jr. – Godfather of Smooth Jazz

Posted on June 4, 2011 by Groov-a-holic

Godfather of Smooth JazzEven musical movement has a beginning and in the beginning of smooth Jazz there was a saxophonist named Grover Washington, Jr. Ironically is was being drafted into the Army that gave him entre into NYC’s echelon of music makers. He met drummer Billy Cobham in the Army and Billy introduced him to NYC’s music scene. And before you knew, funk, R&B and jazz were merging into a whole new style of music.

Whilst his first three albums established him as a force in jazz and soul music, it was his fourth album in 1974, Mister Magic, that proved a major commercial success. The album climbed to number 10 in Billboard’s Top 40 album chart and the title track reached #16 on the R&B singles chart (#54, pop). All these albums included guitarist Eric Gale as a near-permanent member in Washington’s arsenal. His follow-up on Kudu in 1975, Feels So Good also made #10 on the album chart.

A string of acclaimed records brought Washington through the 1970s, culminating in the signature piece for everything he would do from then on. Winelight (1980) was the album that defined everything Washington was then about, having signed for Elektra Records, part of the major Warner Music group.

The album was smooth, fused with R&B and easy listening feel. The highlight of the album was his collaboration with soul artist Bill Withers, “Just The Two of Us,” a huge hit on radio during the spring and summer of ’81, peaking at #2 on the Hot 100. The album went platinum in 1981, and also won Grammy Awards in 1982 for Best R&B Song (“Just The Two of Us”), and Best Jazz Fusion Performance (“Winelight”). “Winelight” was also nominated for Record of the Year and Song of the Year.

In the post-Winelight era, Washington is credited for giving rise to a new batch of talent that would make its mark in the late 1980s and early 1990s. He is known for bringing Kenny G to the forefront as well as such smooth jazz artists as Walter Beasley, Steve Cole, Pamela Williams, Najee, and George Howard.

Today his style is still recognizable in many of the new artists that embrace his soulful approach to R&B and jazz. Sometimes it’s nice to take stroll in the past. You can’t help but smile. Listen and you’ll see what I mean.

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Smooth Jazz Marches on!

Posted on May 26, 2011 by Groov-a-holic

Smooth Jazz followers, you know who you are and so do many demographers. You typically own your own home, are more educated than the average and earn over $75K. That’s a pretty nice market, don’t you think? So it begs the question as to why, in many markets such as NYC, have the smooth jazz radio stations been coopted by rock formats. The reason is that radio is a numbers game and we are outnumbered by all the teenagers tuning into to rock.

That said, smooth jazz is alive and well. It has merely transitioned to a new home – the internet and satellite radio, both comfortable formats for this demographic base.

Not only has it found a new home, but a plethora of new music has been created in the genre. Great musicians who can stir the soul with instrumental music continue to increase the output of new smooth jazz music. Thankfully it has veered far off the trajectory of silly instrumental cover songs. It is blossoming into a great catalogue of original groove, funk and fusion. And this blog is here to keep you posted as to what’s new in Smooth jazz. So put the top down on the sports car, hook up the Ipod and let’s groove, chill and enjoy!

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