Smooth Jazz Therapy

Euge Groove At The Hyatt, Westlake Village

Sax-man Euge Groove has a sound that is undoubtedly the most luscious in smooth jazz today. Underpinned by a funkiness that sometimes smolders and often flares his special brand of contemporary jazz has brought him five critically acclaimed albums, the latest of which, ‘Born 2 Groove’, formed the center-piece of his sell out show at the Hyatt Hotel in Westlake Village CA. As a 90 degree day melted into a 70 degree evening and the wine flowed beneath the gathering stars Groove played his usual ‘high on energy – high on entertainment’ set that, although tweaked to showcase the new music, still retained its fair share of gems from his quality discography.

Brian Culbertson With Steve Cole At The Oceanside Amphitheatre

July 15 2007. Despite the fact that Brian Culbertson was the driving force behind much of Steve Coles early music it has in fact been eight years since they last shared a stage together. Consequently it was that much more special to find the two of them reunited for Culbertson’s ‘KIFM 98.1 Jazz On The Beach’ show at the Oceanside CA, Amphitheatre. With the audience already warmed by Down To The Bone, plus more than enough Californian wine, a party was always likely and Culbertson, as ever, delivered with a performance of huge energy that was laced throughout with his own unique groove. Cole, in the line-up as Culbertson’s sax man, blended perfectly with Jim Culbertson on trumpet and when Brian occasionally joined them on trombone they together created a horn section that could have come right out of Memphis. Instead it was Culbertson and Cole’s Chicago roots that set the tone as Culbertson generously shared the spotlight with his long time friend.

Boney James At The Hyatt, Newport Beach

July 20, 2007. When Boney James plays the stars come out to listen and so it was that when he blew into Newport Beach CA, for the latest in the Hyatt’s Summer Jazz Series, no other than Paul Jackson Jr was in the audience to see him. As a cool Pacific breeze ruffled the grass of the hotels intimate amphitheatre, James, with a virtuoso delivery of some of his best loved tunes, brought his own special brand of urban jazz to the packed and appreciative crowd. Although set at a slight disadvantage by the apparent lack of vocal power available from his backing band he was able, by use of his considerable discography, to showcase the finest of his substantially instrumental numbers and to invigorate them with his consummate skills as a live performer.

Down To The Bone At The Oceanside Amphitheatre

July 15 2007. Billed as the opening act for Brian Culbertson’s ‘KIFM 98.1 Jazz On The Beach’ show at the Oceanside CA, Amphitheatre, Down To The Bone (or at least their latest personification) proved themselves to be quite possibly the finest warm up band of all time. Swiftly shifting gears from warming through smouldering to downright igniting, and led in commanding style by Paul ‘Shilts’ Weimer, they first encouraged then blatantly compelled the packed late afternoon audience to get up and boogie. This they dutifully did and, finding themselves relentlessly bombarded with one increasingly funky tune after the other, found it almost impossible to sit down. Of course funk is what Down To The Bone is all about and during the course of a high octane 75 minute set they generously shared much of the music that has categorized the bands style over an existence that now spans nine albums and ten years.

Bobby Caldwell At The Thornton Winery

July 14, 2007. Throughout his career singer, songwriter and multi instrumentalist Bobby Caldwell has constantly demonstrated an ability to cross the musical divide. He first burst onto the scene in 1978 with the album ‘What You Won’t Do For Love’. It showed off his own special brand of blue eyed soul and now, with a richness of tone that at times emulates Sinatra in a way that Harry Connick Jr and Michael Buble never will, he often demonstrates a penchant for music that evokes the mood of the forties ands fifties. However there is much more to Caldwell than retro swing. His tightly produced impeccably delivered tunes with distinct R & B tones plus his fulsome use of horn sections and classy backing vocals have given him access to a brand new contemporary jazz audience. It was this mixture of fans, old and new, that packed the Thornton Winery, Temecula CA for Caldwell’s contribution to the 2007 Champagne Jazz Series and those that were there witnessed him at his very best.

Joyce Cooling's CD Makes A Charitable Difference

‘Revolving Door’ is the latest CD from San Francisco based guitar star Joyce Cooling. Released late in 2006 on the Narada Jazz label it is cementing Cooling’s position within the upper echelons of the genre and she is denoting a portion of all sales from it to the National Alliance on Mental Illness. As she explains, “just by buying a copy of the CD, you've donated!”

Cooling is known for both her unique finger picking style and her passion for rhythm and harmony. ‘Revolving Door’ is her sixth album release and the collaborations with writing partner Jay Wagner that have signposted her career to date are again in inspirational evidence. Particularly enticing is the radio single ‘Cool Of The Night’. It has a shuffling beat combined with a sensuous vibe to make it, despite its title, one hot track.

Joyce Cooling is currently on tour across the USA. You can catch her at the Bob Hope Theater, Stockton CA on July 27. For more on the tour schedule and all the latest news go to www.joycecooling.com. For information on the National Alliance on Mental Illness check out www.nami.org

Rick Braun And Richard Elliot - R n R

With the title track from Rick Braun and Richard Elliot’s much awaited duets album already taking the airwaves by storm there seems little doubt that ‘R n R’ will prove to be one of the smooth jazz events of 2007. Due in record stores across the USA on August 28 ‘R n R’ is a feisty collection of horn driven grooves that checks all the right boxes and which is enhanced by a stellar line-up of guest musicians that includes Greg Karukas, Jeff Lorber and Chris Standring plus production input from Lorber, Philippe Saisse and Rex Rideout.

Under The Lake - People Together

Contemporary jazz collective Under The Lake is the brainchild of multi-instrumentalist Jayson Tipp. Back in the recording studio after a hiatus of ten years, their brand new release is ‘People Together’ and follows the 1993 debut album ‘Dive In’ and ‘Up For Air’ from 1996. An amalgam of upbeat, joyful melodies and grooving hooks ‘People Together’ was motivated by the enthusiastic reception the band received at the Columbia City Theater, Seattle in 2005 when they played their first live date in 8 years.

The line-up, led by Tipp on keyboards, is steeped in experience. Richard Sellers is on drums, Bassist Nathan Brown has played with Bob James and Alexander Sonjic, David Harris on guitar has credits for his work with Greg Karukas and last but not least comes sax man Quintin Gerard W. Smooth Jazz Therapy referred to Gerard W’s debut CD, the outstanding 2005 ‘Fnkysax’, as having an urban slant of which Boney James would be proud and a sensuality that makes more than a nod in the direction of Kenny G. Gerard W’s ‘Perseverance’ followed a year later and the killer cut from it, ‘Everyday Routine’ was described in these pages as being an infectious piece of funky jazz, stunning both in its production and delivery, that drips with an edgy urban vibe.

Tracks from ‘People Together’ can be heard at www.myspace.com/underthelake and sampled at www.cdbaby.com. Check back here soon for a complete review of this exciting new album.

Down To The Bone - Supercharged

Ever since 1997, when they burst onto the scene with the seminal ‘Manhattan To Staten’, Down To The Bone has been all about the groove. The brainchild of non musician Stuart Wade, Down To The Bone came out of the acid jazz movement that was prevalent in the UK during the early 90’s. The bands seventh disc, which was released on June 18, is the aptly named ‘Supercharged’ and is it’s most powerfully funky yet. The forte Wade has for using his production nous to bring alive his musical idea’s through a frequently changing group of ultra-talented performers has again reaped rich dividends. With the addition of a full horn section to complement Paul ‘Shilts’ Weimar’s blistering sax, his desire to arrive at more of a live jam attitude is fulfilled in spades and exemplified by the storming title track.

Tom Braxton On Tour To Promote New CD

With Tom Braxton’s brand new CD ‘Imagine This’ due for national release in August he has embarked upon a thirteen date US tour to promote the album. Showing a refreshing lack of superstition he opened up in Irving TX on Friday July 13 and will continue on until November 2 with a sequence of gigs, the majority of which will be in his home state of Texas. Braxton will also include diversions to California and to Atlanta GA where he will be with the excellent Michael Manson on July 20 as part of Norman Brown’s Summer Storm show. ‘Imagine This’ includes a number of quality collaborations that signify Braxton’s growing kudos within the genre. The tune ‘Evening Drive’ features up and coming guitarist Tim Bowman, the title track has Kirk Whalum on board and its Kirks brother Kevin who collaborates with Braxton on ‘Peg’. Perhaps best of all is ‘Escape’ that showcases the extraordinary talents of keyboard player Brian Simpson. In fact Wayman Tisdale, with whom Braxton has played since 1992, was also due to appear on the album. Of course Tisdale’s 2007 plans have been thrown into disarray by the discovery of a cancerous cyst on his fibula. Good news is that after this enforced hiatus Tisdale is expected to be back as good as new in 2008.

Check back here soon for a complete review of ‘Imagine This’. For more go to www.tombraxton.com