Gary Honor playing "Baker Street" at Aquablu Bistro, Nelson Bay, NSW
Australia. Click to hear Gary play.
South African born guitarist/ vocalist, Jonathan Butler is to tour Australia in February 2012. He spoke to Graham Johnson about his life and music. Go to ARTIST INTERVIEWS to listen to this.
Shakatak has been playing great music for 31 years. We caught up with the voice of Shakatak, Jill Saward, for a wide-ranging interview. We learnt things I bet you didn't know about her and the group. Click onto Artist Interviews to hear it.
SMOOTHJAZZ905.COM RADIO STATION
We now have an internet smooth jazz radio station broadcasting 24/7. You can access it from here or the "Listen to Smooth Jazz" page or "Radio stations" page for a link.
Renowned trumpeter CHRIS BOTTI was in Sydney for two concerts at The Basement on Monday 23 August and Tuesday 24 August 2010.
Chris has performed with Frank Sinatra, Andrea Bocelli and Sting. Chris came to Sydney with Sting on his World Tour in 2000 and dropped into 2CCR FM for an interview and to do some recording. See "Photos Smooth Jazz Encounters" on this site and listen to Chris on "Artist Interviews".
Chris brought his band with him, comprising of Grammy winner Billy Childs on piano, Mark Whitfield on guitar, Tim Lefebvre on bass, Billy Kilson on drums and Andy Erzin on keyboards. He introduced two special guests, violinist Caroline Campbell and vocalist Lisa Fisher who both wowed the enthusiastic audience. Whether Chris was playing an up-tempo jam with the band or serenading the audience with tracks such as "Emmanuel" his playing was impeccable and his pure tone shone through.
We caught up with Chris after the concert and reminded him of his visit to 2CCRFM in 2000 and he immediately remembered all the recording he did and how he became tongue-tied by the end of it.
We know from speaking with others at the concert just how much they enjoyed it and band members said they enjoyed the relatively small venue.
Sydney based saxophonist IGOR has released some video clips to Youtube. Here is a link to his video of the Chinese tune "The Moon Represents My Heart" made famous by the late Teresa Teng. This is taken from his album " Prince Igor". Click on the album cover.
We have a new page - Artist interviews - check it out as it will be periodically updated.
On the Early A.M. Attitude program for 23 May 2009 we will be doing a short tribute to Wayman Tisdale and other smooth jazz artists who are no longer with us. Check that page for more details.
"Wayman Lawrence Tisdale (June 9, 1964 – May 15, 2009) was anAmerican professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association and asmooth jazzbass guitarist and a member of the Oklahoma Tourism Board. Tisdale and his wife Regina had four children."
- From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Wayman suffered bone cancer since March 2007 and it is believed that his death arose from that. He was a large man, some 6ft.9 inches tall, and a religious family man. As a basketballer Wayman won a gold medal at the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. He was a regular guest on the Dave Koz Radio Show and he appeared at the Dave Koz & Friends Smooth Jazz Cruises. His latest release is doing well on the smooth jazz charts. He will be sadly missed by all smooth jazz fans.
Wayman Tisdale with Dave Koz 2006 Wayman Tisdale (left) with Jonathan Butler
Dave Koz remembers his friend Wayman Tisdale www.davekoz.com NEW RELEASES
CHRIS & TONY CONCHA END BROADCASTING ON 90.5FM
Popular broadcasters Chris & Tony Concha are taking a break from 90.5FM. Tony, who presented
the smooth jazz "City Lights" program, has been broadcasting on 90.5 for 15 years and Chris has
spent 10 years on air, her latest program being "Manila Sound By Request". Both programs were
popular with our listeners and we hope to have them return to the airwaves before too long.
NEW ALBUM FOR SILVANA
Sydney vocalist/pianist Silvana is a very busy lady these days. Living in Los Angeles, she combines
live appearances, TV work and her work as a psychic. She is also busy recording a new album.
Lee Ritenour in Australia
Legendary guitarist Lee Ritenour visited Australia in March 2008. He appeared in Perth,
and at the Basement,Sydney for 3 nights. He is also due to appear at Byron Bay,
Portsea and Melbourne. Lee is one of the pioneers of smooth jazz music. We attended
the first Sydney concert and what a night it was!
The night started with an appearance by blind vocalist / guitarist Raul Midon who wowed
the audience with his singing and great guitar playing.
Lee was supported by bass player Melvin Davis and drummer Will Kennedy who really
shone. And Lee, well..what would you expect from Captain Fingers? Lee was also joined
by his long-time friend Patrice Rushen on keyboards. She jammed with the band in a high
-energy performance by all. Patrice also sang audience favourite "Forget Me Nots". Other
favourites of the crowd were "Smoke 'n' Mirrors" and "Rio Funk".
The group came back for an encore with "Night Rhythms". These musicians were having
fun and the audience loved it. It was a memorable show for all who went. Long live
smooth jazz!!
Janet Basco wows the audience in Sydney
Janet Basco returned to Sydney's Corregidor Entertainment Centre and Restaurant
for a concert on 4th November 2007. Janet has performed in many overseas venues
including Carnegie Hall. She is no stranger to Sydney and has travelled to Australia a
number of times from the Philippines for concerts here. This time she appeared in
Perth, Sydney and the Gold Coast. Janet has a wide repertoire of songs including
those from Broadway shows, and standards. She performed a medley of songs by
Burt Bacharach, songs from the Supremes, and Barbra Streisand. She also performed
some jazz numbers which drew strong support from the audience. For two hours Janet
wowed the audience with songs ranging from soft ballads to scatting on "How High
The Moon". For such a petite artist, Janet has a powerful voice which never waned
during those two hours. She told stories and joked with her audience who went away
thrilled to have enjoyed such a polished performance.
