Talking Smooth Jazz

One of the most diverse, in demand sax players in all of contemporary jazz, JEFF KASHIWA finds pure joy at the heart of his increasingly fast-paced touring schedule by reminding himself, every time he gets on stage, that he’s there to do one thing: Play! A virtuoso on the alto, soprano, and tenor saxophones, as well as the unique EWI breath controller, JAARED is an internationally acclaimed recording artist. We welcome them to Talking Smooth Jazz to talk about their projects, BACK IN THE DAY (JEFF) and MANAHATTAN NIGHTS (JAARED).

Talking Smooth Jazz welcomes RYAN KILGORE, a 4th generation sax player from Atlanda, GA., who is touring with Stevie Wonder and American Smooth Jazz Awards nominee for best new artist of the year, KYLE WOLVERTON.

After eleven inspired albums that have passionately surveyed a broad spectrum of musical styles and prominently featured many of music’s finest players, R&B/Jazz multi-instrumentalist Brian Culbertson decided to keep conceptualism to a minimum and simply title his twelfth album XII (the Roman numeral for twelve). Packed with astounding guest performances from the likes of renowned R&B singer Avant (on the first scheduled AC/Urban AC single “Skies Wide Open”), Brian McKnight, Faith Evans, Kenny Lattimore and Ray Parker Jr. to Go-Go music pioneer Chuck Brown and acoustic guitar legend Earl Klugh (on the first smooth jazz-radio single “That’s Life”), Brian’s latest GRP Records CD is 12 fresh offerings from the man for whom exciting ideas and combinations flow faithfully…like water. His new album "XII" is scheduled for release on July 20.

Keyboardist Marcus Johnson continues raising the bar for jazz with his next offering slated to be released July 27th, 2010 entitled, "This Is How I Rock". Following a heavy dose of contemporary jazz albums to fly from out of his camp in recent years, Mr. Johnson contiues to keep you grooving.

Talking Smooth Jazz welcomes vocalist, multi instrumentalist, songwriter/composer, arranger, and producer HESHIMA and the musical peacemakers of contemporary jazz, AIRBORNE.

Trombonist Steve Baxter is a multidimensional artist whose skills as a musician, songwriter, and producer have elevated his talent to another level. His current project, “Sugar On The Bone”, features Randy Crawford, Wilton Felder, Everette Harp and Michael Lington.

Our third annual tribute to Luther Vandross.

Eric Darius is one of the hottest young saxophonist in smooth jazz. He returns to Talking Smooth Jazz with a brand new funky and edgy cd called "On A Mission" scheduled to be released on June 29.

Gerald Albright's lastest album, Pushing The Envelope, was released on June 15. We will be giving away five of those cd's on today's show with a trivia contest. Call (646) 716-5485 for your chance to win one.

Vaughn Fahie (pronounced Foy) was born in Bitburg, Germany on a U.S. Air Force base his father was stationed. Beginning at the early age of 8, Vaughn’s first music lessons were on the accordion. A man of the musical arts, Vaughn Fahie founded his own musical production company, "S4G Productions”, while continuing to master his craft as a consummate musician. We welcome Vaughn to talk about his latest releases, Inward Jazz and Upward Jazz.

Jason Weber has been playing sax since the age of nine. In 1994, he earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Music Performance from the University of Wisconsin. Before relocating to southern California in 1997 to further pursue his music career, Weber led an award-winning contemporary Weber’s most current album “Five” features legendary drummer Steve Ferrone, keyboardists Michael Leroy & Tad Sisler, bassists Nathan Brown & Chris Kringel, and guitarist Mike DeRose.

After receiving the blessings from the estate of Pop icon Michael Jackson in February, 2010, Bob Baldwin's first release of the new decade (his 14th overall) is simply titled “Never Can Say Goodbye”, a tribute to Michael Jackson (release date: 6/22/10), which showcases the harmonic sophistication of some of Jackson’s works from the 70’s – 90’s.

The 2009 Capital Jazz Fest Challenge winner, Marcus Anderson electrifies stages with an unmatchable energy and an intoxicating sound that stretches the definition of jazz. The multi-talented saxophonist, flautist and vocalist from Durham, NC recently released his second solo CD, From The Heart, a much anticipated follow up to My Turn – his stellar debut project. Marcus returns to Talking Smooth Jazz to talk about his latest project, From The Heart.

Talk about a brother that can capital S.A.N.G. a song! From his days with Shalamar, his solo career, to his gospel recordings, Howard Hewett's voice is irresistable. Howard released his first new soul album in a decade called "If Only" in 2007. We welcome Howard to the show to talk about "If Only" and what he's up to these days.

Talking Smooth Jazz welcomes Pamela Williams and Jeff Lorber to talk about their new projects, Chameleon and Now Is The Time, respectively.