Trumpeter Chris Botti’s latest duet will be with the legendary Dean Martin, one of the famous group of singers known collectively as the Rat Pack. Yes, Martin died more than 10 years ago. But like Kenny G and Natalie Cole before him, Botti will be performing his instrument on the Lerner/Loewe standard called "I've Grown Accustomed to Her Face," which will then be edited into Martin’s vocals of the song, which he first recorded in 1957.
Botti just finished recording his part of the song at Capitol Studios in Los Angeles. The CD, which is being engineered by Grammy Award-winner Al Schmitt and is expected to be released later this year, is taking original recordings of Martin’s vocals, deleting the instrumentation and putting different backing and soloists with them.
Good news from Peter White.
The smooth jazz guitarist has just finished his 10th CD, tentatively titled Deja Vu and a sequel of sorts to a full CD of cover songs he first explored in 1994 with Reflections. The album is once again produced by Paul Brown, who helmed Reflections and also co-produced White’s most recent album, 2004’s Confidential.
White's upcoming project has an all-star cast of guest musicians, including trumpeter Rick Braun, guitarist Jonathan Butler, saxophonists Richard Elliot and Boney James, pianist Bob James and vocalists Jeffrey Osborne and Kiki Ebsen. Butler sings lead vocals on “Lovely Day,” while Osborne does the same on “You Are Everything.”
The upcoming CD has 11 songs, including “What Does It Take (To Win Your Love),” “The Look of Love,” “Mister Magic"and “One on One.”
Look for the CD, to be released by Columbia Records, to be available this summer.
Deja Vu track listing
1. What Does It Take (To Win Your Love) (Bristol/Bullock)
2. The Look Of Love (Bacharach/David)
3. Deja Vu (Anderson/Hayes)
4. Mister Magic (McDonald/Salter)
5. Lovely Day (Scarborough)
6. Crazy Love (Morrison)
7. Sunny (Hebb)
8. For The Love Of You (Isley/Isley/Isley/Isley/Jasper)
9. Hit The Road Jack (Mayfield)
10. You Are Everything (Bell/Epstein)
11. One On One (Hall)
Saxophonist Dave Koz, who every year has been a familiar face on smooth jazz stages, has announced that he will be taking some time off from touring but will return in 2007 with a full schedule of shows. His last show was earlier this month when he performed in Japan for the first time.
Koz’s hiatus means there will be no Dave Koz & Friends: A Smooth Summer Night tour this year, which has been held four years in a row, and it is uncertain if the Dave Koz & Friends holiday show will return for the 10th straight year. At this point, Koz is scheduled to make his return to the stage in November during the second annual Dave Koz & Friends at Sea cruise.
For much of 2006 Koz will be focusing more on Rendezvous Entertainment, the record label he founded and now serves as its Senior VP of Development. He’ll also be more involved in producing projects for the label, which includes smooth jazz artists such as Marc Antoine, Wayman Tisdale, Michael Lington, Kirk Whalum, Brian Simpson and Jonathan Butler. In addtion, Koz is behind the scenes creatively with the brand-new Rendezvous All Stars tour, which will be traveling the country with Tisdale, Whalum, Butler and Simpson.
Koz will continue to produce his weekday radio show on KTWV in Los Angeles and his popular weekly syndicated program, The Dave Koz Radio Show. He'll also remain focuses on his next album with producer Phil Ramone, which features movie theme songs.
The follow-up to Koz’s Saxophonic CD from 2003 was originally to be released this year but has been pushed back to 2007.
Where’s Anita Baker?
Since ending her musical hiatus in September of 2004 with a new CD called My Everything, her first in 10 years, 48-year-old Anita Baker has remained mostly out of the spotlight and her official website was only briefly functional before being taken offline more than a year ago.
It turns out that Anita is planning a few shows this summer, but there probably won't be too many. They'll be the first since just a handful of shows last summer, some of which featured Babyface as the opening act. In addition, a spokeswoman for Baker’s record label, Blue Note, says that an announcement is expected soon on more touring dates and possibly a new CD.
Baker's My Everything has been certified Gold, with more than 500,000 copies sold, but that’s far less than her previous album, 1994’s Rhythm of Love, which sold more than 2 million copies. Baker's best-selling album to date is her classic Rapture with more than 5 million sold.
In addition to declining sales, another reason for the inactivity is that music just isn't the overiding force in Baker's life that it was in the past. She is a wife and mother to two young boys, Walter Jr. and Eddie Bridgforth, both of whom are attending exclusive Grosse Pointe Academy in Grosse Pointe, Michigan, where Anita and husband Walter Bridgforth live.
Trumpeter Chris Botti’s latest duet will be with the legendary Dean Martin, one of the famous group of singers known collectively as the Rat Pack. Yes, Martin died more than 10 years ago. But like Kenny G and Natalie Cole before him, Botti will be performing his instrument on the Lerner/Loewe standard called "I've Grown Accustomed to Her Face," which will then be edited into Martin’s vocals of the song, which he first recorded in 1957.
