David Benoit is a very busy guy these days. He recently released his first all-orchestral CD, produced a tribute to the first Charlie Brown TV special A Charlie Brown Christmas and is getting ready for a Christmas tour with saxophonist Dave Koz. With everything the composer/conductor/instrumentalist has done, he is most proud of his classical-based CD called Orchestral Stories. Benoit's orchestral CD was a labor of love for him, but there were two things that he had problems wit …

Multi-instrumentalist Brian Culbertson is one of the premier performers in smooth jazz. His shows are primarily upbeat in nature and the audience senses the energy that Culbertson brings to his performance. He says, That's kind of what I like to do. The albums are one thing and you go out and see a live performance and it's a whole other energy going on. People seem to like it. However, if it wasn't for one special person in his life, Culbertson wouldn't be the kind of performer he is t …

It had to happen! Hot horns, mellow tunes, master musicians and lots of soul, after years of performing together, trumpeter Rick Braun and sax man, Richard Elliot along with co-producers Jeff Lorber, Rex Rideout and Philippe Saisse have produced a slamming, jamming scorcher, showcasing talents of all the artists, commanding attention of their listeners, thrilling their fans with this summer’s great hit, R n R As he rushed back from a gig in Detroit, Richard Elliot was kind eno …

A group that has been around for just around two years is making a mark on the music scene to bring the best of the French Caribbean to listeners around the world. Sakesho, pronounced sah KAY show, is presenting to audiences the style of beguine music, which is intensely syncopated and polyrhythmic. This style of music has fascinated steelpan drummer Andy Narell, who for many years has always looked at many styles of world beat music. The group combines beguine with calypso beats, Afro-Cuban …

What do two members of the Trans-Siberian Orchestra do between Christmas seasons? They fuse jazz, blues, rock and electronic music into a blend that is distinctive. Pianist Jane Mangini and guitarist Al Pitrelli, who studied with legendary jazz guitarist John Scofield and has performed with such artists as Celine Dion, Taylor Dayne and Alice Cooper, come together to make up the group O2L. Together as both musicians and a married couple, Mangini and Pitrelli have come up with a sound that has …