"We can't spread the germs,but we can spread the love"Rick Braun

WELCOME TO CONTEMPORARY JAZZ FAN
WHAT'S HAPPENING

Also, in the upper right hand corner, you will find a drop-down menu.  Websites lists some of the contemporary jazz musicians.  If you would like to add someone, please contact me at the drop-down menu.  The websites will take you to their Facebook, Twitter and Instagram sites. You can then find out more about their music and upcoming tours. 


   ❤️NEW SINGLES OUT❤️ 

        🎶AUTOMATIC 🎶 Collaboration between Dave Koz🎷/ Adam Hawley🎸
www.davekoz.com and www.adamhawley.com  

     🎶ON THE SCENE🎶
Michael Lington 🎷and video behind the scenes:
https://youtu.be/JgOg9eHBsbE?si=mE1Ju_NkBWtxE3JI
 www.michaellington.com  

🌲DAVE KOZ & FRIENDS CHRISTMAS TOUR 2024🌲 Featuring Adam Hawley, Vincent Ingala, Rebecca Jade, Jonathan Butler Tickets @ www.davekoz.com

  🌲CHRISTMAS ALBUM🌲              RICK BRAUN
            Out October 11

Get ready to experience the magic of the holidays with Rick Braun's new album It’s Christmas, arriving October 11! This festive collection comprises ten brilliantly arranged tracks packed with soulful jazz and innovative takes on classic Christmas carols. Highlights include a funky, bluesy version of "Deck Those Halls," and the elegant brass and string arrangements of “The Coventry Torch Song.” Braun’s unique blend of smooth jazz, orchestral richness, and heartfelt melodies creates a warm, vibrant sound that captures the season's spirit.

❤️Kat Hawley's First Album Available Everywhere 

Steam, Purchase Digital “X-IX-VIII,” featuring Billboard chart-toppers Adam Hawley, Steve Cole, Greg Manning and Judah Sealy, dropped on Friday, June 21; the single “Rather Be” goes for playlist added on Monday, June 24 serviced by Gorov Music Marketing.

LOS ANGELES, CA (21 JUNE 2024): Ready to capitalize on the opportunity to step into her own spotlight and make her own musical statement after years of flanking 16-time Billboard No. 1 hitmaker Adam Hawley, R&B-jazz singer-songwriter Kat Hawley will release her debut album, “X-IX-VIII” on Friday (June 21). She wrote eight of the set’s ten songs with her guitarist husband, Adam, who produced the MBF Entertainment album.

It's been a year since Kat Hawley released her empowering debut single, “Keep On, Keepin’ On,” a churning R&B groove bolstered by guest star Steve Cole’s soul-powered tenor sax affirmations. The single began the yearlong process of recording “X-IX-VIII,” and it served notice that Kat Hawley was more than merely a background singer.

“I wanted my debut single to be a stamp on the scene that left no doubt about my abilities as a vocalist and songwriter. The track sounds very edgy and modern, but I wanted to give my vocals a contrast by making them have a late 80s/early 90s sound,” said Kat Hawley, who performs this weekend with Adam Hawley at the Elkhart Jazz Festival in Indiana on Friday followed by a Saturday night gig at BLU Jazz+ in Akron, Ohio.

Love and romance are frequent muses for Kat Hawley’s songs on “X-IX-VIII.” Sensual vibes permeate “No Chill,” an R&B joint augmented by Judah Sealy’s sultry sax, a tune “about being completely head over heels when you’re in love or lust.” Adam Hawley uses his exquisite nylon guitar play to add ambience to “Love Me Tonight (A Lover’s Duet)” while Kat Hawley’s desirous voice turns up the heat.

“The goal for this song was to create a very seductive and hypnotic sound with the instruments and the vocals to envelope the listener. I really wanted the listener to be drawn in and feel like they were in the room with me seeing and feeling exactly what I was writing and recording so, I made my vocals smooth, very long and stretched out notes so the listener would hang on my every word – seduced and hypnotized,” explained Kat Hawley.

The tempo picks up on “Can We Dance,” designed for the dance floor.
“We definitely wanted a dance song, a steppers song that people could really move and groove to. As I was recording the vocals, for some reason I was envisioning myself on a light-filled dance floor with fans blowing my hair and clothes while I’m dancing my heart out. I wanted the listener to experience the same feeling,” Kat Hawley enthused.

Last January, the second single, “Never Too Busy,” was issued halfway through the album recording process.

“We live such a busy modern-day lifestyle of never having enough hours in the day. Everyone has to check their calendars in the same household just to see who has what and when, and when we can schedule family time or time with friends. This song is about making time for who and/or what is most important,” said Kat Hawley.

Adam Hawley’s evocative nylon string guitar illumines “Summer Breeze,” paired gorgeously with Kat Hawley’s impassioned vocals. Her vivid longing lyrics were penned last winter in the midst of a prolonged period of cold and wet weather in Southern California where the couple lives.

“Lazy Afternoon” was recorded to memorialize the late Cecil Ramirez, a Bay Area pianist and friend of the Hawley’s. Greg Manning plays poignantly in place of Ramirez on this track.

“Cecil was an amazing musician whom we got to perform with many times at Brian Culbertson’s Napa Valley Jazz Getaway. He brought this song to me to sing on our live internet show that Adam and I did. It was for the three of us to perform together. Initially, I wasn’t too sure or comfortable singing the song, but Cecil reassured me, telling me that I sounded great singing it. We performed it and it was in fact perfect. Sadly, shortly after that live internet performance, Cecil passed away in early 2021 due to cancer. I wanted to remember Cecil and pay tribute to him not only on my record but also in my live shows. This song allows me to carry on his memory as the person and musician that he was,” stated Kat Hawley.

The third single from the album, “Rather Be,” will begin collecting radio and Spotify playlist adds on Monday (June 24). It’s a devotional pledge from wife to husband.

“Adam and I are like two peas in a pod. We are literally always together. That may be strange to a lot of people but, we’ve spent so many years with large spans of time being apart because he was out on world concert tours with other artists. We’re simply better together. No matter where we are individually or together, I’d rather be with him,” said Kat Hawley who has been with Adam for sixteen years.

The album title comes from their son Adam Jr.’s (A.J.) birthday: 10/9/08. Kat Hawley wrote the ethereal “Moonlight” for A.J., which she hopes will serve as a timeless testament to her love for him and the pride she feels in being his mother.

“‘Moonlight’ is not even a fraction of the emotions that I have when I think of A.J. The love for your child can never really be described in words. I wanted the song to have a spacey and eclectic sound that captures these emotions via the sounds, the arrangement of the song and how the lyrics are sung. I wanted to make sure I was writing A.J. a letter rather than a song. Something that after I’m no longer living, he can read and understand and feel my words as if I am speaking directly to him along with the song and music itself. It will be something he can hold and read as well as listen to and experience all the feelings that were made exclusively for him,” conveyed Kat Hawley.

To close the album, Kat Hawley delivers a stripped-down acoustic version of Adele’s “Chasing Pavements.” The occasion allows her to tap into her roots singing gospel and Christian music in church.
For more information checkout her website at www.kathawley.com
 

❤️🎸JONATHAN BUTLER
www.jonathanbutler.com 
      NOVEMBER 10, 2024
  SURE TO BE A SELLOUT

*The Birchmere,Alexandria,VA
       www.birchmere.com*
*Also:
🎷Gerald Albright - Oct. 10 
🎹Keiko Marsui - Nov. 17 

Jonathan Butler is a singer-songwriter and guitarist who leads a life few can imagine. Born in South Africa under the shadow of apartheid and raised in poverty, Butler was the first non-white artist to be played on South African radio and appear on national television. Though his musical abilities would take him away from the world he grew up in, Jonathan would neither forget the plight of his fellow South Africans, nor the man that led them to freedom. It is for this reason Nelson Mandela credits Butler's music as having inspired him during his imprisonment. In more ways than one, Jonathan Butler is representative of South Africa.

Jonathan's story begins at a very young age when his father presented him with a homemade one-string guitar. Little did his father realize that he was giving way to a musical phenomenon. From then on, Jonathan's musical gifts grew by leaps and bounds. In his early teens Butler won a local talent contest, affording him the opportunity to perform with a touring musical company throughout South Africa. On occasion he would perform at lavish concert halls for whites only, where he would not be allowed to use the bathroom, and the very next night he would perform in a dilapidated local township. Ultimately, his ticket to a new life was music.

At thirteen, Jonathan's talents caught the eyes and ears of the British record producer Clive Caulder. He was signed to Caulder's Jive Records and the rest is history. Jonathan's first single broke down racial barriers becoming the first song by a black artist played by white radio stations in South Africa and won the South African equivalent to a GRAMMY®.

His commitment to his craft came to fruition with his self-titled debut album, which received a GRAMMY® nomination for the pop hit "Lies." An instrumental "Going Home" earned him another GRAMMY® nomination and the mid-tempo ballad "Sarah, Sarah" confirmed Butler's place in popular music.

However, to Jonathan Butler, success is measured on a higher plane. A religious and spiritual man, Butler dedicates his life to being a devoted father and grandfather, and a caring citizen to his homeland, South Africa. And in spite of all the hardships, Jonathan Butler has an air of playfulness and quiet resilience that is easily visible in his passionate performances.
🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶 

🏆🏆2025 GRAMMYS🏆🏆 To Take Place Sunday, Feb. 2, Live In Los Angeles; GRAMMY Award Nominations To Be Announced Friday, Nov. 8, 2024

The 2025 GRAMMYs return to Los Angeles on Sunday, Feb. 2. Nominations for the 2025 GRAMMYs will be announced Friday, Nov. 8. Learn more about the key dates and deadlines ahead of Music's Biggest Night.

Music's Biggest Night is back! The 2025 GRAMMYs will take place Sunday, Feb. 2, live at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, the Recording Academy announced May 21st.  The 2025 GRAMMYs will broadcast live on the CBS Television Network and stream live and on demand on Paramount+. As well, nominations for the 2025 GRAMMYs will be announced Friday, Nov. 8, 2024. See the full list of key dates and deadlines for the 2025 GRAMMYs, officially known as the 67th Annual GRAMMY Awards, below.

Key dates for the 2025 GRAMMY Awards season are as follows:

Sept. 16, 2023 – Aug. 30, 2024
Product Eligibility Period
The period by which recordings are submitted for GRAMMY consideration. All releases must be available for sale, via general distribution, to the public by this date and through at least the date of the current year’s voting deadline (final ballot) to be eligible for the 2025 GRAMMY Awards.

July 8, 2024 – Aug. 23, 2024
Media Company Registration Period
Media companies must apply for registration with the Recording Academy to submit recordings.

July 17, 2024 – Aug. 30, 2024
Online Entry Period
All eligible recordings must be entered prior to the close of the Online Entry Period, regardless of the public release date.

Oct. 4, 2024 – Oct. 15, 2024
First Round Voting
First Round Voting determines all the GRAMMY nominees for each GRAMMY Awards year.

Nov. 8, 2024
Nominees Announced for the 2025 GRAMMY Awards
Announcing the official nominees list for the 2025 GRAMMYs.

Dec. 12, 2024 – Jan. 3, 2025
Final Round Voting
Determines the GRAMMY winners across all categories revealed on GRAMMY night.

Feb. 2, 2025
2025 GRAMMY Awards
Music's Biggest Night, recognizing excellence in the recording arts and sciences.

🎶🎷🎹🎸🎤🎺🎻🪕🥁🎶

🎷🎷🎷THREE GREAT SAXPHONE PLAYER RELEASES🎷🎷🎷

❤️🎷KIRK WHALUM 🎷❤️EPIC COOL - OUT NOW
www.kirkwhalum.com 
NOVEMBER 1 - Keystone Korner (see below) 

Saxophone icon Kirk Whalum blasts off with his highly-anticipated new album Epic Cool, an electrifying collection of original grooves. Teaming up with producer Greg Manning (Keb’ Mo’, Herb Alpert, 2x GRAMMY® nominee, composer/collaborator on 10 #1 Billboard hits), Whalum focuses on his songwriting to craft an album that’s passionate and spirited on a monumental scale, but with his trademark soul. From danceable hits like “Bah-De-Yah!” to melodic, sultry jams (Whalum calls “Pillow Talk” the strongest song he’s written in 20 years), Epic Cool weaves a musical story that has wide, cross-genre appeal. Get ready to groove, because Epic Cool is anything but ordinary.
PLUS read this sweet post on  Instagram from his taleted bass guitar player son, KYLE WHALUM (plays on Kelly Clarkson show, on the Voice and for Katy Perry).

https://www.instagram.com/kylewhalum?igsh=cXljYXExNmx4enp5
🎷🎷🎷🎷🎷🎷🎷🎷🎷🎷 

❤️🎷GERALD ALBRIGHT          G-STREAM 3 - FULL          THROTTLE EP OUT NOW

 www.geraldalbright.com

“Thank you for taking the time to visit with me. I appreciate the love and support I continue to receive from you, my loyal fans.” Gerald
Get these high energy tunes to complement his new release:
 

❤️🎷G-Stream and G-Stream 2 - Turn It Up❤️🎷 May 17th EP get G-Stream 3 - Full Throttle ❤️🎷
🎷🎷🎷🎷🎷🎷🎷🎷🎷🎷 

❤️🎷ANDREW NEU 
 Keep It Real a new single  https://www.andrewneu.com/

🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶

SUPPORT THESE LONGSTANDING STREAMING SHOWS (when they aren't touring)

 🎷MICHAEL LINGTON
❤️STAGEIT
 
🎹 BRIAN CULBERTSON
❤️THE HANG 

MICHAEL LINGTON❤️ (sax) 🎷🎷🎷 on Stageit stageit.com/MichaelLington or www.michaellington.com on many Sundays. Check his website.
Pay what you can.
 ❤️🎷NOTE FROM MICHAEL:
 On The Scene" is the first single from my upcoming album out now!

I'm particular excited about this song as it reminds me of the classic songs from the early days of contemporary jazz (music that inspired me to become a sax player) but with a modern sound! I co-wrote it and produced it with the great David Mann and it features a world class rhythm section: Michael White on drums, Paul Jackson Jr. on guitar and Alex Al on Bass. The album will be released early next year.

Can't wait for you to hear it!

Xoxo Michael

LOOKING AHEAD! Here is a YouTube video he posted of a SAX TO SOUL show at Spaghettini on April 22, SOUTH BAY from the album:  
❤️https://youtu.be/g03jM-k08vA?si=yvRk84z5X0l1LQDQ

BRIAN CULBERTSON ❤️ (piano)🎹The Hang on YouTube on many Friday Nights www.brianculbertson.com.  

❤️Recent FRIDAY NIGHT SHOW, Deep Cuts:

https://www.youtube.com/live/7yLentX9990?si=4tOkNemukQiegixt

Entire DREAMS album, June 21:

https://www.youtube.com/live/MC9zO1Yowco?si=BfZbqMK6mH6XLr9A


❤️🤍💙JULY 5 - JULY 4TH POOLSIDE SHOW ALSO PLAYED SONG #9 From his soon to be DAY TRIP ALBUM...SO GOOD & FUNKY❤️🎹🎶
 https://www.youtube.com/live/syrqm0rAEF8?si=84iFWjEUsNF1X_1A

❤️WATCH BELOW BEAUTIFUL TRIBUTE SHOW TO THE LATE DAVID SANBORN MAY 17:
https://www.youtube.com/live/tarxusFbOvs?si=lJ-pedwB30AW5Pbe

PLUS see more under OBITUARIES.

Please tip Brian for The Hang shows through CashApp, Venmo or PayPal or Join his Hang Club and hear him Monday and Wednesdays too!

Checkout their websites for more info because they frequently go on tour.

        ❤️🎷🎷🎷🎷🎷🎷🎷🎹🎹🎹🎹🎹🎹🎹❤️

      ❤️ADAM HAWLEY🎸              ANNOUNCEMENT

Your home for fresh new sounds:

MBF Entertainment Records

Adam is excited to announce the expansion of his label MBF Entertainment (https://www.mbfentertainment.com/ Along with being the home of all of Adam's releases, MBF also will be promoting artists such as Brandon Marceal (Flute), Fabian Chavez (Sax) & Kat Hawley (Vocals). Its most recent release by Jason Jackson (Sax) is a captivating new single entitled "Daybreak" feat. Chieli Minucci. Jason's single (produced, mixed and cowritten by Hawley) was #2 most added and is off to a hot start thanks to Gorov Music Marketing, and is distributed by A Train Entertainment. Be sure to look for more captivating music in the coming months!!
Check his website for 2024 tour dates.

https://www.adamhawley.com/ 

 🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶 

       KEYSTONE KORNER          BALTIMORE,MD
   Live and Streaming www.keystonekornerbaltimore.com

❤️NAJEE 🎷 and flutist - September 27 and 28 in person and streaming 
  
❤️MARCUS JOHNSON🎹 - October 18 in person and streaming 

❤️KIRK WHALUM 🎷 - November 1 in person and streaming

❤️ALEX BUGNON🎹-November 15 and 16 in person and streaming

 
This is a wonderful venue, and they have been streaming great jazz for years. Stream for only $15 + a small fee! 

Past shows included: STANLEY CLARKE❤️(guitar)  BRIAN SIMPSON❤️(piano), WALTER BEASLEY ❤️(sax), MARCUS JOHNSON❤️(piano), ARTURO SANDOVAL❤️(trumpet), YELLOWJACKETS❤️, TAKE 6❤️, HOUSTON PEARSON ❤️(sax), GREGG KARUKAS❤️ (piano) & PAUL BROWN❤️ (guitar) 

🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶

THE BIRCHMERE
www.birchmere.com
Alexandria, VA

If you live in the Northern Virginia area, this is a great venue! (no streaming, in person only)

❤️Gerald Albright🎷
October 10 
 ❤️ Jonathan Butler 🎸 November 10
❤️Keiko Matsui🎹 
November 17 

🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶

TIN PAN  

 https://tinpanrva.com/

If you live in the Richmond Virginia area, this is another great venue!

(dinner and show) 
October 9 - Greg Karukas.com 
See email below from him:

Here is a quick update for summer 2024. I just got back from Detroit and had a great time playing for the Atlanta and Dallas (w/Mindi Abair) audiences over the last couple of weeks. I had a 3pm slot at the Royal Oak Jazz Festival and James Taylor happened to be at Pine Knob, so my good buddy Luis Conte got us passes to see the JT show and, as usual, it was fantastic! The best band in the world with legends Steve Gadd, Luis, Jimmy Johnson, Mike Landau, Walt Fowler and Larry Goldings.
Now, I'm home and have a GK Soul/Jazz Organ Party gig this Friday at the Topanga Canyon Bistro (outdoors on the patio) Thankfully, Caltrans has fixed the landslide and opened up Topanga from PCH. Mitchell Long on guitar and Tyler Hammond on drums and me on Hammond organ. Reservations recommended. 310-455-7800.

Thanks to those who came to the "Flashes of Light" Nikola Tesla Musical Concerts over 2 nights in March. It was a total sellout and the crowds really appreciated the compelling story, told in songs w/ narration by my friend Ron Boustead. It was another first when I brought my full band to The Grape in April. I've always enjoyed playing the house Hammond B3 on my previous dates with Ricardo Silveira and Mike O'Neill, but this time I brought my whole band and original piano oriented show.July 4 I'll be hanging at the beach for a block party music jam with friends in Hollywood Beach. Message me if you'd like to come by.
Then I'll be driving my camper van up to the Bay Area for a couple of shows:
July 13 guesting with Peter White in San Ramon
July 14 at Bluerose Woodland Concerts. an intimate solo house concert in Woodland, CA (near Sacramento), very limited seating.
Then lots of hiking in Marin county and Point Reyes.
​"Gregg has developed an intimate concert experience to complement his international ​touring; up close to the piano and his engaging smile, playing some of his best known songs ​along with Brazilian and jazz classics - "unplugged." Soulful, funky, and melodic: the ​essential qualities that have defined GRAMMY winning keyboardist/composer/producer ​Gregg Karukas' 13 solo CDs over a three decade career, both sophisticated and accessible. A ​prolific, genre-crossing veteran of the Contemporary Jazz scene, Gregg was a founding ​member of The Rippingtons and has toured with Larry Carlton, Boney James, Dave Koz, ​Sergio Mendes, Dori Caymmi, Ricardo Silveira, Peter White, Rick Braun, Shelby Flint, ​Melissa Manchester, Alphonse Mouzon, Brenda Russell, and Jeffrey Osborne. Gregg says, ​"These house concerts are sometimes more fun than a big show, since most of the audience ​are friends of friends, relaxed, and I can play longer sets with added songs from my latest ​solo piano CD, 'Serenata,' some jazz, and many of my hits, 'unplugged'. "
If you would like to host an intimate house concert, please get in touch thru my website: www.karukas.com

More 2024 Shows:

July 21, we have an all-star Smooth Jazz show at South Coast Winery in Temecula with Chris Standring and Patrick Lamb (sax w/Gino Vanelli). Looking forward to that great lawn venue.
July 25 I'll bring some new stuff to The Grape in Ventura.
Aug 8 Laguna Festival of the Arts Art, Jazz, Wine & Chocolate 5:30 pm - 7:00 pm Unplugged Piano Trio with Ian Martin- upright bass and Joel Taylor- drums.Aug 10 Kaua'i, HI Gregg Karukas, Paul Brown, Brian Bromberg, Land Richards and Michael Paulo at The Royal Sonesta Hotel
Aug 16 GK Soul/Jazz Organ Party at 1881 E. Washington Bl. Alta Dena, CA
Aug 23 Paso Robles, CA Libretto Unplugged Piano Trio on the Steinway Concert Grand with Ian Martin- upright bass and Joel Taylor- drums
October 3 Annapolis, MD Ramshead on Stage
October 9 Richmond, VA Tin Pan TIX AVAILABLE SOON.
​November 8-9 Austin, TX area Horseshoe Bay Resort All-star Jazz Fest featuring Peter White, Gregg Karukas, Chris Walker, Michael Paulo, B. Valentine
November 23-24 Oakland, CA Yoshi's Gregg guests with Peter White

Here is a real throwback. The original Rippingtons backstage at one of our early concerts in 1987 at The Lobero Theater in Santa Barbara w/ guest David Benoit.
Steve Reid, GK, David Benoit, Russ Freeman, Bill Lanphier (RIP), Tony Morales, Brandon Fields. Last year I went to the same theater to see David and his band.Copyright © 2024 Karukas Music, All rights reserved.
Thanks for signing up on www.karukas.com
Our mailing address is:
Karukas MusicP O Box 1356Thousand Oaks, CA 91358
Add us to your address book
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🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶  

🔔🔔🔔🔔

GRAMMY AWARDS WERE

🏆FEBRUARY 4, 2024🏆
EVEN THOUGH THEY DID NOT WIN BOB JAMES❤️🎹WAS AT THE PRE-GRAMMY SHOW WHICH WAS LIVE ON YOUTUBE AND IT WAS STATED: "the performance was undeniably anchored by a pair of distinguished veterans, founding members of the band Fourplay: pianist ❤️Bob James and drummer ❤️Harvey Mason, Sr. (If that name sounds familiar for more than discographical reasons, it might be because his son, producer Harvey Mason, Jr., is the current CEO of the Recording Academy.
❤️🎹🎹🎹🥁🥁🥁❤️ 
 
CONGRATULATIONS FOR BEING NOMINATED👏 

Best Jazz Instrumental Album

🎹🎶PAT METHENY🎶🎹

www.patmetheny.com

Dream Box
 &
Best Contemporary Instrumental Album 

🎹🎶BOB JAMES🎶🎹

Jazz Hands 

Jazz Hands was Released September 15, 2023
An eclectic, fantastic album!

Featuring CeeLo Green, Dave Koz, DJ Jazzy Jeff and many more.
Check out his website and album.

❤️JAZZ HANDS❤️
www.bobjames.com

  Hear this candid, intelligent conversation in an  interview with Sandy at smoothjazz.com on September 13, 2023.  It includes Bob's insight into each song.  

Plus maybe a reunion of some sort with FOURPLAY, Harvey Mason and Nathan East in discussions with Bob (maybe even Lee Ritinour and Larry Carlton). As a big fan of FOURPLAY I have the original on cassette tape and the vinyl white album.  Fingers crossed!
Bob James is a great disc jockey too!

https://m.soundcloud.com/smoothjazzglobal/bob-james-jazz-hands-world-premier-interview

🎶🎶🎶 🎶🎶🎶