This Just In ...

Goodnight everyone, and have a sultry weekend!

Posted by Kevin Fischer on July 6, 2012

“God, it was hot! Forget about frying an egg on the sidewalk; this kind of heat would fry an egg inside the chicken.”
From the book, "Chill Factor" by Rachel Caine


It's Friday night. Time to unwind with our regular Friday night feature on This Just In.

The weekend has finally arrived.

The sun has set.

The evening sky has erupted. 

Let's put controversy and provocative blogs aside for the rest of this work week and smooth our way into Saturday and Sunday.

Scorching temperatures are expected to cool off a bit this weekend, but it will still be warm, and that's alright. After all, this is July.

Tonight....soft, smooth, sultry music. 

Let's get started with the late great Wayman Tisdale who, after playing many years in the NBA became a smooth jazz star playing bass guitar.


 

Tisdale died in 2009 after a two-year battle with cancer. He was 44.

Next...

The Danish Daily News says Veronica Martell is a "great voice that instantly catches you." Her influences growing up were Ella Fitzgerald, Etta James, Tony Bennett, Frank Sinatra, Sarah Vaughn and Nancy Wilson.

What others have said about Martell:

"a winning combination of traditional stage presence and modern day charisma"
– The Danish Times.   

One of the hottest talents in jazz"
– Jazz Review   

"a remarkable vocal talent with an exquisite four octave range"

– All Music Guide

“My Heart Belongs to Daddy” is off Martell’s “Lucky” CD that came out in 2003. The New Yorker’s latest CD is entitled, “The Great City.”

Our next performer, like many singers, was surrounded by music at a very young age.

“On any given day, I could hear my mother playing Chopin Etudes in one room, while in another room my father would be playing Bach Partitas on trombone, and on another day they would be playing American Songbook standards together, like Gershwin, or Porter or Berlin, or sometimes a song they wrote. It was a great way to grow up!" says Calabria Foti.

A lover of classical music, Foti played jazz guitar and bass and also played violin in several orchestras. By the age of 12 she was singing in nightclubs and hotels.

In October 2007, she released, "A Lovely Way To Spend An Evening.”

“I wanted to make a romantic jazz album that people could put on when they cuddled up with someone special, a record that would put them in the mood!” says Foti.

Legendary songwriter Johnny Mandel says, "Calabria is truly a marvelous singer in every way. She has all the technique and musicality you could want, and has the ability to tell a story and touch your heart."

That's it for this week.

Goodnight.

Sleep well.

Have a great weekend.

We close with Sacha Boutros.

The San Diego native's voice sounds very much like the golden age of Hollywood. She studied Bel Canto when she decided she wanted to be a singer. Of Mexican and Lebanese heritage, Boutros speaks five languages.

She starred in tennis and soccer in college and was selected as one of the 12 finalists from around the world to represent the United States in the Young Jazz Singers Competition in Belgium. Sacha has performed with and opened for artists Julio Iglesias, Marvin Hamlisch, Chubby Checker, Frankie Laine, Kay Star, and Patty Paige.

 

Our final presentation has four Boutros selections (pick and choose as you'd like) beginning with the classic, "Speak Low" from the "Simply Sacha" CD.