SMOOTH JAZZ & CHILL NEWS BITS: CANDY DULFER, INCOGNITO, PHIL PERRY, SMOKEY ROBINSON, STING, SI-SE & MORE...

Here’s a list of some hot upcoming concerts as Novo Soundz appear at the Supper Club in San Francisco on March 31; the Four Tops at the Bergen County Performing Arts Center (NJ) on April 1; the Average White Band and Tower Of Power at the Keswick Theatre in Philadelphia on April 7-8; Si-Se appears at SOBs (Sounds of Brazil) in New York on April 13; and the Brazilian Girls are at the Fillmore in San Francisco on April 24……….Saxophonist Candy Dulfer performs on Prince’s new CD, 3121, which also happens to be this week’s #1 album and having sold in excess of 183,000 copies in its first week of release. Dulfer is featured in the horn section on four songs. Candy Dulfer will also play three special shows which commenced March 30 with Dutch hip hop artists Extince during the Dommelsch Double Dutch concerts. The concerts will take place at the LVC in Leiden on March 30, Marquis in Waalwijk on April 5th and Berlage in Eidhoven on April 13……….Incognito heads to London’s 102.2 Smooth FM studio on April 4 for a live broadcast performance. The lineup will include Bluey, Imaani, Tommy Momrelle, Matt Cooper and Francis Hylton. Later in the month Incognito will perform at London’s Jazz Café……….WQCD-FM (CD101.9) in New York is hosting a smooth jazz concert on May 19th at the Beacon Theatre, featuring David Sanborn and Spyro Gyra………Smokey Robinson has joined the ranks of Rod Stewart, Gladys Knight, Carly Simon, Bette Midler, James Darren, Barry Manilow, and the many other pop and R&B performers who have recently released standards albums. The album, Timeless Love, is to be released on June 13 via Universal/New Door. Songs include – I’ve Got You Under My Skin, Tea For Two, Love Is Here To Stay, Speak Low, Fly Me To The Moon, Moody’s Mood For Love and Time After Time. Robinson’s upcoming tour schedule includes the following dates: Casino Rama in Rama, Ontario on April 20; Whiting Auditorium in Flint, Michigan (April 21); Palace Theatre in Marion, Ontari (April 22); Count Basie Theatre in Red Bank, NJ (June 17); Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, Conn. (June 20); Carnegie Hall in New York, NY (June 22); Saratoga Performing Arts Center in Saratoga, NY (June 24); and the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles, CA (Aug. 26)……….Sting, Sheryl Crow and James Taylor are scheduled to perform at the upcoming 2006 Rainforest Benefit, being held at the Tiger Jam in Las Vegas on April 29 and at New York’s Carnegie Hall on May 19. Sting will also perform at the Rock in Rio festival in Lisbon on July 4. Sting’s other international stops include Tobago (April 23), Puerto Rico (April 27) and Moscow (July 28)……….Smooth jazz singer Phil Perry just completed a series of performances in Kuaala Lumpur, Malaysia. He’ll next be one of the headliners at the Las Vegas City of Light Festival on April 22. His latest release is Classic Love Songs on Shanachie……….Over 500 artists will be performing at the 49th Annual Monterey Jazz Festival being held Sept. 15-17 in Monterey, CA. Among those participating will be Bonnie Raitt, the Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra, Dave Brubeck, the Yellowjackets, Dianne Reeves, Robert Glasper, the McCoy Tyner Trio with special guests Bobby Hutcherson and Roy Hargrove, and the Charles Lloyd Quartet.