Sittin' In With The Coool CAT

Jonathan Butler is an amazing vocalist and guitarist who is at the top of his game in the contemporary jazz and gospel genres.  Playing publicly as a child in South Africa, he's gained worldwide attention throughout the years, landing on the music charts starting in 1985.  Multi-award winning program director Ray White sat down with Jonathan in December of 2023, while out on Dave Koz's Christmas T...

George Porter, Jr . is one of New Orleans' music royalty!  A Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award member, he was co-founder of the phenomenal Funk/Soul/R&B/Blues band The Meters .  You'll find him as an integral member of The Funky Meters , too!  Today George's legacy is continuing to be made heading up the Runnin' Pardners Band , whose latest album is Crying For Hope .  Multi-award winning program d...

Brian Bromberg is among the elite bass players in the world today.  Playing both acoustic and electric basses, he's a world-renowned record producer too.  Iconic saxman Stan Getz hired Brian, at the age of 19, and his career took off from there.  Throughout his illustrious career, he's released over 2 dozen albums and has played with a who's who in the music industry.  You'll also find Brian playi...

England's Chris Standring is a superb guitarist whose had over a dozen Top 10 contemporary jazz hits with a half-dozen reaching Number 1.  Moving to the United States in 1991, Chris has become a prolific performer playing throughout the country.  Coool CAT's producer Ray White caught up with Chris in May of 2024 to chat about his musical influences, insights into his younger days in England and he...

Pieces of a Dream have been playing great contemporary jazz, R&B and funk music since forming in 1976.  Releasing over 20 albums, you'll find tunes on the top music charts throughout their illustrious career.  On this episode, multi-award winning program director Ray White catches up with Curtis Harmon, James Lloyd and their newest official member Tony Watson, Jr. to talk about Tony's history with...

Tab Benoit is an amazing blues guitarist/singer/songwriter hailing from Louisiana  Since the early 1990's Tab has released well over a dozen albums and has won numerous blues awards, keeping a busy touring schedule too. Be sure to listen to more from Tab on Episode 133.  Music aficionado and Classic Artists Today's founder Ray White caught up with Tab backstage before his show in July of 2024 to t...

Bassist Christian de Mesones has honed his musical skills throughout his adult life while working various jobs to make ends meet.  In 2021, this rising star garnered the attention of Dave Koz and landed on several jazz charts and Sirius XM's Watercolors.  His latest album is You Only Live Twice and features his first #1 hit.  Multi-award winning program director, Ray White , traveled to Metro Wash...

Lao Tizer is a keyboardist/producer who blends together elements of various genres of music in developing his own brand of contemporary jazz.  His band members comes from multiple music backgrounds which makes Lao's band unique in many ways.  With over a half-dozen albums released since the early 1990's, he can be found playing festivals and shows throughout the country.  Multi-award winning progr...

Chieli Minucci formed Special EFX with George Jinda in 1982.  With George's passing, Chieli has carried on the great music and heritage of the band and incorporated some of the top contemporary jazz musicians and vocalists in the country for his live shows and some albums.  In June of 2024 Coool CAT's producer, Ray White , caught up Chieli out on tour to talk about his Return To Budapest With Love...

Guitarist Steve Oliver has been a mainstay on the contemporary and smooth jazz charts for over 25 years.  During this period he's landed over a dozen songs in the Top 20.  His dynamic live performances have ignited fans from coast-to-coast.  Multi-award winning program director Ray White caught up with Steve at the 2023 Rehoboth Beach Jazz Festival to talk about his latest album, A New Light , tha...

Saxophonist Steve Cole launched his national music career in 1998 when his first album release was produced by contemporary jazz stalwart Brian Culbertson.  Growing up in Chicago, Steve brings elements of bebop, pop, funk and gospel to his contemporary jazz platform.  He's also been on-stage or recorded with jazz and blues legends like: Larry Carlton, Buddy Guy, Jeff Lorber, Junior Wells and many...

Randy Jacobs grew up in the Motown city launching a career as a songwriter and guitarist.  As a member of Was (Not Was) in the early 1980's he honed his musical skills.  In the early 1990's Randy played on an album of all-star musicans called Soul Mission.  Shortly afterwards, he formed The Boneshakers .  Randy shares his insights with award-winning program director Ray White talking about the sta...

Ivan Neville grew up with music from his relatives including his uncles Charles, Art, Cyril and of course his Dad - Aaron.  Throughout his years Ivan's recorded five solo albums and four more with his band Dumpstaphunk .  You'll also find him playing on many New Orleans based compilation albums and films.  You may not know that Ivan has also recorded with several music legends including The Rollin...

Nathan Mitchell is a rising star in contemporary jazz and soul music genres.  A composer, producer and multi-instrumentalist, Nathan is Grammy nominated and has three #1 Billboard songs so far in his career.  Multi-award winning program director Ray White caught up with Nathan during rehearsal in November 2023 to capture his insights on his music, success and plans moving forward.  His brand new a...

Lindsey Webster , a jazz, R&B, and Pop singer, has been gaining worldwide fame, since launching on the national music scene in 2013.  This rising star's first single "Fool Me Once," reached number one on the smooth jazz charts making her the first vocalist since Sade to have a #1 vocal song in the primarily instrumental format.  Lindsey's landed a half-dozen Top 5 hits on the charts.  Multi-award...

Greg Carmichael is a co-founding member of the Grammy award nominated contemporary jazz group, Acoustic Alchemy .  SInce the mid-1980's the band has released over 20 albums.  Multi-award winning program director Ray White went backstage at the Rehoboth Beach Jazz Festival in October of 2023,  before the band hit the stage, to talk to Greg about the unique beginning of the band, their current line-...

Rick Braun is a dynamic trumpeter, composer and producer with over 20 #1 smooth jazz hits.  Along with his 15 plus studio albums, you'll find Rick collaborating with Richard Elliot, Boney James and Kirk Whalum & Norman Brown in BWB.  On this episode multi-award winning program director Ray White hangs out with Rick backstage and they discuss Rick's latest album Rick Braun , upcoming plans, collabo...

Eric Essex is an incredible contemporary jazz guitarist who has released 29 full length albums since the late 1980's.  During his early years he recorded four well received albums and earned a degree from Berklee College of Music.  A Warner Brothers distributed label signed Eric in 1998 and his career took off.  In the early 2000's, he launched his own record label and scored numerous radio hits. ...

Joanne Shaw Taylor is a blues guitarist/vocalist/songwriter to keep your eyes on!  Her career has skyrocketed since hanging with Joe Bonamassa and Dave Stewart .  With over 10 albums released, you'll find her songs charting with each new album.  In 2010, Joanne won Best Female Vocalist at the British Blues Awards .  In February of 2024, multi-award winning program director Ray White "zoomed" with...

The Grainger Brothers are two of the hardest working musicians around.  From the Baltimore, Maryland area Gary (Bass) and Greg (Drums) can be found as the rhythm section for Acoustic Alchemy and for the Paul Reed Smith band.  They also lead their own bands including Grainger , Pockets and several tribute ensembles.  Their latest work is with Paul Reed Smith Eightlock .  Multi-award winning program...

Phil Perry is among the elite R&B singers in the country.  In the R&B Hall of Fame , his vocal talents can be heard on albums by Dave Grusin, George Duke, Najee, Chaka Khan, Fourplay and many more.  Phil's solo career has been filled with over a dozen marvelous albums.  In this interview, from November of 2014, Coool CAT's Ray White caught up with Phil before he took the stage.  We touched on nume...

Jay Beckenstein co-founded Spyro Gyra in 1974, and ever since the group has been among the elite music bands in contemporary jazz.  Throughout the years the band has garnered numerous Grammy nominations and was tapped for the prestigious George Benson Lifetime Achievement Award.  Multi award-winning program director Ray White hung out with Jay at his hotel in July 2023  to talk about Spyro Gyra's...

Christian de Mesones has been playing the bass for over 40 years, gaining national and international acclaim starting in 2017 with several singles and his They Call Me Big New York album.  Previously, you could hear him with the Groove Skool Band.  His years of performances and recordings propelled him to the top of Billboard's Smooth Jazz Airplay chart.  Christian hung out with Coool CAT's Ray Wh...

Norman Brown is a guitarist who's been called "a culmination of Jimi Hendrix and George Benson with some Wes Monthgomery thrown in," by Jazz Times magazine.  His prowness as a musician and genre-bending facility has made him one of the most sought after internationally renowned musicians in contemporary jazz!  Multi award-winning program director Ray White caught up with Norman after his performan...

This year we feature the amazing Jonathan Butler and guitarist Randy Jacobs , founder of The Boneshakers , who are winding down the 2023 Dave Koz Christmas Tour.  They'll provide insights into their recent holiday projects as we finish up the year with our celebration.  In our showcase segment, we bring you more holiday cheer from Joe Bonamassa with Dion , jazzman David Garfield with Tom Scott and...