| Fred Engler is nominated in "Keyboardist/Pianist of the Year" category for 2008 by Canadian Smooth Jazz Awards Committee. Composer/Keyboardist Fred Engler has been creating vibrant, passionate vibes for more than a decade, imaging a studio-full of top musicians recording his songs. Now, he’s realized his dream, and listeners, too, can hear those soulful, electric tunes on the just-released CD, “Since then till now”. Fred grew up playing classical piano before finding traditional and West Coast jazz as a teenager, playing in bands on the party circuit through university. Then, for a couple of decades performance was just a memory. Composing melodies for documentary films and commercial jingles wasn’t enough to satisfy his passion to produce a smooth jazz album. He assembled 18 sophisticated musicians in a Toronto studio. Their performances of Fred’s 14 songs are fresh and contemporary even though he composed them over many years, waiting for the right producer. When he saw Dima Graziani playing at a smooth jazz gig, Fred dragged him out to his car to sample some of the tunes, on a home-recorded CD. Dima instantly connected with the music, realizing that both men, although a generation apart, had been influenced by West Coast jazz fusion music, and signed on as producer. In Graziani’s studio, Engler’s silky smooth riffs allow the melody to be king. Still, he cautiously created space in his beautifully-crafted orchestrations for improv masters, such as McBirnie. While most of the tracks on “Since then till now” are instrumentals, 4 are vocal. Alan Garrity wrote the lyrics for 3 songs, but it is Fred’s uncanny ability to capture the moment and his playing skill that are the hallmarks of this album. When you listen to Fred’s music you will feel the playfulness and the thought that has gone onto each composition. It is a glorious journey of skill, emotion and shear joy. Now that Fred feels he has mastered 14 songs in the studio, he’s forming a smooth jazz band to perform live performances. Influenced by: Chick Corea,Herbie Hancock,Gino Vannelli,Al Jareau,Grover Washington,Earth,Wind and Fire,Stevie Wonder,Quincy Jones,Stanley Clarke,Luther Vandross,Michael Franks,Sting,Pat Metheny,,Weather Report Origin:North America Bookmark BeSonic at:       Suggest website: | 
    | ||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
