If you’ve ever seen Billy Joel in concert, chances are quite good that you’ve caught sax man Richie Cannata, who recorded and toured with Joel’s band from ‘75 to ‘81 and joined again for recordings and world tours just a few years ago. He also performed with the Beach Boys for over a decade, and is the musical director for The Bernie Williams Band. This musician’s musician has produced albums for Phoebe Snow, Rita Coolidge and Corey Hart among others and now he has produced his first solo recording, the self-titled RICHIE CANNATA, with Spyro Gyra’s Julio Fernandez. “Keep It in the Pocket,” the album’s opener and first radio release, does just that with a silky smooth vibe, and the other nine tracks easily keep the momentum going with splashes of R&B and funk, with a couple of nice change-ups (“Private View” and “Anna C”) adding even more dimension to what is a totally delectable collection of music. This is the stuff that’ll keep Richie Cannata’s name at the top of the Smooth and Contemporary Jazz charts for quite some time to come!
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