Joyce Cooling Band at 2009 Berks Jazz Fest March 26, 2009 -
On Saturday April 4, 2009 at 2pm at Berks Jazz Fest, in Reading, PA (www.berksjazzfest.com) there will be a great show with San Francisco-based guitarist Joyce Cooling and keyboardist Jay Wagner, and their band. The show will hopefully debut some of the new material from Cooling’s seventh CD to be released this April called Global Cooling, an eclectic mix of jazz, dance, and trance music - appropriately titled for these environmentally-concerned times. On the website www.joycecooling.com, there is a public service message “Vote Earth – Your Light Switch is Your Vote” Switch off your lights for Earth Hour, Saturday March 28, 8:30pm-9:30pm.
A portion of the sales from Joyce’s Global Cooling will go directly to NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness (www.nami.org). For over a decade, Joyce Cooling continues to be one of contemporary jazz's most dynamic guitarists, with songs on the Billboard Contemporary Jazz Chart and Radio & Records. From her first hit single “South of Market” from the 1997 CD Playing It Cool, to the song “Expression” on the CD This Girl’s Got To Play to the tune “Mm, Mm Good” with guest Al Jarreau on Cooling’s Third Wish CD. As well as upbeat smooth jazz tunes such as “Callie” and “Before Dawn” from the popular CD Keeping Cool. Every once in a while, Cooling has also recorded her own sweet vocals, on tunes like “Savannah” and "Simple Kind of Love." The songwriting duo of guitarist Joyce Cooling and keyboardist/producer Jay Wagner create an exhilarating repertoire of original tunes and a uniquely innovative sound which combines smooth jazz, funky R & B, dance rhythms and Brazilian influences. - by Val Vaccaro
Joyce Cooling Shares Christmas Gift with You Nov. 19, 2008 – Like all of us, Joyce Cooling has always had a ‘to-do before I’m dead’ list. Maybe not as miraculous as curing cancer but still important. Right near the top has always been her wish to write and record a Christmas tune. Well, put a big check mark on that line. Cooling is offering her own Christmas original, 'It’s Feeling Like Christmas,' on her website. In the spirit of Christmas Joyce is giving the tune to you for free. Joyce sings and plays guitar on the tune. Check it out here. http://www.joycecooling.com – by Kari Graham
Joyce
Cooling's Warm Summer Night July
30, 2007 - On a beautiful summer evening in MD,
it was Joyce
Cooling's first time performing at the Rams Head Tavern
and my first time seeing her perform live. Believe
me, it won't be my last. This girl rocks the guitar
lots of class and style and the bluesy and down
home feel to her style keeps fans coming back
for more. More
Joyce
Cooling's Revolving Door November
3, 2006 - Much like Lewis Carroll's beloved
Alice who followed a nattily attired talking
rabbit down a hole I was equally intrigued
as I recently spent an all too short hour
speaking with contemporary Jazz guitarist
Joyce Cooling. The San Francisco Bay area
composer/musician readily admits that having
a conversation with her can be both an adventure
and elusive. At one point during our conversation
she asks, "Have you noticed with me that
you can never get a straight answer? Have
you noticed that?" More
Joyce
Cooling Happy with "Steady Eddy"
partner Jay Wagner September
16, 2004 - If you've ever talked to Joyce
Cooling you'd know that she's not short
on Pizzazz and times that by ten when she
walks on stage. Add partner Jay Wagner to
the mix and you'll understand why opposites
attract . "He doesn't have a lot of complicated
emotions or ups and downs," says Cooling,
"He's very much a steady eddy kind of
guy." She adds "I'm very different,
I'm up and down and all over the place. It's
a good combination, he cools me off and I
light a fire under him." The two met
while both playing the Brazilian Jazz circuit
in 1985 and the two clicked instantly both
personally and musically. Wagner has produced
all her albums and on the new one 'This Girls
Got To Play' contributes keyboards, vocals
and soprano sax. "He hides his light
he will not be in the front he wants to be
in the background. With a guy like that sometimes
only the musicians get it. They know he's
special but he's just a shy guy," says
Cooling. Read
our updated interview with Joyce Cooling.
Joyce
Cooling Thankful To The Jazz Clubs July
13, 2004 - Joyce
Cooling discovered Jazz as a teen and
though she was given a huge Jazz library from
a friend early on she also gives thanks to
New York Clubs for cutting her some slack.
"You know if I could ever find the club
owners I'd love to say thank you. I owe them
so much." When Cooling was too young
to enter those Jazz clubs she still got a
glimpse of the action, "They knew I was
under aged but they let me sit on the steps
and listen because they could just see how
crazy I was about it," says Cooling.
"Some would let us in after hours just
to watch and these were the people that truly
understood." The guitarist told Smooth
Jazz Now certain clubs stand out in her mind
like the Village Vanguard and the Village
Gate in New York. Cooling is currently charting
with 'Expression' from the album 'This Girls
Got To Play." Read
our current interview with Joyce Cooling.
Joyce
Cooling Happy Being a Marketing Hook June
16, 2004 - It's no secret that Smooth Jazz
is mostly a boys club but Joyce
Cooling says that didn't hurt her a bit,
"I think the only reason I got signed
was because I'm female. It did not work against
me," says Cooling. She told Smooth Jazz
Now that if she was a man her first album
would have never been released, "Being
female in Smooth Jazz lets face it is a marketing
hook and that's ok I could care less. All
I know is I have to play." Cooling is
currently charting with the hit 'Expression'
from her latest album 'This Girls Got To Play'
and she is our artist of the month for June.
The guitarist says the whole girl power thing
in music it's usually "very valid but
then some is not so valid it's just too cutesy.
You know cutesy women getting by on other
stuff. Read
our updated interview with Cooling.
Joyce
Cooling On Her Adventurous Teenage Years June
9, 2004 - Let's face it, we all acted out
during our teenage years. Maybe it was drinking
lemon gin in between classes or getting that
daring tattoo or piercing. Joyce
Cooling probably has you beat in that
department though - she hitchhiked across
Canada! "We were sixteen or seventeen,"
says Cooling, "Our parents to this day
had no idea. I told my mom I was just going
to my friend's house." Cooling who has
just released the album 'This Girls Got To
Play' said they saw as much of Canada as they
could, "We hitchhiked right through the
country to Montreal and my friend had a brother
living in Toronto so we visited him and we
went to Calgary but we didn't get to Vancouver.
I think we ran out of money." The guitarist
says she was, "a little nuts" back
then adding, "If I had a daughter I would
be terrified by this." Cooling is our
'Artist of the Month for June. Read
our interview.
Joyce
Cooling - 'Artist of the Month' For June June
1, 2004 - Joyce Cooling doesn't know if it
was a weird twist of fate or simply bad luck
that her last album 'Third Wish' was released
on one of the darkest days in recent memory
- 9/11. Living in San Francisco the former
New Yorker could only think about her family
that day, "I was terrified," says
Cooling "I was glued to the TV like everyone
else and I forgot all about the CD being released."
The guitarist told Smooth Jazz Now that the
period following the World Trade Center attacks
had her contemplating leaving the music industry
all together. Cooling says, "I felt like
a big pink puffy wad of cotton candy like
what am I going to do play guitar?" Well,
that's exactly what she did but not before
a lot of soul searching. "You come right
back home to where you started realizing that
you know what? This is what I love, this is
something I have to do. It's in my bone marrow."
The result is her new album with a title that
describes an artist with fortified conviction,
'This Girls Got To Play." Joyce Cooling
is the Smooth Jazz Now 'Artist of the Month.' Read
our interview from April, 28th 2004.
Joyce
Cooling Returns March 23 on Narada
Jazz February
24, 2004 - Joyce
Cooling is making big changes. The guitarist
has a new album on a new record label. The
CD on Narada Jazz is called "This Girl's
Got To Play" and will be in stores March
23. Narada Jazz is very excited about the
project calling it, "sassy, sexy, and
savvy." Cooling says, "The time
leading up to the album was, musically speaking,
a very restless one for me. I was anxious
to experiment with new ideas." The guitarist
did experiment and it paid off, "For
me, it's a good thing to be on the edge. It
keeps me focused and looking forward to the
next project." The
title song looks back at her own life, "As
a kid, I just had to play music. All I wanted
was to be in a band." says Cooling, "No,
I wasn't a cheerleader in high school."
Read More
Review Policy - Smooth Jazz Now.com believes money
does not buy a positive review. The music world is filled
with magazines and websites that will play you, or positively review you if you buy advertising. That's
not what we are about. It's a little thing called credibility.
If you want to advertise with us, we welcome you and will
do our very best to make sure anyone who visits this site
will know your name, but we won't guarantee you a positive
review. If you work with a magazine that gives you these
guarantees remember it's your reputation that's on the
line, they've already sold theirs. - John Beaudin, President,
Smooth Jazz Now.com
Sacramento Loses Their Smooth Jazz KSSJ 94.7 March 5, 2010 – Smooth Jazz has gone dark in Sacramento. Entercom Communications, owners of Smooth Jazz KSSJ 94.7 FM pulled the plug on the station this week. More
Now 3 Chances to Win “Classic Smooth Jazz 6 Packs” February 27, 2010 – Smooth Jazz Now wants to thank you for listening. Starting Monday March 1st listen for your name andyou could win some of the biggest albums in Smooth Jazz history. More
In Conversation with U-NAM on his latest CD ‘Unanimity’ February 23, 2010 - French Smooth Jazz guitar sensation Emmanuel Abitebol, more known as U-NAM, came to fame with his widely acclaimed somophore album ‘Back from the 80’s’ released in 2007. More
Sade Is Queen Again February 23, 2010 – The new Sade album is kicking some serious butt on the charts. After a 10 year break the sultry singer is back on top of the Billboard Album Charts with “Soldier of Love.” It sold over 500 thousand in its first week of release. More
Record Numbers of Votes Registered for the 6th Annual Canadian Smooth Jazz Awards February 22, 2010 – The annual Canadian Smooth Jazz Awards ballot count ending last Friday (Feb. 19) reflects a dramatic increase in voter interest. Awards co-chair, Mary Kirk, of Wave 94.7FM says, “Thank you to the huge number of fans from all over the world who took time to send in their ballots.” More
In Conversation with Paula Atherton February 19 - 2010 - Smooth Jazz female sax players are not numerous, but there is a collection of talented performers such as Candy Dulfer, Jessy J and Paula Atherton among others. Mrs. Atherton does not only perform sax and other horn instruments, she is also a consummate singer. Read the interview
March 26, 2009 -
On Saturday April 4, 2009 at 2pm at 
Nov. 19, 2008 – Like all of us, Joyce Cooling has always had a ‘to-do before I’m dead’ list. Maybe not as miraculous as curing cancer but still important. Right near the top has always been her wish to write and record a Christmas tune. Well, put a big check mark on that line. Cooling is offering her own Christmas original, 'It’s Feeling Like Christmas,' on her website. In the spirit of Christmas Joyce is giving the tune to you for free. Joyce sings and plays guitar on the tune. Check it out here. 
July
30, 2007 - On a beautiful summer evening in MD,
it was 
November
3, 2006 - Much like Lewis Carroll's beloved
Alice who followed a nattily attired talking
rabbit down a hole I was equally intrigued
as I recently spent an all too short hour
speaking with contemporary Jazz guitarist
Joyce Cooling. The San Francisco Bay area
composer/musician readily admits that having
a conversation with her can be both an adventure
and elusive. At one point during our conversation
she asks, "Have you noticed with me that
you can never get a straight answer? Have
you noticed that?" 
September
16, 2004 - If you've ever talked to 
July
13, 2004 - 
June
16, 2004 - It's no secret that Smooth Jazz
is mostly a boys club but 
June
9, 2004 - Let's face it, we all acted out
during our teenage years. Maybe it was drinking
lemon gin in between classes or getting that
daring tattoo or piercing. 
June
1, 2004 - Joyce Cooling doesn't know if it
was a weird twist of fate or simply bad luck
that her last album 'Third Wish' was released
on one of the darkest days in recent memory
- 9/11. Living in San Francisco the former
New Yorker could only think about her family
that day, "I was terrified," says
Cooling "I was glued to the TV like everyone
else and I forgot all about the CD being released."
The guitarist told Smooth Jazz Now that the
period following the World Trade Center attacks
had her contemplating leaving the music industry
all together. Cooling says, "I felt like
a big pink puffy wad of cotton candy like
what am I going to do play guitar?" Well,
that's exactly what she did but not before
a lot of soul searching. "You come right
back home to where you started realizing that
you know what? This is what I love, this is
something I have to do. It's in my bone marrow."
The result is her new album with a title that
describes an artist with fortified conviction,
'This Girls Got To Play." Joyce Cooling
is the Smooth Jazz Now 'Artist of the Month.' 
March 5, 2010 – Smooth Jazz has gone dark in Sacramento. Entercom Communications, owners of Smooth Jazz KSSJ 94.7 FM pulled the plug on the station this week. 
February 27, 2010 – Smooth Jazz Now wants to thank you for listening. Starting Monday March 1st listen for your name andyou could win some of the biggest albums in Smooth Jazz history
February 23, 2010 - French Smooth Jazz guitar sensation Emmanuel Abitebol, more known as U-NAM, came to fame with his widely acclaimed somophore album ‘Back from the 80’s’ released in 2007. 
February 23, 2010 – The new Sade album is kicking some serious butt on the charts. After a 10 year break the sultry singer is back on top of the Billboard Album Charts with “Soldier of Love.” It sold over 500 thousand in its first week of release. 
February 22, 2010 – The annual Canadian Smooth Jazz Awards ballot count ending last Friday (Feb. 19) reflects a dramatic increase in voter interest. Awards co-chair, Mary Kirk, of Wave 94.7FM says, “Thank you to the huge number of fans from all over the world who took time to send in their ballots.” 
February 19 - 2010 - Smooth Jazz female sax players are not numerous, but there is a collection of talented performers such as Candy Dulfer, Jessy J and Paula Atherton among others. Mrs. Atherton does not only perform sax and other horn instruments, she is also a consummate singer.