New Praful's Remix CD: Finally available in North America! : Smooth Jazz Now :

Other remixes include Praful's previous smash hits ""Let the Chips Falls" and "Moon Glide", as well as reworked tracks drawn from two other CDS: "One Day Deep" (2003) and "Pyramid in Your Backyard" (2005). Two brand news songs are also included: "Yalda Night" in collaboration with Hardsoul (DJ Roog) and "Her Eyes Drink" made together with Kareem Raïhani.

As this innovative artist puts it: "There is nothing more satisfying for an artist than seeing a dance floor in bliss and be a part to the excitement of a dancing crowd! Such uplifting experiences have greatly influenced my sax & flute playing, and the use of electronics and samples have become an important part of my own band performance and studio music."

A good advice to follow for listeners appreciating crossover between jazz, electronic beats and world music sounds!

Innovative Saxman, Praful, is Back with a New Album

June 29, 2005 - In 2003 he burst upon the North American music scene with his amazing debut release, "One Day Deep". An innovative offering which placed him in the Top 10 on three Billboard charts: Electronic, Hot Club and Contemporary Jazz. What can Praful do for an encore? Check out "Pyramid in Your Backyard."

Recently released by Rendezvous Entertainment in association with N-Coded Music and Therapy Records, "Pyramid in Your Backyard" is a mind blowing collage of electronic club, world music and jazz. Just as "Sigh" refused categorization, so does "Pyramid in Your Backyard" offers a cutting edge mélange of hyper kinetic drum and bass dance, vibes, funky electronic trip hop beats, cool jazz nuances, spacey rock riffs and poetically poignant melodies.

About the album title, Praful, the German-born citizen of the world said, "I found the title to be fitting because backyards are casual places often cluttered with people's belongings, while the pyramid stands for something deeper and spiritual. It is a symbol for a place inside us all, but we don't always connect to it. That's just like my music. It's casual and you can just hang out and have fun, but there is a deeper meaning to the music if you tune into it."

To support "Pyramid in Your Backyard" Praful will spend the summer on a major U.S. concert tour with sax star, Dave Koz, guitarist Marc Antoine and R & B vocalist Jeffery Osborne. - by Liz Rivard

Praful Tour Dates:

July 7 Fresno, CA Saroyan Theatre
July 8 Sacramento, CA Radisson Hotel Grove Amphitheatre
July 9 & 10 Temecula, CA Thornton Winery
July 13 Atlanta, GA Chastain Park Amphitheatre
July 14 Louisville, KY Palace Theatre
July 15 & 16 Chicago, IL Navy Pier Skyline Stage
July 17 Detroit, MI Jerome Duncan Fox Theatre
July 20 Cleveland, OH State Theatre
July 21 Kettering, OH Fraze Pavilion for the Performing Arts

July 22 St. Louis, MO The Roberts Orpheum Theatre
July 23 Apple Valley, MN Music In The Zoo
July 29 Henderson, NV Sunset Station Amphitheatre
July 30 Oakville, CA Robert Mondavis Summer Festival
July 31 Saratoga, CA Montalvo Center for the Arts
August 19 San Diego, CA Humphrey's By The Bay
August 20 Concord, CA Chronicle Pavilion
August 21 Hollywood, CA Hollywood Bowl

Niagara Smooth Jazz A Hot Ticket!
June 16, 2005 - Southern Ontario has been experiencing a heat wave, and the weekend was no exception! Mother Nature joined popular Smooth Jazz artists in really turning up the heat, down on the farm in Winona, Ontario for Niagara's Smooth Jazz Festival. More

Canada's Niagara Falls for Smooth Jazz Superstars!

May 4, 2005 - It is a smooth jazz fans dream come true as Kenny G and Dave Koz share top billing at Niagara's Best Smooth Jazz Concert, a two day extravaganza of Smooth Jazz on June 11 and 12, 2005 at E.D. Smith Fruit Farms in Winona, Ontario. (Some fine jam sessions on a jam farm). On Saturday, June 11 smooth jazz sax man Dave Koz takes to the stage with Rendezvous recording artists Marc Antoine, Praful and Jeffrey Osborne. More

Dave Koz on the Move this Summer
March 28, 2005 - As if the upcoming first ever Dave Koz & Friends at Sea cruise wasn't enough to delight fans, Koz has recently announced a treat for his landlubbing fans. For the fourth straight year, Koz will crisscross the U.S. with a group of stellar smooth jazz musicians, taking his "A Smooth Summer Night Tour" to more than 25 cities. This year's lineup features R&B vocalist Jeffrey Osborne, contemporary jazz guitarist Marc Antoine and multi-instrumentalist Praful. The tour commences June 10 th at the Reading Eagle Theater in Reading, PA and wraps up on August 21 st at the Hollywood Bowl in Hollywood, CA . Go to Koz' official website for tour dates. Click here. Watch for our new interview with Dave Koz coming April 1, 2005.

Smooth Jazz Goes Cruising Crazy
February 21, 2005 - Seems like everyone is cruising these days. Smooth Jazz Cruise pioneer Warren Hill has just completed his second sell out full charter while, almost at the same time, Bob James was sailing on a musical journey out of San Diego. Later in the year Rick Braun is leading a top-notch line up on a seven-day trip out of Galveston and Warren Hill's 2006 event is already proving to be a big early seller. Sandwiched among all this is the "Dave Koz & Friends At Sea" cruise that sails from San Diego on November 5 and is being managed by the same organization that made Hills last event such a success. Calling at destinations that include Mazatlan, Cabo San Lucas and Peurto Vallarta, Koz has assembled a line up every bit as good as one would expect from this master of live Smooth Jazz. Artists already confirmed, and who performed on the Hill cruise, are Wayman Tisdale, Kirk Whalum, Jeff Golub, and Jonathan Butler. Joining them will be Marc Antoine, Patti Austin, David Benoit, Chris Botti, George Duke, Jeffrey Osborne and Praful. It's a line up that promises to produce seven days of high quality Smooth Jazz. - By Denis Poole

Praful Gets inspiration From India and Brazil

Dave Koz & Praful (right)

February 14, 2004 - Praful crosses many borders when looking for inspiration. Tops on his list? Brazil and India and the saxophonist says it goes beyond sound, "It's not only the rhythms it is the whole music." says Praful, "the places and the people. It all belongs together." Praful has been to both countries many times and says "Brazil has integrated African rhythms, native Indian folklore, jazz and pop in a very different way than the U.S." Praful also loves the different tempos of the Brazilian sound, "Its music is either extremely outgoing and powerful in a positive way or very sensitive and melancholic as is the case with Bossa Nova." Though mostly know as a Smooth Jazz artist Praful doesn't feel comfortable with the tag "There might be two or three songs on the album that would work for Smooth Jazz radio but the album is getting played by the college stations a lot and the album was in the top Ten Billboard Electronica charts." Praful has released a re-mix dance version of the album and he is our "Artist of the Month" for February. Read two exclusive interviews here.

Praful - What's In A Name?

February 6, 2004 - Praful says he's used to people screwing up his name, "There have been a lot of questions on how to pronounce it," says the saxophonist. It's been a bit challenging especially for a new artist with a name that doesn't sound like its spelled. Praful pronounced praw-fool says he appreciated it when Smooth Jazz announcer spelled his name. Where did the tag come from? "It's a name I received many years ago from an Indian mystic named Osho." says Praful, "I used to spend time meditating in his Ashram in India. Praful is a Sanskrit word and means: flowering, blossoming." He also has a New Age meditation album called "Touched By Love" released in 1999. Praful is Smooth Jazz Now's "Artist of the Month." Read two exclusive interviews here.

Praful - Artist of the Month for February

February 2, 2004 - He released one of those tunes that made Smooth Jazz fans stare at their speakers - a "stop in your tracks" kind of tune. It hard to deny that "Sigh" by Praful was easily one of the most unique songs on Smooth Jazz radio in the last year. For the first time in our "Artist of the Month" feature we include two interviews - both conducted last month. First John Beaudin's chat with Praful from January 14th which was also broadcast on the Breeze 103.1 FM in Calgary, Canada and columnist Liz Rivard interviewed the saxophonist the following week. Read the interviews

Double Dutch Hits Smooth Jazz with Candy Dulfer and Praful

November 12, 2003 - Amsterdam based artist Praful and Dutch saxophonist Candy Dulfer are topping the smooth jazz charts with newcomer Praful wowing American audiences in his recent five-week American tour. Praful is well know in European dance, lounge and crossover circles and his tracks have been played by many international DJs but with the July release of his "One Day Deep" album (featuring the single "Sigh) on Dave Koz's Rendevous Records, Praful has become a household name in North American Smooth Jazz circles. Freshly returned from his first American tour where he played to enthusiastic audiences in San Diego, Atlanta, Los Angeles and San Francisco Praful told Smooth Jazz Now his musical meeting with sax God Koz consisted of a "four handed piano session in his house" and went on to describe Koz as a "very nice, and warm person". - By Liz Rivard