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Tag: Jochem van der Saag

AMAZING GRACE

From SOMETHING BEAUTIFUL

Traditional

Jordan Smith was the winner on the ninth season of American singing competition, The Voice. Smith’s gorgeous voice made immediate buzz among the show’s millions of viewers and inside the music industry as well with its beautiful tone, great power and perfect delivery. The twenty-two year old’s sweet and tender performances were tailor-made for adult contemporary audiences, but, through the most inspirational material, deeply rooted in Christian music. Given his vocal potential and overall positive persona, Smith immediately became a David Foster protégée. Foster performed with the young singer at some high profile events and eventually produced a few tracks on his debut cd, Something Beautiful.

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WHEN I’M GONE

From BRENNA WHITAKER

Written by David Foster, Jochem van der Saag, Maureen McDonald & Brenna Whitaker

The 2016 Grammy nominations were announced on December 7th.One of the welcomed surprises was the nod for Jochem van der Saag, David Foster’s right-hand man, for his engineering work together with Jorge Vivo on Diana Krall’s Wallflower. Van der Saag has been a key element in Foster’s camp for the past fifteen years, first as a programmer and, eventually, as an engineer and co-producer. Recently, Foster productions like We Love Disney and Wallflower greatly benefit from the fine tuning, fresh sounds, superior drum and synth programming and great mixes created by the Netherlands-born talent. Another great example of van der Saag’s artistry can be heard on Brenna Whitaker’s debut cd.

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ONCE UPON LOVE

From BEYOND
Written by David Foster & William Joseph

At the dawn of the new millennium, David Foster took Josh Groban and Michael Bublé under his wing and brought them to international stardom. A couple of years later, Foster applied the same path to another new name in the industry, William Joseph. In Foster’s mind, the skilled composer and piano player was destined to fill the instrumental pop slot occupied through the years by household names like Kenny G. and Yanni. Although Joseph didn’t generate high sales, he quickly built a solid reputation as one of the best piano artists in the classical crossover field. Joseph’s style was a clever mix of his classical origins with some world music influences and a powerful cinematic atmosphere. Joseph’s cds, Within and Beyond, were supervised by Foster in 2004 and 2008 respectfully.

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IF I TAKE YOU HOME TONIGHT

 from WALLFLOWER

Written by Paul McCartney

Diana Krall can seduce with a sultry, soulful song or fascinate with an upbeat, playful melody. Hers is one of the most important names in the jazz world during the past twenty years. Born and bred in Canada , Ms. Krall has taken the music world by storm with her amazing alto voice and superior piano playing skills.

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CINDERELLA BEAUTIFUL

from EAST OF ANGEL TOWN
written by Peter Cincotti & John Bettis

Every now and then we feel the urge to go back and listen to Peter Cincotti’s 2007 album East Of Angel Town. The main reason is that East Of Angel Town is a magnificent record, one of the best pop collections ever heard in the new millennium and certainly one of David Foster’s most challenging productions in recent years. On this album, the wildly gifted singer/songwriter/piano player presented a fantastic string of pop songs that wonderfully blended quality pop, jazz, blues and refined funk. We never tire of spreading the word about East Of Angel Town for its superior musical value. It’s pretty sad that such an endeavor only found limited commercial success in Europe, but it was criminally overlooked in North America, especially thanks to Warner Bros. Records’ off-target release strategy.

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