Interviewed by Harvey Cline

Fresh off a multi-nation tour covering Japan and the United States, saxophonist Candy Dulfer sat down with Smoothviews recently to talk about her highly successful release Candy Store. We were able to gain additional insight into her music, the relationship with her musical dad, as well as a little bit about what this international star is doing when she’s not on the road. 

Smoothviews (SV): Hi Candy and welcome to Smoothviews.  I understand the new disc Candy Store is just hitting the stores and doing really, really well.  How did you come up with the concept for it?
Candy Dulfer (CD): Well first of all we’re very, very happy because I hear its number two on Billboard.  It’s great success for such an early release. The concept for this album was really thought out in the beginning. I had just changed record companies. I had been without a record company for a while, and I decided that I had to keep writing just keep the creative juices flowing and not end up with a new company then not have to write a new album in just a month. So we just kept on running and were all over the place because we just did what felt fun and what was coming at us at the time. So when I got with this new record company, Heads Up, they asked me if I had any material. I said, “I do but you probably won’t like it. It’s all over the place. It ranges from reggae to funk to jazz to pop.”  Dave Love, the head of Heads Up, had me send over the material, then called me back in five minutes and said, “I’ll take it.” That was really nice. What was really not well thought of for the album (the diversity) became our strongest asset. I always believe in diversity. I think for me it’s really important to make all kinds of music because I see music as one whole not one category. So in the end it truly became a Candy Store. It’s an album with so much stuff to choose from; hopefully everybody will get something from it and find something new that they haven’t heard before.  

SV: Well it sounds like its very successful now and at number two on the Billboard charts already.  I know it’s tough to pick, but do you have a favorite song from it yet?
CD: Yes, it turns out that there are some songs that are very nice to play live.  I would say “Every Time” has been a hit with the audience and for me it’s a lot of fun to play that song. Same goes for “L.A. City Lights” and “Back To Juan” is also a really nice song to play live. I always think that when you play it live and it works it says something about the song. It means it really stands that test as well. I would say those three are my favorites. But there’s a lot of other stuff I like to listen to as well which is rare for me because I never like to listen to stuff once I’ve done it. For instance “11:58” is one of the songs that I can still listen to without being too critical. I really enjoy it when I’m driving the car or whatever. It’s also another favorite of mine.   

SV: Those are all favorites of mine as well.  I’ve been hearing a lot of “L.A. City Lights” on the radio.  Tell us a little bit about the background on that one.
CD: “L.A. City Lights” is just a beautiful theme that Thomas Bank who is my boyfriend and co-producer came up with one day, and I said we have to do something with this one.  He changed it a little bit for more fitting for my music. Once we started playing the first notes, we were so thinking about L.A. (I’m from Holland, the Netherlands, Europe.) One of the first times I got to the U.S. was coming to L.A. It was such a great experience to see the American lifestyle that is most glamorous and most fun. So I immediately had to think about those nights in L.A. when it’s really still warm and you feel these twinkling lights from the valley. It’s really a glamorous night feel and I always loved it. It’s really something that I enjoy. That’s what it made me think about right away. So I said we have to do something with L.A. Then it became “L.A. City Lights.” So when I hear this song it’s something like it. People have told me that when they hear this song they think of a sunny afternoon in an open topped car or something. That’s cool with me. As long as people have a fantasy or imagination and have something they came up with when they listen to the music, that’s so great.    

SV: One of the more soulful songs on the new disc is titled “11:58” which you mentioned earlier.  What’s the background on that one?
CD: That song actually came about from the piano, and I don’t play at all.  I was playing these notes with my thumb and my pinky (sounds out notes). Just some dumb luck and we said this sounds great and we made a whole song around it and the melody came really fast. Sometimes that happens; you just do stupid things like on a break or waiting for some one to change his guitar or put new strings on or do stuff with the computer and it gets stuck. Then you can get the best ideas, so that’s one of my favorites in the end but it started very simple.

SV: Well it really comes across well and very soulful.  Do you think it will ever be a single for you?
CD: Well it all depends on what the record company says.  I kind of like it but there’s some other songs I like as a single. So we decided to sort of have a meeting of some people together. Actually we’re waiting for the verdict for next week. So maybe then we’ll pick a new single. This is a good candidate and some people say “Every Time” and some people say a more up tempo song. So we’re going to decide together. With “L.A. City Lights” I just knew that would be a single and sometimes it’s just nice to have everybody agree on that, it’s really nice.

SV: I keep hitting the repeat button and going back to “Summer Time.”  That one just really makes you feel good and makes you want summer to never end.  Tell us a little bit about that one.
CD: That song is really about nostalgia and about how things were easy so much fun and lighter than when your older, but when you’re older you can have fun too because you’re not plagued any more by self doubt  and insecurity.  You hear a lot of people say “you know when you’re young and it’s so much fun and the most fun time.” But I hear more and more people that are older (over thirty at least). They will say “Wow, I was so unhappy in my twenties, and so happy I’m old and can enjoy life.” I feel a little bit the same too. I loved that age when I was sixteen and everything was so much fun and so much easier. I think I can enjoy it now more. I’m so much more of a happier person. I’m not so insecure anymore. That makes up for a lot of things. It makes you enjoy stuff more.

SV: That really comes across in the words and how you sing that one.  It really makes you feel good, and feels like you’re young again and wanting summer to never end.  I’ve noticed you’ve been on the move quite a bit.  You were in Southeast Asia, here in the states for a few weeks, and now back home in Holland.  Tell us a little bit about your touring schedule and what’s happening with that.
CD: Well this year I’ve hardly been home.  I’ve been doing so many fun things. It started with Brian Culbertson’s cruise in January that was a lot of fun. Then I came home. I have my own TV series here in Holland and I filmed for that which took me every time to the states or to England. I think I started filming with Shelia E. and filming in L.A. Then I rehearsed with Shelia and we did a European tour with her and her female band and it was a lot of fun. Then I did my own little tour in the U.S. Then we went through Europe with an all star band. Then I did Japan and the U.S. and now I’m home.

SV: So do you have anything planned for the fall?
CD: Yes, more stuff in Europe.  I’ve been away for a while, and there’s lots of stuff to do here. Because of the television series I have to do a lot of promotions. I’m doing many gigs and some stuff with my father which I like to do at the end of the year. I’m going to stay close to home and play with him a lot. That will be fun. Then there’s more television shows to film because they want a new sequel to it. Early next spring we’re going to South Africa, Europe and the U.S. again.

SV: It never ends does it?
CD: No, and once you have that momentum going, you really enjoy it.  It’s so much fun to tour. I’m very lucky. I have several things going for me. My mom is my tour manager, my boyfriend is in the band, and my best friends are in the band. We have a really great thing that feels like family. So when you go away it doesn’t feel like you’re totally pulling away from home. I have no kids so it’s easier to go away. I have animals which I cry about, but that’s not as bad as having children. I think I’m really lucky in that aspect. In that way it’s just easy to pack up and leave and enjoy where you’re at that moment because I know that it can be really rough for the guys I play with who have little kids. It’s really emotional sometimes. It makes it harder to enjoy or have fun when you’re in Japan or in the U.S.A. I’ve been doing it for about twelve years like this and it’s really fun. It’s beautiful to come home and enjoy your home life and it’s also wonderful when everybody’s doing their nine to five thing and says “Hey, I’m going to Japan next week, bye”. It’s a different life and a beautiful existence. As long as I can do it and balance it like I do right now, I’m very happy. It’s such a luxury. When I started out playing in the beginning of my career, I was lucky enough to have a lot of success all at once. I remember that I couldn’t always enjoy it. I was always afraid of missing out on something at home, or missing out career wise, not making the right decisions. I’d be away from home for a long time and then I’d be really sad and thinking when does this end. Now I know what’s in front of me so I’m much more thankful, and happy and grateful and I get to make another trip. I used to dread it a little bit when we went away, now I’m like off again and I can’t wait to pack my suitcase. That’s the difference in me being a little older and being more at ease with what I’ve chosen.

SV: You were talking about touring internationally.  You are one of the few smooth jazz artists who really conquers that.  What do contribute to your success as an international performer verses one that’s only in one or two countries? 
CD: I think a lot of luck because there are so many great players out there.  I was just at the right time. I had a beautiful instrumental hit with Dave Stuart at the beginning of my career that opened so many doors. I think that’s been very important for me. On the other hand everywhere I go, I can do bad performances or be not at my best, but every performance is like a show instead of a regular gig. We try to make people dance, make them extra happy, do something new, do something exciting instead of an average jazz concert where you have to be into jazz to evaluate the music. I try to make though if kids come in or older people or whatever age group, they will be able to enjoy it. I was inspired to do that by people like James Brown or Maceo Parker or also Prince (people who make great music, but never put a barrier up for a certain kind of audience).  Same goes for Miles Davis. He was so fantastic and such an intelligent musician and still was able to work with young people so that even hip hop kids could love his music. That’s the example that I’ve always had (especially from my own dad who’s exactly the same). He plays with house dj’s and rappers and he’s always on the lookout for new stuff and he’s 67. I think that attributes a little bit to my success in the sense that I try to make the gigs so much fun that people really at the end of the gig don’t know what they’re going to do. After our dancing and sweating really want to see me one more time, or at least a couple more times. That’s very important. If you give just a so and so gig, people love it and they’ll never ask you back. You always have to go to the extra mile. Yeah, that’s what I try to do every time.

SV: Bet they say wow, got to see that one again.  You mentioned your dad earlier and I know that you recorded with him a few years back.  Tell us about your relationship with him and how special that he’s a musician as well.   
CD: Well my father is a tenor sax player, and I think because of him, I started playing the saxophone.  I started really young. He encouraged me and never pushed me. I looked up to him, and I’m a real daddy’s girl. Seeing him play and hearing it every night before I went to sleep I felt like I had to do that as well. I think it’s really sweet of him for him not to say “you can’t do that as a girl” or “you might get in trouble” which was like 33 years ago. It was a little bit easier to play because I had my own dad behind me always. It was fun because he never thought about the male or female thing. He always encouraged me, and at the same time he inspired me. You know sometime you get embarrassed at school by your parents, or when you have your friends over because they’re so old fashioned or they say exactly the wrong things. My father and mother were so hip it was sometimes hard to keep up. If there’s anything new coming out, he knows about it. He goes out on the town more than I do. He knows more about new releases or hip clubs than I do. It’s a really funny situation. It’s almost like I’m the more conservative one and they’re the more hip ones. Together that’s still a beautiful thing. I can show him musical stuff that he doesn’t know (at least that’s what he says) and he shows me stuff. He has this wonder vault of L.P.’s a beautiful jazz collection that’s incredible. But on the same end and I ask him for a new one or what ever groove I’m at, he already has it at his house for four weeks. He knows about all that stuff. That’s the sign of somebody who knows how to live his life. I’m always inspired by him. If I don’t know where to go with my music, or have no inspiration I just go to him and play with him and it always helps me to go forward.

SV: You mentioned your television show “Candy Meets” a little while ago.  Tell us a little bit about how that’s going for you and what’s going on with that.
CD: The first series was aired this Sunday here in the Netherlands.  It was initially made for Holland. It was done with a Dutch production company. I’m interviewing all of my musical heroes. I started with the six ones that I know best. (Shelia E., Maceo Parker, Mavis Staples, Dave Stewart, Van Morrison and my own dad Hans Dulfer) and it just went great. I wanted the shows to be half documentary and half interview. But I wanted to steer away from the obvious interview questions. I’m not a good journalist anyway, I’m a musician. So it shouldn’t be those kind of questions. It’s more about music, about life, about what interests me. I was so bold as to think that what interest me would interest the general audience. Judging from the first show that had a really good turn out of viewers, I think I do. The programs are like I’m just visiting, because I am. There’s no pre-recording no stopping it’s all instantaneous. Like I would be in the dressing room and we’d be talking about the old days with someone like Maceo Parker or asking him about his work with James Brown. We just filmed it and it turned out to be a very nice idea and it worked. I felt comfortable almost from every guest and I know all of them very well. I got to know new stuff that I didn’t even know, even from my own dad which is terrible but true.

SV: Sounds like you’re having a lot of fun with that.
CD: Yeah, it was.  In a sense (I’m 38 now) I think I have a better view of what my role in music is. I used to be really insecure and think I’m never going to be Coltrane or Charlie Parker and might as well forget it. Now I know what my real job is. I think for me one of the things that’s really  important I feel that I want to bring people from all backgrounds, all races, all colors, all ages together and let them enjoy all the music that I’ve always enjoyed and try to break down those barriers a little bit. The T.V. program has a lot to do with that. I’ve interviewed people that are a little bit older, that for younger kids are not in the hit parade everyday. (Especially not in Europe) In Europe there’s not such a thing as the Billboard’s Contemporary list or something. If you’re not on it, people seem to forget about you really fast. I try to bring the Dutch audience a little bit of stuff where they can feel although you’re not on T.V. everyday, what a wonderful musician you are. What a beautiful lady Mavis Staples is, and wow what a life she’s had. How beautiful it is that she still wants to perform and still has a powerful message. From judging from the first reaction to Shelia E., who is also someone who is going very strong but in Europe they don’t always know that. They think isn’t she the girl from “Glamorous Life”? They don’t know anymore, and I’m telling them “listen she’s one of the foremost drummers in the world and Latin percussionist.” It’s nice sometimes when people get to hear it. I’ve noticed from the reactions from the young and old that both are just as surprised, and that’s good.

SV: I was reading on your website where you explain a little bit about improvising.  What I read was really detailed, and really good.  Tell us a little bit about that, and what kind of success you’ve had with that.
CD: (laughing) First of all because I’m a woman I think I inspire a lot of girls or little girls to start playing the saxophone, and I think that’s awesome.  There’s good lessons to get everywhere. A lot of times it’s very classical. Sometimes I notice they get a little bit discouraged especially when you want to go into jazz music. There’s such a vast history before you it’s hard to even start. You think, “oh this is Coltrane I could never be like that.” So I try to break it down in a more simple style how I play and how I do things or how I learned to improvise for instance because I never had lessons and I never had someone who helped me. So may be it can do some good. I wanted to keep a sense of humor in the lessons as well. I’m always afraid when kids get lessons that are too serious or too difficult that they lose the enthusiasm that they had and don’t want to play the instrument. I’m all for anybody becoming a musician because it’s so much fun. They can do it and not be discouraged by may be your insecurity or what you see before you. That’s why I wrote that stuff. They’re really very easy tips and really meant for beginner players because I’m such a self taught player that I couldn’t teach any player or advanced player anything. May be they should just listen to me. There’s nothing theoretically that I can teach them because half the time I don’t know what I’m doing. I don’t mean that disrespectful. I didn’t have any lessons so I’m doing a lot of this stuff by ear and by heart. It’s fun to give some things I do know to kids or younger people. Most of the time people can be so like you ask them a question on how to do this or how to play that, and they give you a big long story that’s very complicated and then you’re almost discouraged half way through it. Things like improvising never scared me because I was so young I sort of figured it out myself. Probably with terrible results but nobody dared say something about it because I was only six or seven years old. You don’t really throw kids that young off the stage. I found out by just trying stuff that if you’re a little older or less confident it’s nice to get those tips. I always like to get a point by point detail lesson instead of in a couple of years you’ll be able to do that. That’s too vague for me. I want to have immediate results. I have no patience. I think of my internet students as the same and maybe do something with that.   

SV:  Well Candy when you’re not recording or touring, what do you like to do?  What does Candy like to do when she can sit down with some time off?
CD: Well I have a couple of things.  We have sort of a mini farm with two dogs, five cats, two sheep and a pony. That has so much work in itself we’re happy to be alive in between. Besides from that I love to read. I love to be in my house and decorate it and cook and stuff like that. It’s such a joy when you’re away so much to reacquaint yourself with your friends and your family that takes up all my time. Once I’m all settled in it’s already time to go again. People never get tired of you for instance because you go away fast enough and then they really miss you if you stay a long, long time. They say “oh, you have to go already, I’m so sorry.” It’s nice to be able to go around and see everyone in the neighborhood again. Then when you get bored, it’s time to go. When it’s all in balance and you have enough for both its beautiful.

SV: Well is there anything you’d like to tell your fans out there?
CD: Well first of all we just had a wonderful tour, a very short tour, but it was really great in the states.  It showed me what a audience you American audiences are. But I’m really looking forward to coming back. I want to thank everybody for buying and encouraging the sales of Candy Store. I’m happy that everyone is so receptive to it because it’s such a different album. I just look forward to coming over again. I can’t wait. We’re thinking February or March but not all the plans are final yet. I’m hoping we’ll come back and do a longer and more extended tour and see all our friends again!  But thanks, and I’d like to wish everybody a very, very nice Christmas and a happy New Year.

SV: Thanks Candy, we’ll be sure to pass that along.