Candy Dulfer (born 19 September 1969) is a Dutch jazz and pop saxophonist. She is the daughter of jazz saxophonist
Hans Dulfer
Hans Dulfer (born 28 May 1940) is a Dutch jazz musician who plays tenor saxophone.
Life and music
Hans Dulfer was born on 28 May 1940 in Amsterdam, Netherlands. He began at age 17 and has been referred to as "Big boy" because of his album o ...
. She began playing at age six and founded her band Funky Stuff when she was fourteen. Her debut album ''
Saxuality'' (1990) received a
Grammy nomination. She has performed and recorded with Hans Dulfer,
Prince
A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. ...
,
Dave Stewart,
Van Morrison,
Angie Stone,
Maceo Parker and
Rick Braun and has performed live with
Alan Parsons
Alan Parsons (born 20 December 1948) is an English audio engineer, songwriter, musician and record producer.
Parsons was involved with the production of several notable albums, including the Beatles' ''Abbey Road'' (1969) and ''Let It Be'' ( ...
(1995),
Pink Floyd (1990), and
Tower of Power (2014). She hosted the Dutch television series ''Candy Meets...'' (2007), in which she interviewed musicians. In 2013, she became a judge in the 5th season of the Dutch version of ''
X Factor''.
Early life
Dulfer was born on 19 September 1969 in Amsterdam, Netherlands.
She began playing the drums at the age of five.
[Candy Dulfer biografie]
. Retrieved on 27 November 2007. As a six-year-old, she started to play the soprano saxophone. At age seven, she switched to alto saxophone and later began playing in a local
concert band Jeugd Doet Leven (English translation: "Youth Brings Life") in
Zuiderwoude.
Dulfer played her first solo on stage with her father's band De Perikels ("The Perils").
At age eleven, she made her first recordings for the album ''I Didn't Ask'' (1981) of De Perikels.
In 1982, when she was twelve years old, she played as a member of
Rosa King's Ladies Horn section at the
North Sea Jazz Festival. According to Dulfer, King encouraged her to become a band leader. In 1984, at age fourteen, she started the band Funky Stuff.
Career
Dulfer's band performed throughout the Netherlands and in 1987 was the
opening act for two of
Madonna's
Madonna Louise Ciccone (; ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Widely dubbed the " Queen of Pop", Madonna has been noted for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, songwriting, a ...
European concerts.
In 1988,
Prince
A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. ...
invited Dulfer on stage to play an improvised solo during one of his European shows.
In 1989 Dulfer appeared in Prince's "
Partyman" video.
Dulfer performed
session work with
Eurythmics guitarist and producer
Dave Stewart, duetting with him on the worldwide hit single "
Lily Was Here
"Lily Was Here" is an instrumental duet by English musician David A. Stewart and Dutch saxophonist Candy Dulfer. It was released as a single in 1989 from the soundtrack of the same name for the Dutch movie ''De Kassière'', also known by the En ...
" and contributing to the
soundtrack of the same name. She was a guest musician for
Pink Floyd during the band's performance at
Knebworth in 1990, from which several tracks were released on a multi-artist live album and video, ''
Live at Knebworth '90
The Knebworth Festival is a recurring open-air rock and pop concert held on the grounds of the Knebworth House in Knebworth, England. The festival first occurred in July 1974 when The Allman Brothers Band, The Doobie Brothers and other artist ...
''. The Knebworth show has since been released as part of the Pink Floyd box set ''
The Later Years 1987–2019'' on CD, DVD, and BD.
Dulfer was also the featured saxophonist on
Van Morrison's ''
A Night in San Francisco
''A Night in San Francisco'' is a live album by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison, released in 1994. Guest artists were Candy Dulfer, John Lee Hooker, Junior Wells and Jimmy Witherspoon as well as Morrison's daughter, Shana Morrison ...
'', an album in 1993,
and performed with
Alan Parsons
Alan Parsons (born 20 December 1948) is an English audio engineer, songwriter, musician and record producer.
Parsons was involved with the production of several notable albums, including the Beatles' ''Abbey Road'' (1969) and ''Let It Be'' ( ...
and his band at the
World Liberty Concert
The World Liberty Concert was a concert that took place on 8 May 1995 next to the John Frost Bridge in Arnhem in the Netherlands. The concert was held in honor of the fiftieth anniversary of the liberation of Europe and is the largest memorial conc ...
in 1995.
Dulfer collaborated with her father Hans Dulfer on the duet album ''Dulfer Dulfer'' in 2001.
She joined
Prince
A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. ...
's band in 2004 for his
Musicology Live 2004ever tour.
In 2007, she released her ninth studio album ''
Candy Store''. The album reached a No. 2 position in
Billboard's Top Contemporary Jazz
The ''Billboard'' charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs and albums in the United States and elsewhere. The results are published in ''Billboard'' magazine. ''Billboard'' biz, the online extension of the ''Billboard'' charts, pr ...
charts. Her songs "Candy Store" and "L.A. Citylights" reached the No. 1 position in Smooth Jazz National Airplay charts in the United States.
Dulfer is mostly a self-taught musician except for some training in a concert band and a few months of
music lessons.
Until 2010 Dulfer played a Selmer Mk VI alto - which is visible in the majority of early photographs. In 2010 she became an endorsee of the Dutch Free Wind saxophone, created by Friso Heidinga, who started building saxophones in Amsterdam in 2009.
In 2007, Dulfer became the presenter and interviewer in ''Candy Meets...'', her television program for the Dutch public broadcaster
NPS. In the series, she met with
Sheila E.,
Maceo Parker, Hans Dulfer, Van Morrison, Dave Stewart, and
Mavis Staples.
On 26 August 2022, Dulfer announced her new album ''We Never Stop'', which released on October 28th. The release is the first as a part of her new record deal with
Mascot Label Group. The album was preceded by the single "Jammin' Tonight," featuring
Nile Rodgers.
Discography
* ''
Saxuality'' (1990)
* ''
Sax-a-Go-Go
''Sax-a-Go-Go'' is the second album by Dutch alto saxophonist Candy Dulfer, released in 1993. It entered the US ''Billboard'' Top Contemporary Jazz Albums chart at No. 5 in February 1994, remaining on the chart for 31 weeks. The album peaked at n ...
'' (1993)
* ''
Big Girl'' (1995)
* ''For the Love of You'' (1997)
* ''Girls Night Out'' (1999)
* ''What Does It Take'' (1999)
* ''Dulfer Dulfer'' (2002)
* ''Right in My Soul'' (2003)
* ''
Candy Store'' (2007)
* ''Funked Up'' (2009)
* ''Crazy'' (2011)
* ''Together'' (2017)
* ''We Never Stop'' (2022)
References
External links
*
*
*
Candy Dulfer Channel on YouTube
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dulfer, Candy
1969 births
Living people
21st-century saxophonists
Dutch women singers
Dutch jazz saxophonists
English-language singers from the Netherlands
Women jazz saxophonists
Funk saxophonists
Heads Up International artists
Jazz alto saxophonists
Musicians from Amsterdam
Smooth jazz saxophonists
New Power Generation members
Bertelsmann Music Group artists