JAZZ MUSICIAN AND COMPOSER DR. DAVE RELEASES NEW ENHANCED MUSIC VIDEO
DR. DAVE “SEXY CINDY” (Music Video)
With the celebration re-release of “Sexy Cindy (Music Video),” Dr. Dave’s infectious 2018 hit single finally receives its proper due – with a vocal-enhanced version that’s been up on YouTube for years but because of strict format policies was never heard by fans listening to the song when it was all over smooth jazz radio.
In 2018, the veteran guitarist, composer and longtime genre hit maker, riffing off the title of one of his earlier solo albums, paid homage to his ensemble featuring some of the country’s most exciting jazz musicians and rebranded as Dr. Dave & The HouseCall Band for the release of one of his most acclaimed albums, Midnight Daydream. The relentlessly funky, high-energy, horn drenched collection spawned four big radio tracks, starting with the sensual, seductive “Sexy Cindy,” which became one of Dr. Dave’s biggest hits ever, ranking #1 for Smooth Jazz Guitar songs in the U.S. on Radio Guitar One’s Top 20. The song was inspired by and named for Cindy Sanchez Medina, Miss Santander, Columbia 2018, whom the guitarist met at La Jolla Cove when she was traveling in the U.S.
As appreciative as Dr. Dave is for the song’s success at mainstream radio, Dr. Dave has always preferred the version of the song presented in the video, which he included as a bonus audio track on Midnight Daydream entitled “Sexy Cindy”(MusicVideo). While beautiful, alluring images of Cindy aboundin the video, the compelling clip is predominantly a dynamic insider’s look at the recording of the track, which was created live in the studio by Dr. Dave & the HouseCall Band.
Featuring Dr. Dave grooving the inviting, mid-tempo melody via the crisp, tasty tones of his 1963 Gibson Johnny Smith and Gibson Blueshawk, the video showcases his seamless and intuitive interaction with most of the same musicians who appeared on his previous album Carefree in 2014. These include bassist Cecil McBee Jr., keyboardist Rob Whitlock, drummer Duncan Moore and saxophonist John Rekevics, who created the horn arrangements. “Sexy Cindy” also spotlights two new members of the HouseCall Band – percussionist Tommy Aros (of the popular contemporary jazz group Fattburger) and trumpeter Derek Cannon. The crown jewels of the music video (not included in the radio mix) are the colorful vocal “stabs” by backing vocalists Stellita Porter, Jackie Bonaparte and Ignacio“Nacho” Sobers, who heighten the sultry vibe with their whispery affirmations “Sexy Cindy, she’s so pretty” and “Sexy Cindy, ooh la la!”
“Creating a video for “Sexy Cindy” with images of Cindy herself along with all these amazing musicians gives people so much to look at as they’re enjoying the music, and is a great opportunity to be in the studio with us, so to speak, and watch the way a live band works in that space,” Dr. Dave says. “Stellita, Jackie and Ignacio’s vocal inflections, and Jackie’s playful facial expressions add more flavor and an entertainingstoryline, inviting viewers and listeners to sing along. Having those vocals makes everyone, from me and the band to those watching the clip, feel more present. The way we all play off each other is very organic and exciting. We weren’t just filming recording sessions randomly, but creating memorable visuals and edits designed to connect us more powerfully with my fans.
“The wonderful thing about jazz, from older traditional music to smooth, contemporary urban jazz, is that it’s essentially timeless, sounding as fresh when we listen today as it did when it was first recorded,” he adds. “When I listen to some of my radio singles from the early 90s, they still sound fresh, like we could hear them on the radio today. So when we tell people about a version of a tune like ‘Sexy Cindy’ from seven years ago that they likely haven’t heard, it’s like presenting a new song – and all they have to do is go to YouTube to enjoy the magic.” .
In addition to the across-the-board success of “Sexy Cindy,” Dr. Dave’s return to contemporary jazz with Midnight Daydream led to a prolific flow of radio and streaming hits, including the guitarist’s all-time top streamed song “Cecil’s Groove,” currently at 3.9M+ streams on Spotify. The title track “Midnight Daydream” earned a multitude of accolades: #1 most added on the Radio Wave Internet Airplay Chart; #5 on the SmoothJazz.com Radar Chart; #9 on the SmoothJazz.com Top 100 Indie Chart and #14 on the SmoothJazz.com Top 100. A third single, “Cabo Time,” reached #19 on the SmoothJazz.com Radar chart.
The album’s fourth single was a blues, jazz, funk and rock track developed around the opening “Hey Hey Hey Hey” riff heard nightly since 2014 by the house band (who wrote it) on “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.” Dr. Dave and the HouseCall Band followed up in 2021 with Carefree Revisited, a full band revamp of an earlier unreleased solo album. His most recent single is “Reserved for Abbie,” featuring legendary saxophonist Ronnie Laws.
Longtime fans of contemporary jazz may remember Dr. Dave from his initial success as a recording artist in the mid to late 90s, when his albums I Like It Like That, Smooth and Cruisin’ made big splashes in the early days of the Smooth Jazz format. Cruisin’ also featured performances by Ronnie and Hubert Laws. In 2013, he released Love Potion, a collection of romantic songs, which he followed with the perfectly titled The Doctor Is In, full of Dr. Dave’s early up-tempo tracks. The smooth jazz format’s embrace of these recordings inspired Dr. Dave to return to the scene full-force with Midnight Daydream.
After many years of being signed to independent labels, Dr. Dave has taken control of his career and vast catalog as the head of Hatherill Records (his given last name). He is currently finishing up a new album of freshly updated versions of previously unreleased material that will include “Reserved for Abbie.”
http://drdavehousecallband.com/
