VINCENT WOLFE “TRUSTING HIS OWN VIBE” With the release of Vincent Wolfe’s debut CD Trust the Vibe, three things are evident; he’s arrived at his sound, is comfortable with his gift and doesn’t mind being considered a ‘musical adventurer’ in the jazz-pop genre. Trust the Vibe (co-produced by Sean Bray and George Koller for Bray’s Counterpoint Recordings label) represents a new freedom for Wolfe, whose decade-long odyssey through a variety of music styles was, by his own admission, necessary to “get to the truth” in his voice. He’s been one of the ‘best kept secrets’ on the Canadian music scene, and it’s his avoidance of musical stereotypes that has been his commercial, though not artistic weakness. Trust the Vibe is an acoustic, eclectic collection of tunes that blur the edge of jazz, pop and soul. Performing such diverse songs as I Fall In Love Too Easily, Everything Happens To Me, The Look of Love, A Song For You, People Get Ready, Here I Go Again and God Bless The Child is second-nature to Wolfe, whose penchant for storytelling in his music is well-known to his fans. With Trust the Vibe he’s thrown a few “musical curves” our way, and done it all in a sparse trio setting with three of Canada’s top jazz-based players. Bray and Koller played and co-produced ─ two of the tracks feature legendary saxophonist Pat LaBarbera, whose sumptuous solos lend an art-deco gloss to the project. “Sean and George really wanted me to stretch, stylistically” states the singer, “so in addition to the standards we covered stuff by Curtis Mayfield, John Hiatt, Burt Bacharach, Leon Russell and Robbie Nevil.” Vincent also pays loving tribute to his idol, friend and musical mentor, the late Phyllis Hyman, with the funky R&B tune You Just Don’t Know, originally recorded by the famed jazz-soul songstress in 1986. His self-penned ballad Almost You establishes Wolfe as a songwriter of special merit. Upon hearing the album, one is struck by the elegance and simplicity of the production; a warm and intimate sound rather like hearing Wolfe singing to you in a small club setting. The sessions were recorded to analog tape and then mixed digitally ─ something that Vincent insisted on from the start. The results are well worth it, and it’s clear that Vincent Wolfe is indeed trusting his own instincts and that his is a voice to be reckoned with. Check out the “Vibe” as soon as you can. "Wolfe's voice is a sweet, reverberating tenor perfect for his material…Conveys both serenity and strong emotion, knowing just when to lay back and when to pour it on…" - CADENCE MAGAZINE "Versatile and pleasing…his thick-textured, atmospheric tenor voice contrasts well with Bray and Koller." GEOFF CHAPMAN - TORONTO STAR "His recording of 'Everything Happens To Me' is a killer track and is, by far, the finest interpretation since Chet Baker's in the late fifties..." – EXTRA!