Mindy Canter Hits the Top 5 on the CMJ Top 40 Jazz Chart

Mindy Canter Moves Up the Chart to #5 This Week 

On the CMJ Top 40 Jazz Chart

BIOGRAPHY:

Music was always a destiny for Mindy Canter. At a young age, she learned to read music before she could read words. She began playing piano at the age of 4, and added the flute at the age of 9.

Although classically trained, Mindy’s earliest creative influences were blues and jazz, and later, soul, funk, roots, rock n roll….and anything else she could wrap her flute or keyboards around.

At age 19 Mindy performed with Albert King and over the years with, Michael Bloomfield, Boz Scaggs, Nick Gravenites, It’s A Beautiful Day, Dan Hicks, Ray Obiedo, Roberta Donnay, and Grammy winner Terrance Simien, among many others.

In 1977, Canter recorded a full length African Highlife record with Souleman E. Rowgie (world famous singer/songwriter from Sierra Leone, West Africa). Playing keyboards and flutes on all tracks.

Last year Canter released a single duet with Yo-Yo Ma, entitled Donna Nobis Pacem (Give Us Peace).

It is Canter’s desire to collaborate, perform and record with many top-notch performing artists in the coming future.

Canter’s ability to play many styles and articulate with genuine mastery is the cornerstone of her appeal. Her blend of blues, jazz, funk, and soul is rhythmically infectious and has been widely acclaimed. It is really a treat to experience such a passionate, soulful performer as she mixes musical genres with grace and ease. The listener can immediately hear the joy in her playing no matter the genre being presented. Jef Labes (Van Morrison) explains perfectly, “An original...one of

a kind.”

LATEST RELEASE:

Fluteus Maximus marks the release of flautist Mindy Canter’s third outing. A collection of groovin’ cuts with the main ingredients being musicality, technical prowess, and outstanding originals coupled with well-placed standards. Recorded in one session, with one take, the result is a spontaneous and enjoyable listen that is guaranteed to find a special place in your personal jazz collection.

A Canter original, “Slider” kicks off the session; a jazzed up Latin/world feel, flavored with percussion and Hammond B3 (also provided by Canter) and a solid rhythmic feel provided by bassist Paul Smith, guitarist Denny Geyer and drummer Roy Blumenfeld, make this cut an outstanding canvas for Canter to paint her beautiful musical flute strokes across. Canter gives the cut exactly the right touch with her soulful flute lines. Canter recounts the driving “literally” force behind this cut. “I wrote this driving home after a Latin jazz gig with some friends. I just started humming it....and out it came. We had never played this song and I showed my band how I wanted it to feel in the studio when we were setting up for the session. This was a warm up song and I’m glad the tape was rolling.”

“Watermelon Man,” taken at a slow pace, gives the listener a chance to savor each and every line and nuance the ensemble has to dish up on this classic Hancock tune. “Memphis Underground” has an authentic soul feel that Canter digs into with searing lines and quick stabs of passionate expression. Canter truly shows the listener why she is a top call flutist. Also providing the Hammond B3 with overdubs (same session); Canter offers well placed answer and call lines to the track. Canter explains, “We never played this song before....I established the feel, and off we went.”

“Do It Again,” a Steely Dan classic, is truly a befitting tribute and a well placed texture change in the offering. Canter skillfully unfolds the musical storyline with harmonically interesting lines that add depth for the listener. Guitarist Denny Geyer adds a funky 70’s sound that ties in the track perfectly. His tone is round and warm and adds to the overall beauty of the track.

“Karma,” another Canter original, really shows her ability as a composer. From the first notes, the listener is ingratiated by her endearing sound and well-crafted ideas as a composer. Canter recalls, “It was late afternoon and I was sitting on my couch practicing my flute; going through routine exercises, scales, patterns, etc while looking outside on a winter day. After awhile, I just started to just play whatever - when I started to feel tired, I realized that it was 4 hours later, the sun had gone down, and I was sitting in the dark playing this song.”

“Mercy, Mercy, Mercy” is an old school favorite of Canter’s and the band fell right into place immersing themselves in the history of the song and the true groove. A bluesy, “Hi Heel Sneakers” is a full romping cut that features Denny Geyer on vocals. His soulful and playful voice adds just the right spice to this just plain fun cut. A truly classic song “Funny How Time Slips Away” gets a new treatment with a groovin’ cool feel and again Geyer lends his organically pleasing voice to the festivities. Canter explains “We tend to pull songs out of a hat and try them on for size. We make them our own and really have fun playing off of each other.” This spirit is immediately evident on this song; the group exudes a welcoming energy and joy that immediately puts you in a great mood.

“Halleluyah” continues the soulful side of the journey in a relaxed setting that is like a long lost friend you finally see again. A hip and cool version of Johnny Cash’s classic, “16 Tons,” give this session a complete vibe of eclectic cool. “Over the Rainbow” is given a Caribbean feel. Blumenfeld plays drums with his fingertips and bassist Paul Smith and Canter create an interactive sound that truly makes this cut their own. A befitting closing with the classic Dale Evans tune “Happy Trails,” gives this jazz outing a completely enjoyable look at how to integrate all styles and genres into one cohesive message.

A truly fun, listenable and musically enjoyable journey through a collection of original and well-crafted classics, that all add up to a delightful offering by Canter, truly showing her abilities on flute to the maximus.