Candy Dulfer

Alto saxophonist Candy Dulfer was brought into the limelight by Prince, who introduced her to the world via his video for “Partyman.” Her appearances with Prince led to session work with Eurythmics guitarist/producer Dave Stewart, who gave Dulfer a credit on “Lily Was Here,” which reached number six in the U.K. and number one on the Dutch radio charts in 1990. Recording sessions for her debut album were followed by more guest star dates with Van Morrison, Aretha Franklin, and Pink Floyd.

Her debut, Saxuality, released later in 1990 for RCA Records, was very successful in Europe and the U.S. While it was by no means a straight-ahead jazz album, her funky alto sax stylings caught on with fans of contemporary jazz at several recently launched “smooth jazz” radio stations around the U.S. Saxuality was nominated for a Grammy and certified gold for sales in excess of a half-million units worldwide. Her 1991 album Sax-a-Go-Go includes “Sunday Afternoon,” a song by Prince, and also teams her up with some of her musical mentors, the JB’s and the Tower of Power horns. Her other influences include Sonny Rollins and David Sanborn, and while Dulfer hasn’t carved the niche for herself that Sanborn has in the jazz world, she does have a great career ahead of her as she continues to synthesize classic R&B, blues, pop, and jazz in her own unique, creative ways.