Courtesy of: Aruba Daily
Candy Dulfer (45) is a popular Dutch smooth jazz alto saxophonist. She started to play saxophone at the age of six. Her debut album Saxuality (1990) received a Grammy Award nomination. She has performed and recorded songs with renowned musicians, such as her father, famous saxophonist Hans Dulfer, Prince, Dave Stewart, Pink Floyd, Van Morrison and Maceo Parker.
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 in The Hague. According to Dulfer, King encouraged her to become a band leader herself. In 1984, at the age of fourteen, Dulfer started her own band Funky Stuff. In 1987, the band performed as opening act at two concerts of Madonna’s European tour. In 1988, Funky Stuff was booked as the supporting act for three Prince Concerts in the Netherlands. Prince canceled the supporting act, but invited Dulfer on stage to play an improvised solo. After this encounter, she starred in the video of the single “Partyman” (1989), where Prince sings: When I need trombone, my dog is Handy. But when I want sax, I call Candy.
This appearance led to session work with Eurythmics guitarist and producer Dave Stewart, who gave Dulfer a credit on “Lily Was Here”, reaching #6 in the UK singles chart, #1 in the Dutch radio charts and #11 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the USA in 1990.
In 2007, she released her ninth studio album Candy Store. The album reached a #2 position in Billboard’s Top Contemporary Jazz charts. Of the album Candy Store, the song “L.A. City lights” reached a #1 position in National Airplay charts in the United States. In 2011 Dulfer performed at the Caribbean Sea Jazz Festival and is back on stage in Aruba on October 4th at the 2014 CSJ festival.
