Today, the celebrated jazz and pop saxophonist Candy Dulfer has released her new full-length album ‘We Never Stop,’ out now on all digital platforms. To celebrate the release, Dulfer has unveiled a music video for “Convergency,” featuring Chic guitarist, producer, songwriter, and three-time GRAMMY Award-winner Nile Rodgers, which includes exclusive footage of Dulfer and Rodgers recording the track in-studio. Following previous singles “YeahYeahYeah” and “Jammin’ Tonight,” which also featured Rodgers, “Convergency” is a dizzyingly romantic R&B instrumental ballad with jeweled melodic sax work.
Give the people an invigorating beat, some swanky sax uplift, and watch the pain melt away. That’s the funky stuff Prince’s former top-choice sax player Candy Dulfer and her band specialize in. A solo artist, a songwriter, and in-demand instrumentalist, Dulfer has worked with some of the biggest names in modern music, including Van Morrison, Maceo Parker, Sheila E., Mavis Staples, Lionel Richie, Beyoncé, Pink Floyd, Chaka Khan, and Aretha Franklin, among many others.
Now, after three decades of superstar collaborations and world tours, and chart-topping and high-selling solo career releases, Candy is living proof of the title of her latest album, ‘We Never Stop.’ Nothing gets in the way of her making funky stuff. ‘We Never Stop’ features vocals from Candy’s rainbow family of a band with lyrics informed by band dialogues and the culture and health crises of the past two years. These include the toll of the pandemic on the music communities and the race horrors that have galvanized a global Black Lives Matter movement.
“This is a personal album—it’s personal for everyone because we are struggling with many of the same things,” Candy shares. ”The main spirit of this music is to elevate. It feels like it’s never been more important to not let the hurt and pain in the world defeat us. That’s why I called this album, We Never Stop.”
Dulfer first rose to fame with her high-profile collaboration with Dave Stewart on the worldwide number 1 smash “Lily Was Here.” Her tenure with Prince may be best remembered by his tongue-in-cheek recommendation in the “Partyman” video: “When I want sax, I call Candy.” Their collaboration continued over the years with many studio sessions, TV show appearances, award show performances, including the Grammy Awards, and concert tours around the globe, including Candy joining Prince’s NPG band as a permanent member for his record-shattering Musicology tour and album.
In addition to her superstar collaborations, Candy is a serious lifelong musician with a robust history as a solo artist releasing albums and touring the world for over 35 years. Since her Grammy-nominated debut, 1990’s Saxuality, Candy has issued 12 albums. The combined world-wide sales of her solo albums top 2.5 million copies, and she has had several number 1 hits in the USA. In between her solo albums and her high-profile collaborations, Candy still manages to join Dutch female supergroup the Ladies of Soul for their annual sold-out concerts at the massive Amsterdam Ziggo Dome; she is a headline performer on Smooth Jazz Cruises in the USA and Europe; she is an ambassador for the Dutch ALS Foundation; and Candy was a judge on the Dutch version of X Factor.
At the age of 4, Candy’s destiny unfolded before her eyes, watching jazz heavyweight saxophonist Sonny Rollins. Her father, Hans Dulfer, brought her to the show. Hans is a well-known Dutch jazz saxophonist who, when Candy was growing up, surrounded himself with legends such as Archie Shepp, Dexter Gordon, and guitarist John McLaughlin. Candy began playing sax at the age of 6, and started her own band Funky Stuff at the age of 13.
Candy soaked up music and life lessons from her father, and the iconic musicians he worked with, but Candy also boldly discovered her own voice as a songwriter and an instrumentalist, finding a home in contemporary jazz and pop-funk. She has worked hard to become an artist on her own terms, inspired by the likes of David Sanborn, Steps Ahead, Marcus Miller, Michael Brecker, Maceo Parker, Cannonball Adderley, percussionist Sheila E. and Janet Jackson. I wanted to be Janet Jackson but then with a saxophone entertaining and at the same time musically giving”
Today, her determination and passion remain, but her motivations are different. “These days, I play music to, hopefully, inspire younger people. When I was 12, I didn’t have many female saxophonists to look up to, and I want to be that person for the next generation of musicians,” she says.
‘We Never Stop’ – Track List
1. YeahYeahYeah
2. Mo’ Seats At The Table
3. Jammin’ Tonight (feat. Nile Rodgers)
4. Deeper
5. Say Something
6. Raindrops
7. We Never Stop
8. The Walls (feat. Marcus Miller)
9. Perspective (feat. Durand Bernarr, Aron Hodek, Philip Lassiter)
10. Since I Found U
11. Afraid For More
12. No Time For This
13. The Climb
14. Convergency (feat. Nile Rodgers)
