You may not know the name but, chances are, you’ve heard the sound. All of his songs hold their own individual tune, but they all have a totally and immediately recognizable sound. Don’t believe me? Keep reading.
It’s hard to fathom that Paul Hardcastle only got his start as recently as 1982. He started with a band called First Light. Although the band achieved mild success in the U.K., Hardcastle left the group a couple of years later to start a solo career. His first big hit was “Rain Forest” (Oh – by “big”, I mean COLOSSAL). The following year, “19” hit the airwaves and took the world by storm. Although I like the song “19”, which has been touted (by many) as his greatest hit ever, there are others that resonate much more with me. Of more importance is that there are three (3) names/entities associated with him: Paul Hardcastle, of course, Kiss The Sky, and The Jazzmasters. Kiss The Sky is one of his bands whose music is more synth and electric funk than jazz, but still let’s everyone know that it is Paul Hardcastle at the core. The Jazzmasters are pretty much what their name signifies, with just a touch of laid back chillout. Not to worry. There’s no need to choose one over the other – all three are certain to please the ears. Here’s a playlist from the entity of Paul Hardcastle. Still not sold on “the same but different”? Have a listen.
Jazz, jazz, and nothing but jazz. Sometimes.
Smoothe 