Interviews with Candy.

Below you'll find (most of them in DUTCH!) a few mentions of published interviews and articles about Candy Dulfer (and from some of the interviews the text):
Stadsblad Utrecht Friday 7 September 1990, Friday 27 September 1991 en Friday 2 April 1993
UIT Leeuwarden (uitgave: stadsschouwburg De Harmonie) 21 december 1990 t/m 17 januari 1991
Amersfoortse Courant/Veluws Dagblad Monday 15 July 1991
Nieuwe Revue 19 Sept.- 26 Sept. 1991
Goudse Courant Thursday 2 July 1992 (translated into English)
Goudse Courant Saterday 20 February 1993

ELSEVIER Nr. 5 6 February 1993
BACKSTAGE muziekmagazine Nr. 120 March'93
NRC HANDELSBLAD 22 March 1993
NRC HANDELSBLAD 30 March 1993
Margriet Nr. 37 8 Sept/14 Sept 1995 (translated into English)
JAZZ NU Nr. 199 November 1995
(translated into English)
OOR Nr. 23 18 November 1995 (translated into English)
Eindhovens Dagblad 23 May 1996
AVANTgarde Nr.5 May 1997
Article in OOR Nr.9 3 May 1997 "Girl Power 5 wereldmeiden"
Veronica gids Nr. 18 3-9 May 1997
TROSkompas Nr. 19 10-16 May 1997 (translated into English)
Infotainment Ear&Eye number 5 May/June 1997
Flair Nr.31 22 July 1997

Article in the Goudse Courant Thursday 2 july 1992 (translated from Dutch into English by Anton)
Candy Dulfer wants to go on stage again
By MARJOLIJN DE COCQ
"We could already have been finishing our new cd", sighs saxophonist Candy Dulfer (22). "But you know: working and then still doing nothing".
In Studio Zeezicht near Spaarnwoude is the hard labor now anyhow started, because in September has the 'sound-carrier' to be released. It is meanwhile well over two years that Candy's debut-cd 'Saxuality' came out. With the selling of nearly one and a half million copies the record became a national and international success.
'Saxuality' provided Candy a nomination for the prestigious Grammy Award. Not only she got with this the acknowledgement whom she as musician seeks, it was also a fortification that she made the right choice by not going on tour with mega-star Prince. "I have always been very pig-headed", smiles Candy. "I always like to be the boss and for myself was my own band a much greater challenge".
With Funky Stuff, got Candy in 1990 and 1991 full houses in the Netherlands and various European country's. At the end of '91 followed an American tour, where Prince showed himself for a moment. "He came to watch in Los Angeles. I believe that he found it right. But I was not really so happy that he was there. It is of course a dream, to play for Prince. But it is better when you don't know, because you then are going to play bad". The seven headstrong band, with besides the combination bass-drum-guitar a strong representative sing section, made with a flashing stage act two following years big impression on the North Sea Jazz Festival. This year too 'La Dulfer' will be seen in the immense Statenhal. How her band that evening will look is still a surprise.
Rauzen
In the studio will these days been drudged to equal the success of 'Saxuality'. Candy will be assist by her guitarist, composer, producer and musical right hand Ulco Bed. "It is for us now quite difficult", she finds. "We are under big pressure. With your second album you have to prove yourself more; you have to repeat your success and rather yet improve. On top of that comes that we were not so very well contented with 'Saxuality'. So now we put ourselfs even higher demands".
'Saxuality' sounds according to Candy too small, too 'soft'. "We were much to niggling about small things and that is what you hear on the record. It is difficult to lay in the studio the enthusiasm in the songs that there automatic is on stage, but now we know that we just have to 'rauzen'". The new cd (title yet unknown) has to be more solid then 'Saxuality': "A little bit more rhythm n' blues and a little less 'spacy' then 'Saxuality', on which we used too much synthesizers. We go more back to the basis. The saxophone-parts have now to come out (of the paint) something better then on 'Saxuality'. I have made the last two years progress when it comes to playing, and I am not so uncertain anymore".
No Prince
Prince will not appear on the new cd. "If you take a song from him, it puts an enormous mark on your record. It is then for sure by Prince, so with his person assigned". This record will be honoured with the presence of saxophonist Maceo Parker (ex-James Brown) and his blow section The Horny Horns, tenor Pee Wee Ellis and trombonist Fred Wesley. "We have honestly changed places. We asked Maceo if he would play on my cd, in exchange for that I have to play on his live album".
Because of the studio works Candy had to decline some offers, among them one from ex-Beatle Ringo Starr who asked Candy for a super luxury allstar-tour.
She however is jumping to go on stage again. "First the North Sea Jazz, then in August a jazzfestival in Nagasaki in Japan and then we probable start in October with a new tour. Nice to play again on stage… I am really seeing forward to".

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Interview (23-10-1995) in
(translated from Dutch into English by Anton)
'I really want to make the difficult sums'
By HESTER CARVALHO
I like to eat of two sides, tells saxophonist Candy Dulfer (26). She grew up with jazz and now wants in her own music the improvisations of that music genre combine with the excitement of pop. But on the question if her saxophone in the for the greater parts instrumental compositions then perhaps the role of 'voice' has, reacts Dulfer irritated: "No because my voice sounds like this," she squeaks, "and my saxophone sounds like that, and she sings a low vibrating sound."
The charm of popmusic is for Dulfer not the singing. "I do not understand the attention those sangers and female sangers always get, I find instruments much interesting. Besides my voice restores not so well whom I am then my saxophone does. From my sax playing you can read my character, while my voice much to girlish is. I think that I unconsciously used to let my voice sound more girlish then I am feeling myself, as a compensation for all the mature things which I from childhood have been doing."
Today appears Dulfers third cd, Big Girl. The title is a reference to the cd Big Boy, of her father Hans Dulfer, and on top of that an evidence of her maturity - although the word 'girl' hides a duplicity, "a girl I probably always will be."
On Big Girl has Candy Dulfer just as on her first two cd's the construction been choosing of a live-concert. So there is a ballad on, a few uptempo songs, a funky song and some in midtempo. Also musically Big Girl is in a direct line of the previous Sax-A-Go-Go (1993), likewise relieves the ensemble-playing between the various blowers and the rest of her band flexible with Dulfers solistic parts. On the background seems meanwhile yet another music piece be going on; lispling scratching and repeating samples suggest there an anarchistic counterpart of the polished sounding foreground.
Solo's, played by herself or by her band members are for Candy Dulfer from vital importance. The musicians are selected on improvisation-talent, and also the compositions are of her cd's chooses Dulfer on the point of contact for solo's. 'An inspiring scheme of notes and a right sphere' she needs to be able to create new variations with every (concert) performance.
"And on the other side I have to bethink if it shall be a nice song," says Dulfer. "Is it for the people too interesting? Because that is the tension: between what I nicely can play and where the audience something can live to see for. I am of course an instrumentalist and just as a mathematic I really want to make difficult sums. But the people in the hall want to see how you are going to solve something what they maybe (in the future) occasionally could have been solving, and that you are doing that first. They won't hear something unsolvable, that drives them mad."
The day after our conversation Candy Dulfer shall fly to Curaçao to improvise during an appearance of Maceo Parker, the saxophonist who became famous by James Brown. Maceo Parker has still success with his funky playing. "From those musicians I have learned a lot. Especially black musicians like Maceo Parker, some jazzpeople, Tina Turner; they have a funky sound and play on too with the audience. Such as Maceo Parker is a real showman, he can bring his music as if it is the newest of newest, and although he is a some what older man, he performs for a hall full of handsome young girls."
"The power of popmusic is that it is exciting. That you are being dragged from one to an other. But for a saxophonist, I'll find jazz the highest attaimable as it is about technic, speed, improvisation. So the combination of the excitement which popmusic gives, with the inside saturation of a good jazzconcert, that is my dream, or really that what I am already doing for years."
For her cd has Dulfer a saxophone-duet (Wake Me When It's Over) recorded with fusionsaxophonist David Sanborn. During the recordings in New York stood Sanborn to crackle with his saxophone. "It seemed to be a fairy blower. He is nevertheless my idol, but when I stood next to him playing I thought 'Jesus man, what are you playing loud'. But when I later heard it, it appeared that he precise well in the sound-image stood. It is difficult to integrate in a pop-frame a saxophone like I am playing. A saxophone is an acoustic instrument and the sound distorts then by the microphone which you have to work with. Sanborn anticipated on that. By playing so loud he got on the recordings ultimately those hard high-pitched tone, which is his trademark. While by me a tone occasionally can die away, like BLUBABLUPablup."
Besides with David Sanborn, Dulfer played together with her father in the title-track, Big Girl. When is she going to be satisfied with this kind of improvised co-operations? "I am satisfied when I notice that we are able to trump each other. Maceo Parker, David Sanborn and myself are all alt-saxophonists and they don't play normally together, so you have to make something out of it. Look, somebody as David Sanborn I consider as my superior, but if he played a lick then after that I want to do just something nicer.
"You have to react quick. As they played doedalidiedup, that I then do doedalidiedup - a half note higher. You don't communicate on forehand what you're going to do, it is a matter of jumpng in. If I see that somebody is falling silent then I pick my solo. No, solo playing is no harmonic affair. It is more solo-tennis."

Big Girl by Candy Dulfer appears today at BMG. Appearances of Candy Dulfer and band are to be seen: 27/10 Luxor, Arnhem; 2/11 De Swing, Nijmegen; 3/11 Jazzmecca, Maastricht; 4/11 Zaal Schaaf, Leeuwarden; 5/11 Oosterpoort, Groningen; 9/11 Paard, Den Haag; 10/11 Nighttown, Rotterdam; 11/11 Tivoli, Utrecht; 12/11 Patronaat, Haarlem; 17/11 Paradiso, Amsterdam; 18/11 De Vrijthof, Enschede; 19/11 Atlantis, Alkmaar.

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