b. 19 September 1969, Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Saxophonist Dulfer was bought to prominence by Prince, who introduced her on the video mix of ‘Party Man’ with a cry of ‘when I want sax, I call for Candy’. She was bought up in a family involved in the Dutch jazz scene. Her father, Hans Dulfer, a respected tenor saxophonist, exposed his daughter to the playing of Sonny Rollins, Coleman Hawkins and Dexter Gordon. Candy’s career evolved from playing with brass bands to performing on the jazz club circuit and later fronting her own band Funky Stuff, who were invited to support Madonna on part of her 1987 European tour. A similar support slot with Prince was abruptly cancelled, but the singer made amends by inviting Dulfer onstage during one of his shows. The resulting recording sessions with Prince, and in particular the aforementioned ‘Party Man’, led to session work with Eurythmics guitarist, David A. Stewart, who gave Dulfer a joint credit on ‘Lily Was Here’, a UK number 6 hit in 1990. Further credits have found her working with David Gilmour, Aretha Franklin and Van Morrison. Her 1990 debut album was nominated for a Grammy and certified gold. Her subsequent albums have been pleasant enough but have broken no new ground, their R&B leanings similar in content to David Sanborn’s hard-blowing work. However, she is regarded as one of Europe’s leading young saxophonists.
