Candy Dulfer

Candy Dulfer (born 19 September 1969) is a Dutch jazz and pop saxophonist. She is the daughter of jazz saxophonist Hans Dulfer. She began playing at age six and founded her band Funky Stuff when she was fourteen. Her breakthrough came with her appearance as the opening act on Madonna's European tour in 1987. Her debut album Saxuality (1990) received a Grammy nomination. She has performed and recorded with her dad Hans, Prince, Dave Stewart, Van Morrison, Angie Stone, Maceo Parker and Rick Braun and has performed live with Alan Parsons (1995), Pink Floyd (1990), and Tower of Power (2014). She hosted the Dutch television series Candy Meets... (2007), in which she interviewed musicians. In 2013, she became a judge in the fifth season of the Dutch version of X Factor.

Early life

Dulfer was born on 19 September 1969 in Amsterdam, Netherlands. She began playing the drums at the age of five. As a six-year-old, she started to play the soprano saxophone. At age seven, she switched to alto saxophone and later began playing in a local concert band Jeugd Doet Leven (English translation: "Youth Brings Life") in Zuiderwoude.

Dulfer played her first solo on stage with her father's band De Perikels ("The Perils"). At age 11, she made her first recordings for the album I Didn't Ask (1981) of De Perikels. In 1982, when she was 12 years old, she played as a member of Rosa King's Ladies Horn section at the North Sea Jazz Festival. According to Dulfer, King encouraged her to become a band leader. In 1984, at age 14, she started the band Funky Stuff.

Career

1980s and 1990s

Dulfer's band performed throughout the Netherlands and in 1987 was the opening act for two of Madonna's European concerts.