Candy Dulfer

Candy Dulfer is a successful smooth jazz alto saxophonist from Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

Dulfer began her career at the age of 12 when she played in a band with Rosa King, an American expatriate living in The Netherlands. Soon Candy was fronting her own band, Funky Stuff, who were invited to backup Madonna for part of her European tour. She was brought to the limelight by Prince, who introduced her to the world through his video for Partyman. This appearance led to session work with Eurythmics guitarist and producer Dave Stewart, who gave Candy a credit on Lily Was Here, reaching number six in the UK and number one in the Dutch radio charts in 1990.

Candy Dulfer's debut album, Saxuality, was released later in 1990. With her funky alto sax stylings proving popular with fans of contemporary jazz at several recently launched smooth jazz radio stations in the United States, Saxuality was nominated for a Grammy and certified gold for worldwide sales in excess of half a million.

Dulfer was also the featured saxophonist in Van Morrison's A Night in San Francisco album made from live recordings at the Masonic Auditorium, San Francisco, California on December 18, 1993 and The Mystic Theater, Petaluma, California on December 12, 1993.

Dulfer is the daughter of tenor saxophonist Hans Dulfer, and they collaborated on a duet album. Strongly influenced by Sonny Rollins and David Sanborn, Candy has become an inspiration to other female instrumentalists, including guitarist Joyce Cooling and saxophonists Pamela Williams and Mindi Abair.