Smooth Jazz | Musicosity

Smooth Jazz

Ambrose Akinmusire

Akinmusire was born in Oakland CA, raised in Oakland, California. Before he was eighteen, Ambrose had already performed with such famed musicians as saxophonists Joe Henderson, Joshua Redman, Steve Coleman, and drummer Billy Higgins. After graduating from Berkeley High School in 2000, he moved to New York to begin a full scholarship at the Manhattan School of Music, studying with Vincent Pinzerella from the New York Philharmonic, Dick Oatts, Lew Soloff, and Laurie Frink,[1] and obtaining a Bachelor's Degree in 2005.

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Jaleel Shaw

Jaleel Shaw, alto saxophonist grew up in Philadelphia, PA, where he was surrounded by a enormous family of jazz musicians that Philadelphia has to offer. He studied with many of the strong jazz educators there, including Rayburn Wright, Robert Landham, and Lovette Hines – who is largely responsible for having nurtured the talents of Bassist Christian McBride, Organist Joey Defrancesco, Drummers Johnathan Blake & Ari Hoenig, Vocalist Bilal, Trumpeter Daud El-Bakara, and keyboardist Kamal of The Roots through his youth ensemble that is still going strong today.

Read more about Jaleel Shaw on Last.fm.

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Mike Stern

One of the premier guitarists of his generation, the three-time Grammy nominee was born on January 10, 1953 in Boston. After growing up in Washington D.C., he returned to Boston to study at the Berklee College of Music and got his start as a guitar player with Blood, Sweat & Tears at the age of 22. Following a stint with Billy Cobham's powerhouse fusion band from 1979-1980, Mike moved to New York City and was recruited by Miles Davis and played a key role in his celebrated comeback band of 1981 (which also included bassist Marcus Miller...

Read more about Mike Stern on Last.fm.

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Jazz

There are two bands with the name Jazz.

1. JAZZ is a band from Spokane, WA consisting of four losers trying to do something important with their lives.

Ben Smith - Drums
Alex Paul - Bass
Adam Price - Guitar, vocals
Ramsey Troxel - Guitar, Vocals

2. The former Belgian band called "The Names" lived a second incarnation as "Jazz" in the second part of the nineties. Their style remains similar although adapted to the new decade. The Names was maybe the most artistic band from the Disques del Crepuscule (the Belgian sideproject of Factory Records).

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Martin Taylor

British guitarist Martin Taylor is one of the most highly regarded guitarists in the world. Specialising in jazz, he has performed in groups, guitar ensembles and as an accompanist to many of the world’s most famous musicians. However, it is for his remarkable solo fingerstyle performances, in which he provides bass and chordal accompaniment in addition to a melody, that he is most renowned. Taylor was born in Harlow, Essex in 1956 into a family with a musical heritage and a gypsy/traveller tradition, although he did not strictly lead the traditional gypsy lifestyle.

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Endo

1/ Endo were a four-piece nu metal/hard rock music group from Miami, Florida. The band formed in 1995 with Lou Orenstein, Diego Ponsa, Reggie Barret, and Gil Bitton. A local production company, "Concrete Management", signed the band in the late 90's, where they opened for such bands as the Foo Fighters and Static-X. They were later signed to DV8/Columbia Records, and released two major albums in Evolve (2001) and Songs for the Restless (2003). The group also appeared at the Ozzfest Tour in 2003.

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Fourplay

There are 2 groups known as Fourplay, 1) An American smooth jazz group, 2) An Australian string quartet: 1. Fourplay is a jazz group, founded around 1990, in the USA. Current members are: Bob James (keyboards & programming), Nathan East (bass & vocal), Chuck Loeb (guitar) & Harvey Mason (drums & percussion). Loeb replaced Larry Carlton who himself had replaced the founding guitarist, Lee Ritenour in '98.

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Ed Hamilton

There are two artists: 1. A Jazz artist 2. "Musician, photographer, programmer". Released his debut ep through Hibernate Recordings.
soundcloud.com/ed-hamilton
1) Guitarist Ed Hamilton believes that there is a place for a happy blending of old and new in the jazz that he plays. You can see that in the musicians he’s gathered around him for his first album and in the way traditional rhythms and sonorities co-exist in many of the tunes he writes. And when you learn about his background, you see how it all fits together and makes sense.

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Brian Hughes

Brian Hughes “LIVE”, the classic new release by one of contemporary jazz’s finest guitarists features an allstar band:
Tim Landers: Bass, (Al DiMeola, Billy Cobham, Gil Evans)
Tal Bergman: Drums, (Joe Zawinul, Chaka Khan, Rod Stewart, Billy Idol) Ron Powell: Percussion, (Sergio Mendes, Madonna, Kenny G.) and longtime Hughes pianist and Les Portelli. “Prepare to be blown away...an incredible live performance...beautifully paced and packed with moments of brilliance and genre-shifting depth” says jazz reviewer Shannon West.

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