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Smooth Jazz

Mark Murphy

Mark Murphy (b. 1932) is an American jazz singer based in New York. He is most noted for his vocalese and vocal improvisations with both melody and lyrics. He is the recipient of the 1996, 1997, 2000, and 2001 Down Beat magazine readers jazz poll for Best Male Vocalist of the Year, and is also the recipient of six Grammy award nominations for Best Vocal Jazz Performance. He is also famous for his original lyrics to the jazz classics "Stolen Moments" and "Red Clay".

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Brenda Russell

Brenda Russell is an adult-contemporary singer-songwriter that hit the music scene in 1979 with her debut album "Brenda Russell". Her sister is rumoured to be none other than, Donna Summer, the queen of Disco. The release featured her her first hit song, "So Good So Right". The story goes, it came up while washing dishes and, still wearing an apron, she rushed to the piano wrote it down. The album also featured the hit "If Only for One Night" which was later covered by Luther Vandross.

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Stacey Kent

Stacey Kent (born March 27, 1968 in South Orange, New Jersey) is a Grammy-nominated Anglo-American jazz vocalist. Kent attended Newark Academy in Livingston, New Jersey. She graduated with a Degree in Comparative Literature from Sarah Lawrence College in New York, and moved to England after her graduation. While studying at London's Guildhall School of Music and Drama, she met tenor saxophonist, Jim Tomlinson, whom she married on August 9, 1991. Discography
* Close Your Eyes (1997)
* The Tender Trap (1998)

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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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The Blackbyrds

The Blackbyrds was a and fusion group, formed in Washington, D.C. in 1973. The group was led by trumpeter Donald Byrd and featured some of his Howard University students: Kevin Toney (keyboards), Keith Killgo (vocals, drums), Joe Hall (bass guitar), Allan Barnes (saxophone, clarinet), and Barney Perry (guitar). Orville Saunders (guitar), and Jay Jones (flute, saxophone) were later members of the group. They signed to Fantasy Records in 1973. They are best known for their 1975 hit "Walking in Rhythm", which received a Grammy nomination.

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Mama Cass

"Mama" Cass Elliot, Baroness von Wiedenman (19 September 1941 – 29 July 1974), born Ellen Naomi Cohen, was a noted American singer who performed with The Mamas & the Papas. She then went onto a successful solo career, releasing nine albums. Born in Baltimore, Maryland, she spent most of her childhood both in Baltimore and Alexandria, Virginia, a suburb of Washington, D.C. Elliot was widely considered the most charismatic member of the Mamas & the Papas due to her sense of humor and optimism, in part because of her large size and weight.

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Gerd

Gert-Jan Bijl aka Amplified Orchestra, Automator, B.S.O. Research, Gerd, Glisten Syndicate, Literon, Metro Dade, Replica, William Literon - a Dutch dj and producer. Under the name Sensurreal Gert-Jan Bijl and Dirk Jan Hanegraaff did have a success during the 90 with their gigs and their release for Beam Me Up, a Dutch label in Rotterdam
(Speedy J).
Their biggest success they reached in 1999 after splitting up. In 1999 they released a house remix of No White Clouds In My Blue Sky.

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