Smooth Jazz | Musicosity

Smooth Jazz

Ahmad Jamal

Celebrated pianist-composer Ahmad Jamal continues his performance schedule around the world, as he has for well over the last four decades. Noted for his outstanding technical command and identifiable sound as a piano stylist, Mr. Jamal was born on July 2, 1930, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. A child prodigy who began to play the piano at the age of three, he began formal studies at age seven. While in high school, he completed the equivalent of college master classes under the noted African-American concert singer and teacher Mary Cardwell Dawson and pianist James Miller.

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Al Di Meola

Al Di Meola's highly celebrated career has spanned a wide range of emotions into a unique style embodying the artists world inspired influences. From the velocity and heat of his early solo efforts to the challenge and triumph of the "Di Meola / McLaughlin / De Lucia (Guitar Trio)", from the Brazilian explorations of "Cielo e Terra" and "Soaring Through A Dream" to the global romanticism and Tango inflection of Al's acoustic group "World Synfonia" (self titled debut) and the 2nd "World Sinfonia" recording Heart of the Immigrants.

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Stephen Bishop

Stephen Bishop (born 14 November 1951 in San Diego, California) is an American singer and guitarist. He had a major hit in 1977 with the song "On and On"; his other hits include "Save It for a Rainy Day," "Everybody Needs Love," and "It Might Be You," the theme from the movie Tootsie. He has also performed many movie themes, including the theme from National Lampoon's Animal House, which he sang in a falsetto voice.

Read more about Stephen Bishop on Last.fm.

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Chuck Loeb

Chuck Loeb is a skillful guitarist capable of numerous styles of music, most notably jazz. Loeb's own solo projects have generally been commercially successful crossover jazz, which has "contemporary" or "smooth" jazz. He started playing guitar when he was 11, discovered jazz when he was 16, took lessons from Jim Hall, Pat Metheny and Joe Puma, and attended the Berklee College of Music. Loeb freelanced in New York (with Hubert Laws, Chico Hamilton, Joe Farrell among others) and then in 1979 joined Stan Getz's group for two years.

Read more about Chuck Loeb on Last.fm.

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Dave Grusin

David Grusin (born June 26, 1934 in Littleton, Colorado) is a jazz pianist, composer, and arranger whose works in films and TV have garnered him numerous awards. Grusin has a filmography of about 100 credits with many awards including an Oscar for best original score for The Milagro Beanfield War, as well as Oscar nominations for The Champ, The Fabulous Baker Boys, The Firm, Havana, Heaven Can Wait, and On Golden Pond.

Read more about Dave Grusin on Last.fm.

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Brian Blade

Brian Blade (born 1970 in Shreveport, Louisiana) is an American jazz drummer and composer. Brian made his first appearances as a sideman with pianist Brad Mehldau, Joshua Redman, Kenny Garrett, and continued to work as a sideman with other musicians commonly known as "young lions." As a leader, he has released three albums - Fellowship, Perceptual, and most recently, Season of Changes, his Verve Music Group debut. Season of Changes has received rave reviews and continues to grow in popularity.

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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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Larry Carlton

Like so many other Los Angeles studio musicians, guitarist and composer Larry Carlton was faced with a choice a number of years back: whether to go solo and develop a name for himself under his own name or to continue the less risky, more lucrative existence as a session guitarist, making good money and recording with prominent musicians. Fortunately for fans of this eclectic guitarist, he chose the former, and has recorded under his own name for Warner Bros., MCA Records and GRP Records since 1978.

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Ben Williams

Jazz bassist Ben Williams is a forward-thinking musician who crosses easily between straight-ahead, funk, and gospel-influenced jazz. A native of Washington, D.C., Williams graduated from the Duke Ellington School of Music before studying with renowned bassist Rodney Whitaker while earning a B.A. in jazz studies at Michigan State University. He is an in-demand sideman and has performed with a veritable who's who of jazz, including Wynton Marsalis, Roy Hargrove, Mulgrew Miller, Terence Blanchard, and others.

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