 Fritzen was born in Stockholm, Sweden to a Swedish mother and an American father. He started playing drums at a young age, and as he got older he also learned the piano, bass, guitar, flute and vocals. His formal music education comes from the Royal Swedish Academy of Music in Stockholm, where he became one of the first students to receive a Masters degree from the jazz department.[1] His debut solo album, Love Birds was released in 2008. Besides playing piano, he did all the composing, producing and played all eight different instruments.[2] Fritzen's second album VIP (2009) features vocalist Laila Adele, guitarist Jay Soto, saxophone players Michael Lington and Greger Hillman. The album spent 40 weeks on the Smoothjazz.com TOP 50. His third album Diamonds (2010) features saxophone players Darren Rahn, Jessy J and Koh (aka Mr. Saxman), vocalist Laila Adele and guitarist Alex Crown. The first single Dance With Me spent 10 weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Indicator Smooth Jazz Chart, and his second single Undercovermade it to No. 2 on the same Chart. Diamonds also made the top -10 on the Smoothjazz.com Chart, and hit No. 1 on Amazon.com in "Bestsellers in Smooth Jazz".[3] His fourth album, "Magical", is slated for release in August, 2012. Fritzen has performed in several countries including Sweden, USA, United Kingdom, Spain & Thailand. He is the son of pianist Steve Dobrogosz. More Info |
 He began playing in local clubs with the encouragement of East Ridge, Tennessee High School band director and drummer Chet Hedgecoth and professional reed player Billy Ussleton, who appeared as a guest at a stage band festival and heard Wallace with the East Ridge High School Swing Band. After studying clarinet at the University of Tennessee, Wallace settled in New York in 1971 with the encouragement of Monty Alexander, who hired him and recommended him to the American Federation of Musicians local, which virtually guaranteed his entry. Wallace played with Barry Harris, Buddy Rich, Dannie Richmond. His debut recording was done with Flip Phillips and Scott Hamilton in 1977.[1] He has cited Sonny Rollins and Coleman Hawkins among many major saxophone influences. He recorded on the revived Blue Note label in 1985; the original label provided much of the key music of his formative years, and the album Twilight Time was a tribute to the mix of musical styles he encountered in the local club scene of Chattanooga, such as the AmVets and Katie's Four O'Clock Club. Country & western, western swing, and rock & roll all required familiarity with key signatures and repertoire favored by "pickers" (guitarists). He has provided original music for Ron Shelton's films Blaze and White Men Can't Jump More Info |
 Pepper was born in Gardena, California.[citation needed] He began his career in the 1940s, playing with Benny Carter and Stan Kenton (1946–52).[1] By the 1950s Pepper was recognized as one of the leading alto saxophonists in jazz, epitomized by his finishing second only to Charlie Parker as Best Alto Saxophonist in the Down Beat magazine Readers Poll of 1952. Along with Chet Baker, Gerry Mulligan and Shelly Manne, and perhaps due more to geography than playing style, Pepper is often associated with the musical movement known as West Coast jazz, as contrasted with the East Coast (or "hot") jazz associated with the likes of Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie and Miles Davis. Some of Pepper's most famous albums from the 1950s are Art Pepper Meets the Rhythm Section, Art Pepper + Eleven - Modern Jazz Classics, Gettin' Together, and Smack Up. Representative music from this time appears on The Aladdin Recordings (three volumes), The Early Show, The Late Show, The Complete Surf Ride, and The Way It Was!, which features a session recorded with Warne Marsh. His career was repeatedly interrupted by several prison stints stemming from his addiction toheroin, but Pepper managed to have several memorable and productive "comebacks." Remarkably, his substance abuse and legal travails did not affect the quality of his recordings, which maintained a high level of musicianship throughout his career until his death from a brain hemorrhage in 1982. His last comeback saw Pepper, who had started his career in Stan Kenton's big band, becoming a member of Buddy Rich's Big Band from 1968 to 1969. In 1977 and 1978 he made two well received tours of Japan.[1] During this period, he recorded two albums - Goin' Homewith George Cables, and Winter Moon with a string orchestra - which were among his favorites and which he considered his definitive achievements.[2 More Info |
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 John Legend Live at the house of blues John Roger Stephens (born December 28, 1978), better known by his stage name John Legend, is an American singer-songwriter and actor. He has won nine Grammy Awards, and in 2007, Legend received the special Starlight Award from the Songwriters Hall of Fame.[1] Prior to the release of his debut album, Stephens' career gained momentum through a series of successful collaborations with multiple established artists. Stephens added his voice to those of other artists, assisting in them reaching chart-topper hits. He lent his voice to Magnetic Man's "Getting Nowhere," Kanye West's "All of the Lights", on Slum Village's "Selfish" and Dilated Peoples' "This Way". Other artists included Jay-Z's "Encore", and he sang backing vocals on Alicia Keys' 2003 song "You Don't Know My Name", the Kanye West remix of Britney Spears' "Me Against the Music", and Fort Minor's "High Road". Stephens played piano on Lauryn Hill's "Everything Is Everything".Legend released his debut album, Get Lifted, on GOOD Music in December 2004. It featured production by Kanye West, Dave Tozer, and will.i.am, and debuted at number 13 on the US Billboard200, selling 116,000 copies in its first week.[13] It went on to sell 540,300 copies in the United States and was certified gold by the RIAA.[14][15] An international success, Get Lifted also reached number one of the Norwegian Albums Chart and peaked within the top ten in the Netherlands and Sweden, resulting into worldwide sales of 850,000 copies.[8] Critically acclaimed, it won the 2006Grammy Award for Best R&B Album, and earned Legend another two awards for Best New Artist and Best Male R&B Vocal Performance. Altogether, the album produced four singles, including debut single "Used to Love U," which entered the top 30 of the New Zealand and UK Singles Chart, and Grammy Award-wining "Ordinary People" which peaked at 24 on the Billboard Hot 100. John Legend also co-wrote Janet Jackson's "I Want You", which was certified Platinum and received a nomination for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance at the 47th Annual Grammy Awards.[16] A highly sought after collaborator, Legend was featured on several records the following years; he appeared on albums by Fort Minor, Sérgio Mendes, Jay-Z, Mary J. Blige, The Black Eyed Peas,Stephen Colbert, Rich Boy, MSTRKRFT, Chemistry, and Fergie, among others. Legend also tentatively worked with the late Michael Jackson on a future album for which he had written one song.[17] In August 2006, Legend appeared in an episode of Sesame Street. He performed a song entitled "It Feels Good When You Sing a Song", a duet with Hoots the Owl.[18] He also performed during the pregame show of Super Bowl XL in Detroit and the halftime show at the 2006 NBA All-Star Game.[19][20] In October 2006, Legend's second album, Once Again, was released. Legend co-wrote and co-produced the bulk of the album, which saw him reteaming with West and will.i.am but also spawned production from Raphael Saadiq, Craig Street, Sa-Ra, Eric Hudson, Devo Springsteen, Dave Tozer and Avenue. Released to major commercial success, it reached number three on the Billboard200 and debuted on top of the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. It was eventually certified platinum by the RIAA, and reached gold status in Italy, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom. At the2007 Grammy Awards ceremony, the song "Heaven" was awarded the Grammy Award for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance, while lead single "Save Room" received a nod in the Best Male Pop Vocal category. Legend won a second Grammy that year for "Family Affair," a collaboration with Sly & The Family Stone, Joss Stone and Van Hunt, for the former's Different Strokes by Different Folks album. More Info |
 The Crusaders are an American music group popular in the early 1970s known for their amalgamated jazz, pop, and soul sound. Since 1961, more than forty albums have been credited to the group (some live and compilations), 19 of which were recorded under the name "The Jazz Crusaders" (1961–1970).[1] More Info |
 The past ten years have been a long and winding road. We have received tremendous support across the country and God’s Mercy and Grace over the years is the reason we are where we are today, TEN YEARS LATER.The Joyous concept has always been enigmatic to a lot of people because of its format. We have been referred to as a Gospel group or Gospel Choir. We prefer to be referred to as a Gospel Project or a Gospel Concept.The past ten years have been a long and winding road. We have received tremendous support across the country and God’s Mercy and Grace over the years is the reason we are where we are today, TEN YEARS LATER. The Joyous concept has always been enigmatic to a lot of people because of its format. We have been referred to as a Gospel group or Gospel Choir. We prefer to be referred to as a Gospel Project or a Gospel Concept.. More Info |
 Grant Green Grant's First Stand Green was born in St. Louis, Missouri. He first performed in a professional setting at the age of 12. His influences were Charlie Christian, Charlie Parker, Lester Young, and Jimmy Raney, he first played boogie-woogie before moving on to jazz. His first recordings in St. Louis were with tenor saxophonist Jimmy Forrest for the United label. The drummer in the band was Elvin Jones, later the powerhouse behind John Coltrane. Grant recorded with Elvin again in the early Sixties. Lou Donaldson discovered Grant playing in a bar in St. Louis. After touring together with Donaldson, Grant arrived in New York around 1959-60. Lou Donaldson introduced Grant to Alfred Lion of Blue Note Records. Lion was so impressed with Grant that rather than testing Grant as a sideman, as was the usual Blue Note practice, Lion arranged for him to record as a group leader first. However, due to a lack of confidence on Green's part the initial recording session was only released in 2001 as First Session[5] Despite the shelving of his first session, Green's recording relationship with Blue Note was to last, with a few exceptions, throughout the Sixties. From 1961 to 1965, Grant made more appearances on Blue Note LPs, as leader or sideman, than anyone else. Grant's first issued album as a leader was Grant's First Stand. This was followed in the same year by Green Street andGrantstand. Grant was named best new star in the Down Beat critics' poll, in 1962. He often provided support to the other important musicians on Blue Note, including saxophonists Hank Mobley,Ike Quebec, Stanley Turrentine and organist Larry Young. Sunday Mornin' , The Latin Bit and Feelin' the Spirit are all loose concept albums, each taking a musical theme or style: Gospel, Latin and spirituals respectively. Grant always carried off his more commercial dates with artistic success during this period. Idle Moments (1963), featuring Joe Henderson and Bobby Hutcherson, and Solid (1964), are thought of as two of Grant's best recordings. Many of Grant's recordings were not released during his lifetime. These include McCoy Tyner and Elvin Jones (also part of the Solid group) performing on Matador (also recorded in 1964), and several albums with pianist Sonny Clark. In 1966 Grant left Blue Note and recorded for several other labels, including Verve. From 1967 to 1969 Grant was, for the most part, inactive due to personal problems and the effects of heroin addiction. In 1969 Grant returned with a new funk-influenced band. His recordings from this period include the commercially successful Green is Beautiful and the soundtrack to the film The Final Comedown. Grant left Blue Note again in 1974 and the subsequent recordings he made with other labels divide opinion: some consider Green to have been the 'Father of Acid Jazz' (and his late recordings have been sampled by artists including US3, A Tribe Called Quest and Public Enemy[6]), whilst others have dismissed them (reissue producer Michael Cuscuna wrote in the sleeve notes for the album Matador that "During the 1970s [Green] made some pretty lame records"). Grant spent much of 1978 in hospital and, against the advice of doctors, went back on the road to earn some money. While in New York to play an engagement at George Benson's Breezin' Lounge, Grant collapsed in his car of a heart attack in New York City on January 31, 1979. He was buried in Greenwood Cemetery in his hometown of St. Louis, Missouri, and was survived by six children. Since Green's demise, his reputation has grown and many compilations of both his earlier (post-bop/straight ahead and soul jazz) and later (funkier/dancefloor jazz) periods, exist. More Info |
 ''Influenced by Keith Jarrett,[2] Hanmer has worked with artists including Grammy Award winner Miriam Makeba, Hugh Masekela, Jonathan Butler, Pops Mohamed, Sipho Gumede, and McCoy Mrubata.[3] Hanmer has recorded for the South Afican rercording label Sheer Sounds, and has played keyboards for the Sheer All Stars''.[3] ''Since 2003 Hanmer has also been composing works for classical performers: UnTsiki and Ntwazana (2003) for The Bow Project, a string quartet for the Sontonga Quartet, a wind quintet for the Mozart anniversary in 2006, a clarinet quintet for Robert Pickup, a suite of duets for double bass and cello for Leon Bosch, a piece for two tubas and drumkit for Anne Jelle Visser of the Zurich Opera, and two duets for violin and harp''. More Info |
 Fourplay is a contemporary jazz quartet in the United States. The original members of the group were Bob James (keyboards), Lee Ritenour(guitars), Nathan East (bass), and Harvey Mason (drums).[1] In 1997, Lee Ritenour left the group and Fourplay chose Larry Carlton as his replacement. In 2010, Larry Carlton left Fourplay and was replaced by Chuck Loeb.[2] Grammy-nominated supergroup Fourplay has enjoyed consistent artistic and commercial success by grafting elements of R&B and pop to their unwavering jazz foundations. In a span of twenty years and eleven albums, the quartet has continued to explore the limitless dimensions and permutations of jazz while at the same time appealing to a broad mainstream audience. Their first record, 1991's Fourplay, sold over a million copies and remained at the number one position on Billboard's contemporary jazz chart for 33 weeks. Their next LP, 1993's Between the Sheets, reached number one, went gold, and received a Grammy nomination. In 1994, their third gold album, Elixir, also reached the number one position and remained on the chart for more than 90 weeks. Fourplay received a Congressional Record from the United States Congress, House of Representatives recognizing them as distinguished members of the music industry. The award was presented by A. Robert Brown, Sr., Advisor to Congressman Ed Towns of New York at a Fourplay performance in Philadelphia. Fourplay is the only musical group in history to be recognized by the U.S. Congress.[3] Live Fourplay launch their new album "Let's touch the Sky" at the newly re-opened Clapham Grand Theatre in London on Thursday 10th November 2011. More Info |
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