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Yeni Kuti, is the first child and daughter of the late Afrobeat legend, Fela Anikulapo-Kuti. Yeni remembers her father’s legacy, life, and music by hosting, Felabration, a celebration of life. Fela was born in Abeokuta, Nigeria in 1938. Fela’s parents sent him to London in 1958. He registered at the Trinity School …

Tony Zawinul is the son of Joe Zawinul, one of the founding members of the band Weather Report. He is the director for a documentary on the band called Calm Before the Storm. This documentary has been crowd-funded to respect the organic nature of the band’s music and the special …

TAKUYA KURODA

 Rising Son makes for the perfect title for the Blue Note debut from Takuya Kuroda, an ascendant trumpeter and composer who is perhaps best known for his inspired presence in vocalist José James’ band over the past several years. In fact, Rising Son finds Kuroda stepping forth to …

If one were attempting to design a prototype for the quintessential contemporary musician, trumpeter/fluegelhornist/composer Russell Gunn is the model. A certified member of the hip-hop generation, Russell’s early aspirations in the world of rap music took precedence over the trumpet that he began playing in fourth grade. When he reached …

When Robert Hurst was growing up in Detroit, so many kinds of great music tugged at him, he could easily have gone in a different direction than jazz. Motown influences abounded: Marvin Gaye lived in his neighborhood, his father was boyhood friends with two of the Temptations, and the music …

Poogie Bell is an American jazz drummer, composer, band leader and producer. Bell is best known as a drummer, working extensively with bassists Marcus Miller and as a sideman for other artists such as Erykah Badu, Victor Bailey, David Bowie, Stanley Clarke, Randy Crawford, Roberta Flack, Al Jarreau, Chaka Khan, …

Victoria Theodore received her Bachelor of Music and Bachelor of Arts degrees in Classical Piano Performance and Computer Music from Oberlin College / Conservatory of Music (where she studied piano with Sedmara Zakarian Rutstein), and her Master of Arts degree in Classical Piano Performance from Stanford University (where she studied …

Born in The Bronx to Puerto Rican immigrants, Spanish was Haslip’s first language and learned to speak English in kindergarten. His father, Jaime Haslip served in the United States Customs Service, beginning as a Merchant Marine until moving to patrolman and eventually deputy commissioner. Haslip moved to Huntington, New York …

The daughter of an actress, dancer, and theatrical producer Kidjo was born in Quidah, a coastal city in the West Africa country of Benin. Inheriting her mother’s love of performing, she made her stage debut with her mother’s theatrical troupe. She was singing professionally by her 20th birthday. Afro-funk, Reggae, …

A. Scott Galloway is a 20+ years veteran writer and music journalist with experience in print and radio. My specialty niche is liner note essays for over 300 music CD reissues of classic albums and compilations, several of which I produced. My work was commissioned by the companies Rhino/WEA, Universal, Sony …

Bass players have historically worn many hats. To be able to stop on a dime, keep it all together, and let it groove, is no easy undertaking.  Anyone who has ever listened to Motown understands this whether they know it or not. James Jamerson’s driving bass lines provided the solid …

Rufus Reid, one of today’s premiere bassists on the international jazz scene, with his reputation firmly established in the education arena, now adds composition to his vitae. Rufus participated in the BMI Jazz Composer’s Workshop for five years which has empowered him to move more deeply into the composing arena. …