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Hailed by the New York Times as “a tenor saxophonist with an enigmatic, elegant and hard-driving style,” JD Allen is a bright rising light on today’s international jazz scene. His unique and compelling voice on the instrument – the result of a patient and painstaking confrontation with the fundamentals of …

Dele Sosimi stands out as one of the most active musicians currently on the Afrobeat scene worldwide. Dele’s career began when he joined Fela’s Anikulapo-Kuti’s Egypt 80, where he played keyboards for 7 years (1979-1986). Fela Anikulapo-Kuti was the founder of the style of music known as Afrobeat. The music …

James King, a 29-year-old Westhill High School graduate, has been performing with Mars since the singer’s 2011 appearance on “American Idol.” The spot was followed by a worldwide tour, as well as appearances on the Grammy Awards, “Saturday Night Live” and The Video Music Awards. King said the Super Bowl …

The New Jersey Performing Arts Center is proud to present Jazz Meets Sports, a special event connecting jazz artistry and athletic performance created by Artistic Advisor and GRAMMY® Award-winning bassist Christian McBride. This special one night only program will take place on Sunday, March 2 at 7:00PM in NJPAC’s Victoria Theater. McBride is set to perform …

Snarky Puppy is truly a different kind of musical animal. The once Texan, now New York-based quasi-collective has gone from the best-kept secret to one of the most respected names in instrumental music. Although still “underground” in many respects, the band has earned high praise from critical stalwarts like the …

An award-winning classical pianist before jazz intervened “in the form of a Tommy Flanagan solo,” Houston, TX, native Helen Sung went on to graduate from the prestigious Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz Performance and win the Kennedy Center’s Mary Lou Williams Jazz Piano Competition. Since establishing herself in New York …

You’ll love Blue Note Records. I don’t need for you to believe me, because I already know that it’s true. Now, you’re probably asking yourself, “Who is this guy? He doesn’t know me.” And to that, I would have to agree. I don’t know you, personally. But, I do know …

Bassist extraodinaire, composer, arranger, educator, curator and administrator, Christian McBride, has been one of the most important and most omnipresent figures in the jazz world for 20 years. Sometimes hard to believe considering this man is not yet 40. Beginning in 1989, this Philadelphia-born bassist moved to New York City …

Women love Will Downing. And men love the women who love Will Downing. In his two decade recording career, the Brooklyn native has carved for himself a solid career as one of the leading purveyors of unapologetic, unabashed romantic music. And while this has not translated to crossover success – …

Dianne Reeves is a four-time Grammy Award-winning jazz singer whose critically acclaimed body of work has spanned across three decades. To date, Reeves has delivered nineteen albums, including the soon-to-be released, Beautiful Life. Beyond her solo endeavors, she has lent her talents to myriad projects, ranging from George Duke’s From …

Joey DeFrancesco comes from a musical family. His Grandfather Joseph DeFrancesco (his name sake) was a reed man. And of course his father, “Papa” John DeFrancesco, is a fine jazz organist in his own right. At the age of 4, Joey began taking a strong interest in the organ. By …

Jazz guitarist, Jeff Golub has been on over 30 million recordings with the likes of Gerald Albright, Henry Butler, Richard Elliot, Robben Ford, Sonny Landreth, Jeff Lorber, Kirk Whalum and Peter White. In 2011, he lost his sight abruptly due to a collapsed optic nerve. Instead of slowing down, however, …