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Roberta Gambarini was born in Torino, Italy, into a family where jazz was much loved and appreciated. She began listening to this music as a child and started taking clarinet lessons when she was twelve years old. By the time she was 17, she began singing and performing in jazz …

Jazz trumpeter and composer Randy Brecker has helped shape the sound of jazz, R&B and rock for more than four decades. His trumpet and flugelhorn performances have graced hundreds of albums by a wide range of artists from James Taylor, Bruce Springsteen and Parliament/Funkadelic to Frank Sinatra, Steely Dan, Jaco …

Born in the Pinar del Río province of Western Cuba, pianist and composer Elio Villafranca was classically trained in percussion and composition at the Instituto Superior de Arte in Havana, Cuba. Since his arrival in the U.S. in late 1995, he has been involved in jazz and Latin jazz scenes …

The 23rd St. Lucia Jazz & Arts Festival came to a dream-like conclusion thanks to the soulful sounds of R&B crooner, or for many ladies, “swooner,” Maxwell. The enigmatic soul superstar made a classy reappearance at the ocean side dream venue to tune up his live show in anticipation of …

Gina Loring is an accomplished poet, vocalist, songwriter, and workshop facilitator. She has guest lectured at countless colleges, universities, and high schools nationwide. As guest poet of the American Embassy, she has traveled to Kuwait, Russia, West Africa, Denmark, Turkey, Greece, Ireland, England, and Tunisia. She was featured on two …

Have you been to the church of Avery*Sunshine? With her thunderous, gospel-bred pipes and heart-to-heart content, the singer-songwriter can’t help spilling the truth in her music. She knows the best route sometimes is the direct one. No detours. So listeners won’t have to “get on her level.” She’s already on …

The daughter of African immigrants, jazz artist Somi is captivating audiences with her New African sound. A recipient of the TEDGlobal Scholarship, she began playing cello at a young age and allowed that instrument to shape her vocal skills. The soon to be legendary songstress Somi is releasing a brand …

French native Cyrille Aimee has been impressing American audiences with her amazing vocal talents for a few years. The sultry songstress has traveled the world captivating audiences with a unique blend of Dominican rhythms and French Gypsy Jazz. In this interview with iRockJazz, Cyrille opens up about her transition to …

Roberta Gambarini is a singer who started taking clarinet lessons after being caught by her father for playing his tenor saxophone in secret. After having trouble with classical voice lessons, Gambarini decided to trust her instincts and learned jazz improvisation from self-teaching and listening to the masters of recorded jazz …

clas·sic  /klasik/ adjective 1. judged over a period of time to be of the highest quality and outstanding of its kind. Synonym: Ahmad Jamal Playing the piano by the age of 3, composing at 10, and performing at Carnegie Hall with Duke Ellington at 22, Ahmad Jamal has proven that …

IF, AS SHAKESPEARE WROTE IN TWELFTH NIGHT, “…SOME ARE BORN GREAT, SOME ACHIEVE GREATNESS, AND SOME HAVE GREATNESS THRUST UPON THEM…” Then, Theo Croker fits into two out of three of the Bard’s categories. His talent is innate; he inherited a unique gift from his grandfather, the legendary trumpet player …

Theo Croker is casually positioning himself to be the next important musician on the scene. If you’re not yet familiar with the twenty-something trumpeter/vocalist, don’t worry, because you’ve absolutely heard of his grandfather, the Grammy Award-winning trumpeter, Doc Cheatham. But don’t think the young talent will be riding his prestigious …