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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 …

Grammy nominated guitarist, composer, and producer, Chuck Loeb has had a musical career that spans over four decades, and he is proud to be known as a “renaissance man” in the music world. He is a #1 jazz recording artist; composer of over 250 published songs, network television show themes …

Few contemporary albums bare as particular a narrative as The Lagos Music Salon. The new album by the superb chanteuse Somi, finds her breaking new ground with a hybrid style of music that organically integrates the essence of jazz and soul with the musical depth of her African heritage. “It’s the first …

Harvey Mason’s nickname, “The Chameleon,” was not just given to him, but was also earned.  Mason’s drumming work has run the gamut across many musical genres, and his ever changing styles have morphed to accommodate legends from Herbie Hancock, James Brown, and Nancy Wilson, to contemporary artists like Mary J. …

Born in Guayaquil, Ecuador, Willie Ziavino began writing songs at the tender age of 14. The essence of his songs captured the daily life out on the Ecuadorean streets and garnered him some national acclaim. After a serious car accident, Willie moved to Havana, Cuba where he fell in love …

Regarded as one of the strongest talents in R&B, Brian McKnight is a quiet storm known for his strong falsetto range and love ballads. By the age of 19, McKnight had signed a recording contract with a major record label. During those first years in music, he mastered eight instruments, …