Smooth Jazz

Chuck Loeb is a versatile guitar player who has played with many musicians from many different genres, including well known greats such as Michael Brecker and Stan Getz. Although known for his excellent skills as a smooth jazz musician, Loeb has varied musical interests that include straight-ahead jazz as well …

Trumpeter Rick Braun is as smooth as they come. Best known for his passionate style of play and amazing song writing skills, the Pennsylvania native started his career at a young age and has gone on to create one of the most recognizable and admired sounds in contemporary jazz today. …

While Jonathan Butler was growing up as a youngster in Cape Town, South Africa living under the racist Apartheid system, dreams had to be very important.  What’s more important to Butler is the ability to live those dreams.  Butler became the first black South African artist to be played on …

  With 30 years in the music business under his belt and 17 original solo albums, Richard Elliot has earned all of the acclaim and accolades thrown his way.  But resting on his laurels and allowing others to define him is not how he has stayed relevant for so long.  …

Very few artists can be proficient behind the scenes as a studio musician, and then break out with a successful career as a solo artist.  Gerald Albright is one such artist.  He has worked with musicians across the board in all genres, which has prepared him well for his own …

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 …

Mindi Abair is one of the most dynamic performers on the music scene today. In addition to her acclaimed solo work, she was the featured saxophonist on the 2011 and 2012 seasons of American Idol, jammed with Paul Shaffer on the Late Show with David Letterman and joined rock legends …

Born in Paris, France and a native of the French West Indies, Meemee Nelzy has been infatuated with black and caribbean music since her childhood. Challenging herself as a teenager, she wrote her first texts in french a few years later in her dorm room in Toulouse, France and incorporated …

Ramsey Lewis has enjoyed an incredible career of more than 50 years in jazz. From his early days, he has maintained strong ties with the people and culture of Chicago. In this recent exclusive interview with iRock Jazz, Ramsey Lewis looks back on his early days as a musician and …

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, …

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 – …

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, …