 | A major contributor to this article appears to have a close connection with its subject.(February 2011) |
Alfonzo Blackwell | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Alfonzo Robert Blackwell Jr. |
| Born | February 22, 1971 Brooklyn, New York |
| Genres | Contemporary jazz, smooth jazz, nu jazz, fusion |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, composer, record producer |
| Years active | 1995–present |
| Labels | Utopia, Scotti Bros. |
| Website | alfonzoblackwell |
Alfonzo Blackwell is an American smooth jazz saxophonist, composer, and producer.
Alfonzo Robert Blackwell Jr. was born in Brooklyn, New York. Music was always a big part of his household and childhood upbringing. He learned to play the piano by ear at the age of six. He began playing saxophone at the age of eleven and became proficient on alto, tenor, and soprano saxophones. Over the years he also started to play the drums, bass, and guitar.
He was accepted to the Performing Arts High School in New York City and continued his advanced studies at the Aaron Copland School of Music at Queens College and Five Towns College for Music in Long Island. His jazz influences included Cannonball Adderley, John Coltrane, Jackie McLean, Eric Dolphy and Charlie Parker. He performed at jazz clubs and earned a weekly residency at a Manhattan venue. Through his youth, Blackwell played in big bands, jazz ensembles, and funk bands to showcase original material, and he played traditional jazz standards and cover tunes. His formula for mixing traditional jazz with modern contemporary soul and jazz is what makes up his musical presence to date.
Blackwell entered the contemporary jazz music scene in May 1995 with his debut album Let's Imagine. "Hermina", a tribute to his mother, "Passion" and "Funky Shuffle" were chart toppers as well. Music video hits "Love No Limit" and "A Little Bit of Sax" were both nominated for Best Contemporary Jazz Video at Billboard Awards and he appeared on BET. His compositions have been used for movie themes as well as television. He performed the theme song for the television show Baywatch Nights . He also was featured on the movie soundtrack for the Rebecca De Mornay and Antonio Banderas movie Never Talk to Strangers, with the hit track "Love Sick". Blackwell has performed with Gladys Knight, The Whispers, Roy Ayers, Mary J. Blige, Faith Evans, and Brian McKnight.
He recorded a version of George Benson's "Breezin'". [1]
Blackwell is a competitive bodybuilder and power-lifter. He is a competitive Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioner and serves as a speaker and board member of the Artist Empowerment Coalition, a not-for-profit coalition of artists, musicians, songwriters, producers, and music fans. The AEC was initiated and inspired by Stevie Wonder, Prince, Roberta Flack, and Chaka Khan with the law firm of L. Londell McMillan and supports musicians' rights.
Soul jazz or funky jazz is a subgenre of jazz that incorporates strong influences from hard bop, blues, soul, gospel and rhythm and blues. Soul jazz is often characterized by organ trios featuring the Hammond organ and small combos including tenor saxophone, guitar, and organ. Its origins were in the 1950s and early 1960s, with its heyday with popular audiences preceding the rise of jazz fusion in the late 1960s and 1970s. Prominent names in fusion ranged from bop pianists including Bobby Timmons and Junior Mance to a wide range of organists, saxophonists, and guitarists including Jack McDuff, Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis, and Grant Green.
Curtis Ousley, known professionally as King Curtis, was an American saxophonist who played rhythm and blues, jazz, and rock and roll. A bandleader, band member, and session musician, he was also a musical director and record producer. A master of the instrument, he played tenor, alto, and soprano saxophone. He played riffs and solos on hit singles such as "Respect" by Aretha Franklin (1965), and "Yakety Yak" by The Coasters (1958) and his own "Soul Serenade" (1964) and "Memphis Soul Stew" (1967).
Kenneth Bruce Gorelick, known professionally as Kenny G, is an American smooth jazz saxophonist, composer, and producer. His 1986 album Duotones brought him commercial success. Kenny G is one of the best-selling artists of all time, with global sales totaling more than 75 million records.
Session musicians, studio musicians, or backing musicians are musicians hired to perform in recording sessions or live performances. The term sideman is also used in the case of live performances, such as accompanying a recording artist on a tour. Session musicians are usually not permanent or official members of a musical ensemble or band. They work behind the scenes and rarely achieve individual fame in their own right as soloists or bandleaders. However, top session musicians are well known within the music industry, and some have become publicly recognized, such as the Wrecking Crew, the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section and The Funk Brothers who worked with Motown Records.
Eddie Harris was an American jazz musician, best known for playing tenor saxophone and for introducing the electrically amplified saxophone. He was also fluent on the electric piano and organ. His best-known compositions are "Freedom Jazz Dance", popularized by Miles Davis in 1966, and "Listen Here".
The baritone saxophone is a member of the saxophone family of instruments, larger than the tenor saxophone, but smaller than the bass. It is the lowest-pitched saxophone in common use - the bass, contrabass and subcontrabass saxophones are relatively uncommon. Like all saxophones, it is a single-reed instrument. It is commonly used in concert bands, chamber music, military bands, big bands, and jazz combos. It can also be found in other ensembles such as rock bands and marching bands. Modern baritone saxophones are pitched in E♭.
David Stephen Koz is an American smooth jazz saxophonist, keyboardist, composer, record producer, and radio personality based in California.
Candy Dulfer is a Dutch jazz and pop saxophonist. She is the daughter of jazz saxophonist Hans Dulfer. She began playing at age six and founded her band Funky Stuff when she was fourteen. Her debut album Saxuality (1990) received a Grammy nomination. She has performed and recorded with Hans Dulfer, Prince, Dave Stewart, Van Morrison, Angie Stone, Maceo Parker and Rick Braun and has performed live with Alan Parsons (1995), Pink Floyd (1990), and Tower of Power (2014). She hosted the Dutch television series Candy Meets... (2007), in which she interviewed musicians. In 2013, she became a judge in the 5th season of the Dutch version of X Factor.
Homer Louis "Boots" Randolph III was an American musician best known for his 1963 saxophone hit "Yakety Sax". Randolph was a major part of the "Nashville sound" for most of his professional career.
Charles Wright & the Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band is an American soul and funk band. Formed in the early 1960s, they had the most visibility from 1967 to 1973 when the band had 9 singles reach Billboard's pop and/or rhythm and blues charts, such as "Do Your Thing", "Till You Get Enough", and "Love Land". They are best known for their biggest hit on Warner Bros. Records, 1970's "Express Yourself", a song that has been sampled by rap group N.W.A and others.
David "Fathead" Newman was an American jazz and rhythm-and-blues saxophonist, who made numerous recordings as a session musician and leader, but is best known for his work as a sideman on seminal 1950s and early 1960s recordings by Ray Charles.
Fred Lipsius is an American musician who is the original saxophonist and arranger for the jazz-rock band Blood, Sweat & Tears, for which he played alto saxophone and piano. He was with the band from 1967 to 1971 and has collected 3 GRAMMY Awards and 9 Gold Records.
Edward "Kidd" Jordan is an American jazz saxophonist and music educator from New Orleans, Louisiana.
Plas John Johnson Jr. is an American soul-jazz and hard bop tenor saxophonist, probably most widely known as the tenor saxophone soloist on Henry Mancini’s "The Pink Panther Theme". He also performs on alto and baritone sax as well as various flutes and clarinets.
Dave Edwards was an American big band-style musician who most notably was the lead alto saxophonist and multireedist for the long running weekly television series, The Lawrence Welk Show from 1968 through 1979.
Trần Mạnh Tuấn is one of the two most prominent jazz saxophonists in Vietnam. In 2002, he moved from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City and has taught at the Ho Chi Minh City Conservatory. He is also a composer, arranger and producer.
Soulive is a funk/jazz trio that originated in Woodstock, New York, and is known for its solos and catchy, upbeat songs. The band consists of Eric Krasno (guitar), Alan Evans (drums) and Neal Evans. Although they originated as a trio, the band has worked extensively with different horn sections, which have included Sam Kininger (saxophone) from 2000 to 2003, Rashawn Ross (trumpet), and Ryan Zoidis (saxophone) from 2003 to 2006. The band also worked with vocalist Toussaint Yeshua from 2006 to 2007. Soulive is currently touring in the original trio lineup of Eric Krasno, Alan Evans, and Neal Evans.
Raymond Louis Kennedy was an American singer, songwriter, musician and record producer, based in Los Angeles. His works span multiple genres including R&B, pop, rock, jazz, fusion, acid rock, country and many others. He co-wrote "Sail On, Sailor", one of The Beach Boys' mid-career hits, as well as two hits for The Babys: "Everytime I Think of You" and "Isn't It Time".
Michael Lington is a Danish-American contemporary saxophonist, songwriter, producer, recording artist and a purveyor of soul and contemporary jazz.
Herbert Hardesty was an American musician who played tenor saxophone and trumpet. He is best known for his association with the New Orleans pianist Fats Domino and the producer Dave Bartholomew, beginning in 1948. He released six 45-rpm records as Herb Hardesty between 1959 and 1962. His first CD of these recordings, together with others made but not issued in 1958, were released worldwide in July 2012 by Ace Records as The Domino Effect.
