George Washington Benson is an American jazz fusion guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He began his professional career at the age of 19 as a jazz guitarist.
Originating in vocal jazz, scat singing or scatting is vocal improvisation with wordless vocables, nonsense syllables or without words at all. In scat singing, the singer improvises melodies and rhythms using the voice solely as an instrument rather than a speaking medium. This is different from vocalese, which uses recognizable lyrics that are sung to pre-existing instrumental solos.
Sir Roderick David Stewart is a British rock and pop singer and songwriter. Born and raised in London, he is of Scottish and English ancestry. With his distinctive raspy singing voice, Stewart is among the best-selling music artists of all time, having sold more than 120 million records worldwide. He has had 10 number-one albums and 31 top-ten singles in the UK, six of which reached number one. Stewart has had 16 top-ten singles in the US, with four reaching number one on the Billboard Hot 100. He was knighted in the 2016 Birthday Honours for services to music and charity.
Anthony Dominick Benedetto, known professionally as Tony Bennett, was an American jazz and traditional pop singer. He received many accolades, including 20 Grammy Awards, a Lifetime Achievement Award, and two Primetime Emmy Awards. Bennett was named an NEA Jazz Master and a Kennedy Center Honoree and founded the Frank Sinatra School of the Arts in Astoria, Queens, New York. He sold more than 50 million records worldwide and earned a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
The Great American Songbook is the loosely defined canon of significant 20th-century American jazz standards, popular songs, and show tunes.
Joseph James LaBarbera is an American jazz drummer and composer. He is best known for his recordings and live performances with the trio of pianist Bill Evans in the final years of Evans's career. His older brothers are saxophonist Pat LaBarbera and trumpeter John LaBarbera.
Vocal jazz or jazz singing is an approach to jazz using the voice.
Craig Phillip Robinson is an American actor and comedian. He is best known for portraying Darryl Philbin on The Office (2005–2013). He also portrayed Ray Heyworth on Mr. Robot (2016), LeVar "Freight Train" Brown on The Cleveland Show (2009–2013), and Doug "the Pontiac Bandit" Judy on Brooklyn Nine-Nine (2013–2021). He also frequently collaborates with Seth Rogen, including the films Pineapple Express (2008), Zack and Miri Make a Porno (2008), This Is the End (2013), and Sausage Party (2016). Robinson has appeared in numerous other television shows and films, including Hot Tub Time Machine (2010), Get On Up (2014), An Evening with Beverly Luff Linn (2018), and Dolemite Is My Name (2019), as well as voicing characters in films such as Shrek Forever After (2010) and The Bad Guys (2022). He was nominated for the Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Male for his performance in the film Morris from America.
"Frankie and Johnny" is a murder ballad, a traditional American popular song. It tells the story of a woman, Frankie, who finds her man Johnny making love to another woman and shoots him dead. Frankie is then arrested; in some versions of the song she is also executed.
"But Not for Me" is a popular song originally written by George Gershwin and Ira Gershwin for the musical Girl Crazy (1930).
Coleman Mellett was an American jazz guitarist in Chuck Mangione's band. He had been scheduled to play with Mangione and the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra on February 13, 2009, but was killed the night before in the crash of Colgan Air Flight 3407 with band member Gerry Niewood.
The Ed Palermo Big Band is a New York City-based ensemble that has been active since the late 1970s, playing the compositions and arrangements of their leader, New Jersey born saxophonist Ed Palermo. The band is best known for Palermo's arrangements of the music of Frank Zappa, but they also perform and record compositions by Todd Rundgren, The Beatles, Miles Davis, Wayne Shorter, The Rolling Stones, Blodwyn Pig, King Crimson, Jethro Tull and many, many other composers from a wide range of genres.
American Classic is the 57th studio album by American country music artist Willie Nelson, released on August 25, 2009. It focuses on the American popular songbook and standard jazz classics, and includes guest appearances by Norah Jones and Diana Krall.
Zan Stewart is an American jazz writer, musician and former disc jockey.
Dennis Mackrel is an American jazz drummer, composer, and arranger who was a member of the Count Basie Orchestra and the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra.
John Carlini is an American jazz guitarist and arranger who performs bluegrass and jazz. He has performed with David Grisman, mandolin player Don Stiernberg, singer Bill Robinson, Bucky Pizzarelli, Rio Clemente, flatpicking guitarist Tony Rice, He is an orchestrator, conductor, and five-string banjo player. He formed the John Carlini Trio in 2000.
Roseanna Elizabeth Vitro is a jazz singer and teacher from Arkansas.
The McDonald's Gospelfest is an annual gospel music festival, talent competition, and fundraiser in Newark, New Jersey.
Frank Holder was a Guyanese jazz singer and percussionist. He was a member of bands led by Jiver Hutchinson, Johnny Dankworth and Joe Harriott.
Camille Filfiley, known professionally as Camille, is an American singer best known for her recordings with Eumir Deodato and her prominence in the early 1990s freestyle music and dance music genres.
