Rahsaan Roland Kirk, known earlier in his career simply as Roland Kirk, was an American jazz multi-instrumentalist who played tenor saxophone, flute, and many other instruments. He was renowned for his onstage vitality, during which virtuoso improvisation was accompanied by comic banter, political ranting, and the ability to play several instruments simultaneously.
Walter Theodore "Sonny" Rollins is an American jazz tenor saxophonist who is widely recognized as one of the most important and influential jazz musicians. In a seven-decade career, he has recorded over sixty albums as a leader. A number of his compositions, including "St. Thomas", "Oleo", "Doxy", "Pent-Up House", and "Airegin", have become jazz standards. Rollins has been called "the greatest living improviser" and the "Saxophone Colossus".
Wayne Shorter is an American jazz saxophonist and composer. Shorter came to wide prominence in the late 1950s as a member of, and eventually primary composer for, Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers. In the 1960s, he went on to join Miles Davis's Second Great Quintet, and from there he co-founded the jazz fusion band Weather Report. He has recorded over 20 albums as a bandleader.
Charles Edward Haden was an American jazz double bass player, bandleader, composer and educator whose career spanned more than 50 years. In the late 1950s, he was an original member of the ground-breaking Ornette Coleman Quartet.
Evan Shaw Parker is a British tenor and soprano saxophone player who plays free improvisation.
Mike and the Mechanics is an English rock supergroup formed in Dover in 1985 as a side project of Mike Rutherford, the bassist/guitarist in Genesis. The band is known for hit singles "Silent Running", "All I Need Is a Miracle", "Taken In", "The Living Years", "Word of Mouth" and "Over My Shoulder".
David Stephen Koz is an American smooth jazz saxophonist.
"Giant Steps" is a jazz composition by American saxophonist John Coltrane. It was first recorded in 1959 and released on the 1960 album Giant Steps. The composition features a cyclic chord pattern that has come to be known as Coltrane changes. The composition has become a jazz standard, covered by many artists. This composition uses 3 major keys, which are B major, G major and E♭ major.
Paul Brownlee McCandless Jr. is an American multi-instrumentalist and founding member of the American jazz group Oregon. He is one of the few jazz oboists. He also plays bass clarinet, English horn, flute and soprano saxophone.
The Paul Winter Consort is an American musical group, led by soprano saxophonist Paul Winter. Founded in 1967, the group mixes elements of jazz, classical music, world music, and the sounds of animals and nature. They are often classified as "new age" or "ecological jazz", and their musical style is often called "Earth Music". The group has had many lineup changes since it was founded. Long-standing members currently in the group include Paul Winter, cellist Eugene Friesen, Berklee alumnus bassist Eliot Wadopian, jazz oboist Paul McCandless, and percussionist and frame drum specialist Glen Velez. Past members who were part of the group for a considerable length of time include Paul Halley, Susan Osborn, Oscar Castro-Neves, Russ Landau, David Darling, Jim Scott, Dorothy Papadakos, and Rhonda Larson.
Paul Winter is an American saxophonist, composer, and bandleader. He is a pioneer of world music and "earth music", which interweaves the voices of the wild with instrumental voices from classical, jazz and world music. The music is often improvised and recorded in nature to reflect the qualities brought into play by the environment.
...And His Mother Called Him Bill is a studio album by Duke Ellington recorded in the wake of the 1967 death of his long-time collaborator, Billy Strayhorn. It won the Grammy Award for Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album in 1968.
Bradford Alexander Mehldau is an American jazz pianist, composer, and arranger.
Michael Hoppé is an English composer, record producer and recording artist from the United Kingdom, who now lives in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. In the early 1980s he was head of A&R for the PolyGram record label. He signed new-age acts such as Vangelis, Jean Michel Jarre and Kitaro to the label as well as resigning ABBA and The Who. In 1984, he quit the business of music to take up composing and working as a music consultant in Los Angeles. His discography contains more than 30 albums in the 'new age' or 'classical' category. Hoppe says his music is best described as heart music and is often used for healing and meditation. His album, Solace, was nominated for a New Age Grammy in 2003. His music has been featured in film and television such as The Sopranos, The Oprah Winfrey Show, Misunderstood starring Gene Hackman, Michael Moore's Sicko, and the multi award-winning short film, Nous Deux Encore, featured on his Enhanced CD Tapestry. Hoppe's next release Grace (2013) featured work by his daughter, the photographer Rebecca Hoppe. She also designed the cover for the critically acclaimed Serenity (2014) a collection of improvisations for viola, performed by Harold Moses, and keyboards. Hoppe's next release was Nightingale (2015) featuring the Italian folk singer Giuditta Scorcelletti and her husband producer/guitarist Alessandro Boingi, with lyrics by David George. Hoppe's next release was AMISTAD (2018). Spanish for "Friendship", AMISTAD featured performances by musician friends he met mostly in his new home in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. They are Pedro Cartas (violin), Joe Powers (harmonica), Dan Nicholas (guitar), Billy White (guitar)and David Mendoza-Diaz (guitar), and Alfredo Muro (guitar)
Prints: Snapshots, Postcards, Messages and Miniatures, 1987–2001 is a 2002 album by English guitarist, composer and improvisor Fred Frith, and his first album of songs since Cheap at Half the Price (1983). It comprises four tracks taken from previously released compilations that Frith had contributed to between 1987 and 1997, seven tracks that were "created spontaneously" in the studio in 1997 and 2001, and one live guitar improvisation in 2001. The album was released on CD in 2002 on Fred Records and was the second release in Frith's archival release program on the record label.
Leon Russell is the debut solo album by the singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist Leon Russell. It followed his debut with the Midnight String Quartet and a production by Russell and Marc Benno billed as the Asylum Choir.
Theodor Raoul Bleckmann is a German singer and composer.
Paul Speer is a Grammy nominated guitarist, composer, and record producer. He has released several solo albums, music video albums, and collaborations with other artists such as pianist David Lanz, drummer Scott Rockenfield of Queensrÿche, Paul Lawler, and vocalist Satine Orient.
Prayer for the Wild Things is an album released by Paul Winter in 1994. The album was commissioned to accompany a painting by artist Bev Doolittle, which is also titled Prayer For The Wild Things. A portion of this painting is seen on the album cover.
The Art of Improvising, is a live album by saxophonist Warne Marsh recorded in 1959 and released on the Revelation label in 1974. Each track on The album only features part of the performance containing Marsh's solo although an album featuring twelve complete performances from these shows was released in 1994 under Kontz's name as Live at the Half Note.
