John Scofield, sometimes referred to as "Sco", is an American jazz-rock guitarist and composer whose music includes bebop, jazz fusion, funk, blues, soul, and rock. He has worked with Miles Davis, Dave Liebman, Joe Henderson, Charles Mingus, Joey DeFrancesco, Herbie Hancock, Eddie Palmieri, Pat Metheny, Bill Frisell, Joe Lovano, Pat Martino, Mavis Staples, Phil Lesh, Billy Cobham, Medeski Martin & Wood, George Duke, Jaco Pastorius, John Mayer, Robert Glasper, and Gov't Mule.
Michel Camilo is a Grammy-award winning pianist and composer from Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. He specializes in jazz, Latin and classical piano work. Camilo lists some of his main influences as Chick Corea, Keith Jarrett, Oscar Peterson, Bill Evans, and Art Tatum.
Al Foster is an American jazz drummer. Foster played with Miles Davis during the 1970s and was one of the few people to have contact with Davis during his retirement from 1975–1981. Foster also played on Davis's 1981 comeback album The Man with the Horn. He was the only musician to play in Davis's band both before and after his retirement. He has toured extensively with Herbie Hancock, Sonny Rollins, and Joe Henderson.
Alfred McCoy Tyner was an American jazz pianist and composer known for his work with the John Coltrane Quartet and a long solo career. He was an NEA Jazz Master and a five-time Grammy winner. Not a player of electric keyboards and synthesizers, he was committed to acoustic instrumentation. Tyner, who was widely imitated, was one of the most recognizable and most influential pianists in jazz history.
Jesús Valdés Rodríguez, better known as Chucho Valdés, is a Cuban pianist, bandleader, composer and arranger whose career spans over 50 years. An original member of the Orquesta Cubana de Música Moderna, in 1973 he founded the group Irakere, one of Cuba's best-known Latin jazz bands. Both his father, Bebo Valdés, and his son, Chuchito, are pianists as well. As a solo artist, he has won four Grammy Awards and three Latin Grammy Awards.
Joseph Salvatore Lovano is an American jazz saxophonist, alto clarinetist, flautist, and drummer. He has earned a Grammy Award and several mentions on Down Beat magazine's critics' and readers' polls. He is married to jazz singer Judi Silvano with whom he records and performs. Lovano was a longtime member of a trio led by drummer Paul Motian.
John Laird Abercrombie was an American jazz guitarist. His work explored jazz fusion, free jazz, and avant-garde jazz. Abercrombie studied at Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts. He was known for his understated style and his work with organ trios.
First Meditations is an album by John Coltrane recorded on September 2, 1965 and posthumously released in 1977. It is a quartet version of a suite Coltrane would record as Meditations two months later with the additions of Pharoah Sanders as a second tenor saxophone and Rashied Ali on drums. Along with Sun Ship, recorded a week earlier, First Meditations represents the final recordings of Coltrane's classic quartet featuring bassist Jimmy Garrison, drummer Elvin Jones and pianist McCoy Tyner. The "Meditations" suite on this album consists of five movements.
Lionel Loueke is a guitarist and vocalist born in Benin. He moved to Ivory Coast in 1990 to study at the National Institute of Art.
Ignacio Berroa is a jazz drummer.
Gilfema is a jazz trio consisting of Lionel Loueke (guitar), Ferenc Nemeth (drums), and Massimo Biolcati (bass).
Quartet is a live album by McCoy Tyner released on his McCoy Tyner Music label in 2007. It was recorded in December 2006 at Yoshi's in Oakland, California and features performances by Tyner with Joe Lovano, Christian McBride, and Jeff "Tain" Watts.
Half Note Records is a jazz record label founded by the Blue Note Jazz Club in 1998. Although it began releasing live recordings from the club, the label expanded to produce studio albums.
Eric Harland is an American jazz drummer.
Bird Songs is the 22nd album by Joe Lovano released via the Blue Note label in 2011. The album features Esperanza Spalding, James Weidman, Otis Brown III, and Francisco Mela performing songs mostly written or performed by the jazz musician Charlie Parker.
Folk Art is the twenty-first studio album by American saxophonist Joe Lovano, released on Blue Note Records in 2009. The album was well-received by critics, scoring 84% on six reviews in Metacritic which means "universal acclaim".
Cross Culture is the twenty-third studio album by American musician Joe Lovano and the third with his band Us Five. It was released in January 2013 under Blue Note Records to a favorable critical reception. On Metacritic, the album scored 71% on five reviews, which means "generally favorable reviews".
Gerald Leon Cannon is an American jazz double bassist and visual artist.
Melissa Aldana is a Chilean tenor saxophone player, who performs both as a soloist and with her band Melissa Aldana & Crash Trio.
Michael Eckroth is an American jazz pianist, arranger, and composer from Phoenix, Arizona, particularly known for his work in Latin jazz. He was a member of jazz-rock guitarist John Scofield's New Quartet from 2010-2012. Currently, he is the co-writer, arranger, and pianist for Cuban and American mambo big band Orquesta Akokán, whose self-titled debut album from Daptone Records was nominated in the 61st Annual Grammy Awards.
