Jason Miles | |
---|---|
Born | New York City, U.S. | June 30, 1951
Genres | Jazz, jazz fusion |
Occupation(s) | Musician, composer, record producer |
Instrument | Keyboards |
Years active | 1974–present |
Labels | Lipstick, Telarc, Narada, Shanachie, Whaling City Sound |
Website | jasonmilesmusic |
Jason Miles (born June 30, 1951) is an American jazz keyboardist, composer, and record producer. Throughout his career, he has worked with trumpeter Miles Davis, bassist Marcus Miller, and singer Luther Vandross, as well as maintaining a successful solo career.
Miles was born in Brooklyn, New York City, and went to Indiana State University. When jazz fusion was becoming popular in the 1970s, Miles was in New York creating innovative techniques in synthesizer programming and electronic music. He recorded Cozmopolitan (1979), his first album, with Michael Brecker and Marcus Miller, although it wasn't released. During the 1980s he was a session musician who worked with Miles Davis, Aretha Franklin, Whitney Houston, Michael Jackson, Chaka Khan, Diana Ross, David Sanborn, and Luther Vandross. [1]
During the 1990s, he played keyboards on I'm Your Baby Tonight by Whitney Houston, The Power of Love by Luther Vandross, and HIStory by Michael Jackson. He wrote music for the animated film The Snow Queen and People: A Musical Celebration of Diversity on the Disney Channel. He and his wife Kathy Byalick composed Visionary Path, a New Age album with narration by Diana Krall, Roberta Flack, and F. Murray Abraham. [1]
In 2000 Miles released The Music of Weather Report, the first of several tribute albums. During the next year he won a Grammy Award for producing A Love Affair: The Music of Ivan Lins with appearances by Sting and Brenda Russell. His next solo album To Grover, with Love, was a tribute to Grover Washington Jr. that was nominated for Record of the Year by the National Smooth Jazz Awards. He also recorded tributes to Miles Davis and Marvin Gaye. [1]
William Henry Marcus Miller Jr. is an American musician, songwriter, and record producer. He has worked with trumpeter Miles Davis, pianist Herbie Hancock, singer Luther Vandross, and saxophonists Wayne Shorter and David Sanborn, among others. He was the main songwriter and producer on three of Davis' albums: Tutu (1986), Music from Siesta (1987), and Amandla (1989). His collaboration with Vandross was especially close; he co-produced and served as the arranger for most of Vandross' albums, and he and Vandross co-wrote many of Vandross' songs, including the hits "I Really Didn't Mean It", "Any Love", "Power of Love/Love Power" and "Don't Want to Be a Fool". He also co-wrote the 1988 single "Da Butt" for Experience Unlimited.
Luther Ronzoni Vandross Jr. was an American soul and R&B singer, songwriter, and record producer. Throughout his career, he achieved eleven consecutive RIAA-certified platinum albums and sold over 40 million records worldwide. Known as the "Velvet Voice", Vandross has been recognized as one of the 200 greatest singers of all time (2023) by Rolling Stone, as well as one of the greatest R&B artists by Billboard. In addition, NPR named him one of the 50 Great Voices. He was the recipient of eight Grammy Awards, including Song of the Year in 2004 for a track recorded shortly before his death, "Dance with My Father". In 2021, he was posthumously inducted into the National Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame.
The 36th Annual Grammy Awards were held on March 1, 1994. They recognized accomplishments by musicians from the previous year. Whitney Houston was the Big Winner winning 3 awards including Record of the Year and Album of the Year while opening the show with "I Will Always Love You".
Ruben Studdard is an American singer and actor. He rose to fame as the winner of the second season of American Idol and received a Grammy Award nomination in 2003 for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance for his recording of "Superstar". In the years following Idol, Studdard has released seven studio albums, including his platinum-selling debut, Soulful, and the top-selling gospel follow-up, I Need an Angel. He is most well known for his recording career, which has produced hits including "Flying Without Wings", "Sorry 2004", and "Change Me", but he has also segued into television and stage work. Most notably, he starred as Fats Waller in a national tour revival of Ain't Misbehavin', which spawned a Grammy-nominated soundtrack.
The 46th Annual Grammy Awards were held on February 8, 2004, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California honoring the best in music for the recording of the year beginning from October 1, 2002, through September 30, 2003. It recognized accomplishments by musicians from the previous year. The big winners were Beyoncé, who won five awards, and Outkast, who won three awards including Album of the Year. Tied for the most nominations, with six each, were Beyoncé, Outkast, and Jay-Z.
Chieli Minucci is an American guitarist who co-founded the band Special EFX.
Richard Elliot is an American saxophonist. He was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Pop Instrumental Album at the 56th Annual Grammy Awards for Summer Horns.
Steve Cole is an American smooth jazz saxophonist. He is also a professor/adviser of music business at the University of St. Thomas.
Wilbur James "Jimmy" Cobb was an American jazz drummer. He was part of Miles Davis's First Great Sextet. At the time of his death, he had been the Sextet's last surviving member for nearly thirty years. He was awarded an NEA Jazz Masters Fellowship in 2009.
Renaldo "Obie" Benson was an American soul and R&B singer and songwriter. He was best known as a founding member and the bass singer of Motown group the Four Tops, which he joined in 1953 and continued to perform with for over five decades, until April 8, 2005.
"If This World Were Mine" is a 1967 song by soul music duo Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell from their album United. Written solely by Gaye, it was one of the few songs they recorded without Ashford & Simpson writing or producing. When it was released as a single in November 1967 as the B-side to the duo's "If I Could Build My Whole World Around You", it hit the Billboard pop singles chart, peaking at number sixty-eight, and peaked at number twenty-seven on the Billboard R&B singles chart. Gaye would later put the song into his set list during his last tours in the early-1980s as he performed a medley of his hits with Terrell. The song was covered a year later by Joe Bataan on the 1968 Fania Allstars LP Live at the Red Garter, Vol. 2, and in 1969 by Ambrose Slade (pre-Slade) on their album Beginnings.
Keiko Matsui is a Japanese keyboardist and composer, specializing in smooth jazz and New-age music.
Jay Randall Sandke is a jazz trumpeter and guitarist.
Forever, for Always, for Love is the second studio album by American R&B singer and songwriter Luther Vandross, released on September 21, 1982, by Epic Records. It became Vandross' second album to chart in the top 20 on the Billboard 200 and was his second album to top the R&B Albums chart where it spent three weeks.
Doc Powell is an American jazz guitarist and composer. He was born and raised in Spring Valley, New York. He attended college at University of Charleston.
Sammy Figueroa is an American percussionist. At 18, he joined the band of bassist Bobby Valentín and also co-led the Brazilian/Latin fusion group Raíces. He is known as an extremely prolific session player, having played on nearly 400 albums, including ten platinum records.
Instant Love is a 1982 album by American singer Cheryl Lynn, released on Columbia Records. Luther Vandross produced the album and also performed a duet with Lynn on "If This World Were Mine", a cover of the original recording by Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell. The arrangements were by Luther Vandross, Marcus Miller and Nat Adderley, Jr. The album peaked at No. 7 on the R&B album charts and No. 133 on The Billboard 200.
Nona Aisha Gaye is an American singer, former fashion model, and retired actress. The daughter of singer Marvin Gaye and maternal granddaughter of jazz musician Slim Gaillard, Gaye began her career as a vocalist in the early 1990s. In film, she portrayed Zee in The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions.
Kim Waters is an American jazz artist born in Havre de Grace, Maryland.
Paulette McWilliams is an American singer and songwriter. She began her career singing with the bands The American Breed and Rufus, and has appeared as a backing vocalist on recordings and on tour for numerous artists. She worked with Marvin Gaye, Luther Vandross, Aretha Franklin, The Jacksons, Michael Jackson, Quincy Jones and as a member of Bette Midler's backing group the Harlettes, among many others.