John Zorn is an American composer, conductor, saxophonist, arranger and producer who "deliberately resists category". Zorn's avant-garde and experimental approaches to composition and improvisation are inclusive of jazz, rock, hardcore, classical, contemporary, surf, metal, soundtrack, ambient, and world music.
Randolph Denard Ornette Coleman was an American jazz saxophonist, trumpeter, violinist, and composer. He was best known as a principal founder of the free jazz genre, a term derived from his 1960 album Free Jazz: A Collective Improvisation. His pioneering works often abandoned the harmony-based composition, tonality, chord changes, and fixed rhythm found in earlier jazz idioms. Instead, Coleman emphasized an experimental approach to improvisation, rooted in ensemble playing and blues phrasing. AllMusic called him "one of the most beloved and polarizing figures in jazz history," noting that while "now celebrated as a fearless innovator and a genius, he was initially regarded by peers and critics as rebellious, disruptive, and even a fraud."
Keith Jarrett is an American jazz and classical music pianist and composer. Jarrett started his career with Art Blakey and later moved on to play with Charles Lloyd and Miles Davis. Since the early 1970s, he has also been a group leader and solo performer in jazz, jazz fusion, and classical music. His improvisations draw from the traditions of jazz and other genres, including Western classical music, gospel, blues, and ethnic folk music.
Faithless are an English band that formed in 1995, with its core members being Rollo, Sister Bliss and Maxi Jazz. Their first album, Reverence, was released in 1996 and their most recent, All Blessed, in 2020. They have sold millions of physical records, and their catalogue was uploaded to streaming sites in 2018. They average almost 3 million streams a month. Faithless' records have charted at #1 in numerous countries and they were voted the 4th greatest dance band of all time by Mixmag.
Robert Edward "Bob" Brookmeyer was an American jazz valve trombonist, pianist, arranger, and composer. Born in Kansas City, Missouri, Brookmeyer first gained widespread public attention as a member of Gerry Mulligan's quartet from 1954 to 1957. He later worked with Jimmy Giuffre, before rejoining Mulligan's Concert Jazz Band. He garnered 8 Grammy Award nominations during his lifetime.
ECM is an independent record label founded by Karl Egger, Manfred Eicher and Manfred Scheffner in Munich in 1969. While ECM is best known for jazz music, the label has released a variety of recordings, and ECM's artists often refuse to acknowledge boundaries between genres. ECM's motto is "the most beautiful sound next to silence", taken from a 1971 review of ECM releases in Coda, a Canadian jazz magazine.
Roy Ayers is an American funk, soul, and jazz composer, vibraphone player, and music producer. Ayers began his career as a post-bop jazz artist, releasing several albums with Atlantic Records, before his tenure at Polydor Records beginning in the 1970s, during which he helped pioneer jazz-funk. He is a key figure in the acid jazz movement, and has been dubbed "The Godfather of Neo Soul". He is best known for his compositions "Everybody Loves the Sunshine", "Searchin", and "Running Away". At one time, he was said to have more sampled hits by rappers than any other artist.
Yellowcard is an American rock band that formed in Jacksonville, Florida, in 1997 and was based in Los Angeles beginning in 2000. The band is recognized for having a distinct sound in their genre, primarily due to the prominent use of a violin in their songs, and are best known for their singles "Ocean Avenue", "Only One", and "Lights and Sounds". The band released ten studio albums, with its most recent and final one, Yellowcard, released on September 30, 2016. Following this release and supporting tour, the band broke up. The band reunited in September 2022 for a performance at Riot Fest and will embark on a 20th anniversary tour for Ocean Avenue in 2023.
Walter Afanasieff, formerly nicknamed Baby Love in the 1980s, is an American record producer and songwriter. He was a collaborator with Mariah Carey on her first six studio albums. He won the 1999 Grammy Award in the Record of the Year category for producing "My Heart Will Go On" by Celine Dion, and the 2000 Grammy Award for Producer of the Year, Non-Classical.
John Douglas Surman is an English jazz saxophone, bass clarinet, and synthesizer player, and composer of free jazz and modal jazz, often using themes from folk music. He has composed and performed music for dance performances and film soundtracks.
Interstellar Space is a studio album by American jazz saxophonist John Coltrane, featuring drummer Rashied Ali. It was recorded in 1967, the year of his death, and released by Impulse! Records in September 1974.
John Hackett is a British musician, the younger brother of guitarist Steve Hackett. Although his primary instrument is the flute, he also plays guitar, bass, bass pedals and keyboards.
Andrew Burnett Creeggan is a former member of the Canadian alternative rock band Barenaked Ladies. He was also a member of the trio The Brothers Creeggan, and a solo artist having released three albums.
David Paton is a Scottish bassist, guitarist and singer. He first achieved success in the mid-1970s as lead vocalist and bassist of Pilot, who scored hits with "Magic", "January", "Just a Smile" and "Call Me Round" before splitting in 1977. Paton is also known for his work in the original lineup of The Alan Parsons Project (1975-1985), and for working with acts such as Kate Bush, Camel and Elton John.
Christopher James Harley, known by the stage name Chris Rainbow, was a Scottish pop rock singer and musician whose songs "Give Me What I Cry For" and "Solid State Brain" were often played by British radio DJs Kenny Everett and Tony Blackburn in the 1970s.
David Samuel Pike was an American jazz vibraphone and marimba player. He appeared on many albums by Nick Brignola, Paul Bley and Kenny Clarke, Bill Evans, and Herbie Mann. He also recorded extensively as leader, including a number of albums on MPS Records.
Longineu Warren "LP" Parsons III is a French-born American rock musician. He is best known as the former drummer of the American pop punk band Yellowcard.
Stuart Elliott is an English drummer, composer and producer. He was the original drummer for Steve Harley and Cockney Rebel and during his time with this band he became a session drummer playing for top artists such as Kate Bush, Al Stewart, The Alan Parsons Project, Roger Daltrey, Paul McCartney, Claudio Baglioni, Lucio Battisti, among others.
Always a Pleasure is a live album by Cecil Taylor recorded during the Workshop Freie Musik at the Akademie der Kunste, Berlin on April 8, 1993, and released in 1996 on the FMP label. The album features a concert performance by Taylor with Longineu Parsons, Harri Sjöström, Charles Gayle, Tristan Honsinger, Sirone and Rashid Bakr.
Charles Burrell is a classical and jazz bass player most prominently known for being the first African-American to be a member of a major American symphony. For this accomplishment he is often referred to as "the Jackie Robinson of Classical Music".
