George M. Duke was an American keyboardist, composer, singer-songwriter and record producer. He worked with numerous artists as arranger, music director, writer and co-writer, record producer and as a professor of music. He first made a name for himself with the album The Jean-Luc Ponty Experience with the George Duke Trio. He was known primarily for 32 solo albums, of which A Brazilian Love Affair from 1979 was his most popular, as well as for his collaborations with other musicians, particularly Frank Zappa.
Leonard White III is an American jazz fusion drummer who was a member of the band Return to Forever led by Chick Corea in the 1970s. White has been called "one of the founding fathers of jazz fusion".
Eulaulah Donyll "Lalah" Hathaway is an American singer-songwriter. She is the daughter of musician and soul singer Donny Hathaway.
"Men in Black" is the debut solo single of American rapper and actor Will Smith from the 1997 film of the same name, in which he also played the lead role. The song was released by Columbia Records on June 3, 1997, as the lead single from both the soundtrack and Smith's debut solo album, Big Willie Style (1997), and it was Smith's first solo single following his work with DJ Jazzy Jeff.
Leandro "Gato" Barbieri was an Argentine jazz tenor saxophonist who rose to fame during the free jazz movement in the 1960s and is known for his Latin jazz recordings of the 1970s. His nickname, Gato, is Spanish for "cat".
Dee Dee Bridgewater is an American jazz singer and actress. She is a three-time Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter, as well as a Tony Award-winning stage actress. For 23 years, she was the host of National Public Radio's syndicated radio show JazzSet with Dee Dee Bridgewater. She is a United Nations Goodwill Ambassador for the Food and Agriculture Organization.
Brenda Russell is an American singer-songwriter, producer, and keyboardist. Russell has a diverse musical range which encompasses R&B, pop, soul, dance, and jazz. She has received five Grammy nominations.
Luciana Souza is a Brazilian jazz singer and composer who also works in bossa nova, pop, classical and chamber music. She won a Grammy Award in 2007, and has been nominated for seven others, most recently in 2024. Souza is considered to be one of jazz's leading singers and interpreters. The New York Times called her voice "smooth-surfaced, coolly sensuous and dartingly agile."
"Forget Me Nots" is a 1982 song by the American R&B musician Patrice Rushen. It appears on her seventh album, Straight from the Heart. It has been sampled and interpolated in several songs, including "Men in Black" (1997) by Will Smith and "Fastlove" (1996) by George Michael.
Straight from the Heart is the seventh studio album by American recording artist Patrice Rushen, released on April 14, 1982, by Elektra Records. It features her most recognizable song, "Forget Me Nots", the oft-sampled "Remind Me" and the popular instrumental workout "Number One". Straight from the Heart scored Rushen her first two nominations at the 1983 Grammy Awards for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance for "Forget Me Nots" and Best R&B Instrumental Performance for "Number One".
Terri Lyne Carrington is an American jazz drummer, composer, producer, and educator. She has played with Dizzy Gillespie, Stan Getz, Clark Terry, Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, Joe Sample, Al Jarreau, Yellowjackets, and many others. She toured with each of Hancock's musical configurations between 1997 and 2007.
Gil Goldstein is an American jazz pianist and accordionist. He has won 5 Grammy Awards and he was nominated 8 times.
Anything but Ordinary is the eleventh album by R&B singer Patrice Rushen, released on November 1, 1994. After her contract with Elektra Records expired in 1986–87, Rushen moved to Arista Records and afterwards in 1993, Patrice signed with Disney's Hollywood Records. Anything but Ordinary was first and only album to be released under her contract. Hollywood Records wasn't satisfied with the album and shelved it. Sin-Drome Records bought rights to the album and reissued it with the single "My Heart, Your Heart". Some of the album's tracks received airplay on R&B and smooth jazz radio stations.
Haven't You Heard: The Best of Patrice Rushen is a compilation by R&B and jazz singer Patrice Rushen. It was released in 1996. This is the first of several greatest hits compilations for Rushen. The album included some of her best-known works, including "Haven't You Heard," "Never Gonna Give You Up," "Forget Me Nots", "Number One," and "Watch Out."
Ledisi Anibade Young, better known simply as Ledisi, is an American singer-songwriter, music producer, author, and actress. Her name means "to bring forth" or "to come here" in Yoruba.
Esperanza Emily Spalding is an American bassist, singer, songwriter, and composer. Her accolades include five Grammy Awards, a Boston Music Award, a Soul Train Music Award, and two honorary doctorates: one from her alma mater Berklee College of Music and one from the California Institute of the Arts (CalArts).
Robert Lyndel Lewis is an American music arranger, music composer, record producer, musical director, film composer, musician, entrepreneur, and impresario. Lewis has worked on several Grammy Award winning singles and albums, and his production, songs, and arrangements have been featured on #1 albums, gold and platinum albums, films, live productions, and television shows.
Jeffrey Nath Bhasker is an American record producer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist based in Los Angeles. He won the Grammy Award for Producer of the Year in 2016 and was nominated for the award in 2013.
Josephine James is a Grammy-nominated singer, songwriter, and recording artist. James is best known for her performances on Burt Bacharach’s world tours, such as her feature song “Anyone Who Had a Heart". James is also the lead vocalist of George Duke, the band. James' co-wrote her solo albums Candles, Songcity, Hit Factory, and That Jazz with producer Nigel Martinez. James and Martinez also collaborated to release several UK singles: "Dance You Up," "Call Me ," "Now or Never," and "It's Up To Me." Her performance on "Street Life" from the album Royal Jam with The Crusaders, B.B. King, and The London Philharmonic Orchestra, recorded live at Royal Festival Hall, was nominated for a Grammy.
Letizia Gambi is an Italian singer-songwriter and actress. Her music is a fusion between her Italian and Neapolitan heritage and Black-American jazz roots. Gambi performs and records in English, Italian, Neapolitan and Spanish and is best known for her work with Lenny White, Ron Carter, Gato Barbieri, Chick Corea, Wallace Roney, Patrice Rushen, Gil Goldstein, Helen Sung, Pete Levin. She has been awarded with the San Gennaro Award and was nominated for the Targa Tenco. Letizia is a Recording Academy voting member since 2010.
