Joseph Harry Fowler Connick Jr. is an American singer, pianist, composer, actor, and former television host. As of 2019, he has sold over 30 million records worldwide. Connick is ranked among the top 60 best-selling male artists in the United States by the Recording Industry Association of America, with 16 million in certified sales. He has had seven top 20 US albums, and ten number-one US jazz albums, earning more number-one albums than any other artist in U.S. jazz chart history as of 2009.
Leonard Albert Kravitz is an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and actor.
Wynton Learson Marsalis is an American trumpeter, composer, and music instructor, who is currently the artistic director of Jazz at Lincoln Center. He has been active in promoting classical and jazz music, often to young audiences. Marsalis has won nine Grammy Awards, and his oratorio Blood on the Fields was the first jazz composition to win the Pulitzer Prize for Music. Marsalis is the only musician to have won a Grammy Award in both jazz and classical categories in the same year.
Ellis Louis Marsalis Jr. was an American jazz pianist and educator. Active since the late 1940s, Marsalis came to greater attention in the 1980s and 1990s as the patriarch of the musical Marsalis family, when sons Branford and Wynton became popular jazz musicians.
Occasion: Connick on Piano, Volume 2 is an instrumental album recorded in 2005, presenting Harry Connick Jr. on piano and Branford Marsalis on saxophone, playing their own jazz compositions.
Zoë Isabella Kravitz is an American actress, model and singer. She made her acting debut in the romantic comedy film No Reservations (2007). Her breakthrough came with portraying Angel Salvadore in the superhero film X-Men: First Class (2011), which earned her nominations for a Teen Choice Award and a Scream Award. She rose to prominence playing Christina in The Divergent Series (2014–2016) and Leta Lestrange in the Fantastic Beasts film series (2016–2018).
Colman Jason Domingo is an American actor, playwright and director. Prominent on both screen and stage, he has received various accolades, including a Primetime Emmy Award, and nominations for an Academy Award and two Tony Awards.
Jonathan Michael Batiste is an American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, bandleader, composer, and television personality. He has recorded and performed with artists including Stevie Wonder, Prince, Willie Nelson, Lenny Kravitz, Ed Sheeran, Lana Del Rey, Roy Hargrove, Juvenile, and Mavis Staples. Batiste, with his band Stay Human, appeared nightly as bandleader and musical director on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert from 2015 to 2022.
Victor Louis Goines is a jazz saxophonist and clarinetist who has served as president and chief executive officer of Jazz St. Louis since September 2022. From 2000 to 2007, he was director of the jazz program at Juilliard.
American singer Lenny Kravitz has released 11 studio albums, one greatest hits compilation album, four box set compilation albums, two extended plays, sixty-two singles, and eight video albums, including three live albums. His debut album Let Love Rule (1989) peaked at number 61 in the US, and while receiving generally positive reviews, it became a huge success in Europe but took a long time to reach success in the US. Its followers, Mama Said (1991) and Are You Gonna Go My Way (1993) sold better overall than his debut, achieving platinum and multi-platinum status respectively, establishing Kravitz in the music industry and expanding his success in Europe and South America. However, despite only a two-year gap between albums, personal issues such as substance abuse problems, the aftermath of divorce, and his mother Roxie Roker's illness led to a decline in commercial sales with Circus (1995).
Round Midnight is a soundtrack album by Herbie Hancock featuring music recorded for Bertrand Tavernier's film Round Midnight released in 1986 on Columbia Records. The album features performances by Hancock, trumpeter Freddie Hubbard, bassist Ron Carter, drummer Tony Williams, vocalist Bobby McFerrin, tenor saxophonist Dexter Gordon, bassist Pierre Michelot, drummer Billy Higgins, guitarist John McLaughlin, trumpeter/vocalist Chet Baker, vibraphonist Bobby Hutcherson, saxophonist Wayne Shorter, vocalist Lonette McKee, and pianist Cedar Walton, most of whom appear in the film. It won the Academy Award for Best Music, Original Score in 1986, beating Ennio Morricone's The Mission and Jerry Goldsmith's Hoosiers, among others. Additional music recorded during the making of the film was released under Dexter Gordon's name as The Other Side of Round Midnight (1986).
Robert Hurst is an American jazz bassist.
Branford Marsalis is an American saxophonist, composer, and bandleader. While primarily known for his work in jazz as the leader of the Branford Marsalis Quartet, he also performs frequently as a soloist with classical ensembles and has led the group Buckshot LeFonque. From 1992 to 1995 he led the Tonight Show Band.
Joe Cool's Blues is an album by jazz trumpeter Wynton Marsalis and his father Ellis Marsalis that was released in 1995. The album reached a peak position of No. 3 on Billboard's Top Jazz Albums chart.
The Color Purple is a 2023 American musical period drama film directed by Blitz Bazawule. Marcus Gardley's screenplay is based on the stage musical of the same name, which in turn is based on the 1982 novel of the same name by Alice Walker. It is the second film adaptation of the novel, following the 1985 film directed by Steven Spielberg and produced by Spielberg and Quincy Jones. Spielberg and Jones return as producers for the 2023 film, along with its Broadway producers Scott Sanders and Oprah Winfrey, the latter of whom also starred in the 1985 film.
Soul: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack is the soundtrack to the 2020 Disney-Pixar film Soul. The soundtrack is a compilation of all 23 score pieces by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross from the Soul: Original Motion Picture Score vinyl album as well as 16 original songs by Jon Batiste from the Music from and Inspired by Soul vinyl album. All three albums were released through Walt Disney Records on December 18, 2020.
Rustin is a 2023 American biographical drama film directed by George C. Wolfe, from a screenplay by Julian Breece and Dustin Lance Black, and a story by Breece about the life of civil rights activist Bayard Rustin. Produced by Barack and Michelle Obama's production company Higher Ground, the film stars Colman Domingo in the title role, alongside Chris Rock, Glynn Turman, Aml Ameen, Gus Halper, CCH Pounder, Da'Vine Joy Randolph, Johnny Ramey, Michael Potts, Jeffrey Wright, and Audra McDonald. It is based on the true story of Rustin, who helped Martin Luther King Jr. and others organize the 1963 March on Washington.
"Show Me Your Soul" is a song recorded by P. Diddy, Lenny Kravitz, Pharrell Williams, and Loon. The song was released by Bad Boy and Universal as the fourth single from the soundtrack album for the 2003 film Bad Boys II, an action comedy movie directed by Michael Bay, produced by Jerry Bruckheimer, and starring Martin Lawrence and Will Smith. All instrumental parts were performed by Lenny Kravitz and Pharrell Williams. The song was aired on Soul Train on November 15, 2003. Chris Robinson directed the music video. The song "Dirrty" by Christina Aguilera was referenced in the lyrics.
Top Gun: Maverick is the soundtrack to the 2022 action film Top Gun: Maverick by Lorne Balfe, Harold Faltermeyer, Lady Gaga, and Hans Zimmer. It consists of the film's score as well as two original songs, "Hold My Hand" by Gaga and "I Ain't Worried" by OneRepublic, which were released as singles prior to the album. The soundtrack contains the song "Danger Zone" by Kenny Loggins, which was also featured in the first film. The soundtrack was released on May 27, 2022, by Interscope Records and Paramount Music through digital and physical formats.
Blue Electric Light is the upcoming twelfth studio album by American rock musician Lenny Kravitz. It will be released on May 24, 2024, by Roxie Records with distribution handled by BMG Rights Management. The album was preceded by the release of the lead single "TK421" on October 13, 2023.
