Skinny Hightower | |
---|---|
![]() Hightower in 2023 | |
Background information | |
Birth name | Jason Carroll |
Born | Wichita, Kansas | November 12, 1985
Genres | Jazz, smooth jazz |
Occupation(s) | Pianist [1] |
Instrument(s) |
|
Years active | 2016–present |
Labels | Trippin 'N' Rhythm Records [4] [5] |
Website | skinnyhightower.com |
Military career | |
Service/ | ![]() |
Years of service | 2012–2017 [2] |
Rank | ![]() |
Jason Carroll (born November 12, 1985), known professionally as Skinny Hightower, is an American jazz pianist. [6] In 2020, his album Blue Moon finished as the 14th overall smooth jazz album on the Smooth Jazz Year End Top 100 Album Chart. [7] In the same year, his single "Bittersweet" finished as the sixth overall single on the 2020 Billboard Year-End charts for Smooth Jazz Airplay Songs. [8] Two singles from Blue Moon, the title track "Blue Moon" and "Now or Never", finished 36th and 38th respectively on the 2021 Billboard Year-End charts for Smooth Jazz Airplay Songs. [9] Hightower was also the number seven artist on the 2021 Billboard Year-End Smooth Jazz Airplay Artists list. [10] Hightower's singles "Blue Moon," "Now or Never," and "Taboo" all reached number one on the Smooth Jazz Airplay Billboard charts. [11] [12] [13] "Blue Moon" also reached number one on the Smooth Jazz Network Top 20 singles chart. [14]
Hightower was born in Wichita, Kansas on November 12, 1985. [1] [15] Hightower's interest in music began at age two when he would sit on his father's lap and play the drums. [1] [15] [2] His involvement would continue as he later developed a mild interest in piano at age eight and began playing bass at the age of 12. [1] Jazz and gospel were his primary musical influences at the time. [15] Hightower later attended Wichita South High School where he played as a percussionist in the marching band, pep band, jazz band, and concert band. [2]
In 2012, Skinny Hightower enlisted in the United States Army where he served for five years and was promoted up to the rank of Sergeant. [1] [2] He deployed to Afghanistan during the War in Afghanistan for a few months. Four years into his military contract, he recorded and released his first studio album Cloud Nine. [1]
Hightower's pseudonym originated as a nickname given to him by his fellow servicemembers. [2] Upon learning that he was a jazz musician, his Army friends called him a skinny Mr. Hightower (played by Steve Harvey) in connection with the 1996 sitcom The Steve Harvey Show. [2]
In 2020, Skinny Hightower released Blue Moon which spawned the second and third number one Billboard singles of his career. [11] [12] The production of the album consisted of the recording of 100 songs of which 24 were selected by a team of 10 individuals. [15] [16] [17]
Album title | Release year | Record label | Ref(s) |
---|---|---|---|
Cloud Nine | 2016 | Vein Records | [4] |
Emotions | 2017 | Trippin 'N' Rhythm Records | [4] |
Retrospect | 2018 | Trippin 'N' Rhythm Records | [4] |
Blue Moon | 2020 | Trippin 'N' Rhythm Records | [4] [5] |
Mind Over Matter | 2023 | Trippin 'N' Rhythm Records | [18] |
Title | Year | Peak chart position | Album | Ref(s) |
---|---|---|---|---|
US Jazz (Smooth) | ||||
"Taboo" | 2017 | 1 | Emotions | [13] |
"Bittersweet" | 2020 | 3 | Blue Moon | [19] |
"Blue Moon" | 2020 | 1 | Blue Moon | [11] |
"Now or Never" | 2020 | 1 | Blue Moon | [12] |
Year | Artist | Release | Additional information | Ref(s) |
---|---|---|---|---|
2018 | Lin Rountree | Stronger Still | Featured artist, piano | [3] |
2019 | Cindy Bradley | The Little Things | Bass, vibraphone | [3] |
Year | Title | Role | Ref(s) |
---|---|---|---|
2018 | Catalina Island Jazztrax Festival | Featured artist | [20] |
2019 | Seabreeze Jazz Festival | Featured artist | [21] |
"Smooth Criminal" is a song by the American pop singer Michael Jackson, released on November 14, 1988, from his seventh studio album, Bad (1987). It was written by Jackson and produced by Jackson and Quincy Jones. The lyrics address a woman who has been attacked in her apartment by a "smooth criminal".
"Fast Car" is a song by American singer-songwriter Tracy Chapman, released on April 6, 1988, by Elektra, as the lead single from her self-titled debut studio album (1988). Chapman's appearance on the Nelson Mandela 70th Birthday Tribute helped the song become a top-ten hit in the United States, reaching number six on the Billboard Hot 100. In the United Kingdom, it reached number five on the UK Singles Chart in 1988.
"Got My Mind Set on You" is a song written and composed by Rudy Clark and originally recorded by James Ray in 1962, under the title "I've Got My Mind Set on You". An edited version of the song was released later in the year as a single on Dynamic Sound Records credited to James Ray with Hutch Davie Orchestra & Chorus. The song features a variety of instruments, including a Chinese Lute, but it is unsure whether James Ray or the orchestra played the lute.
"Cantaloop (Flip Fantasia)" is a song by British jazz-rap group Us3, originally released in October 1992 by Blue Note Records as the lead single from the group's debut album, Hand On the Torch (1993). The song was recorded as a demo a year before the group's first release and features a sample of Herbie Hancock's song "Cantaloupe Island". Another sample, the announcement by Pee Wee Marquette, is taken from the Blue Note album A Night at Birdland, Vol. 1 by The Art Blakey Quintet. "Cantaloop (Flip Fantasia)" did not chart in the group's native UK, but in the US, it reached No. 9 on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming the group's only top 40 single. It was subsequently re-released in UK where it peaked at No. 23. The song was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) on March 25, 1994 for selling over 500,000 copies.
"Strange Magic" is a song written by Jeff Lynne and performed by Electric Light Orchestra (ELO). It was originally released on their 1975 Face the Music album.
"Smooth" is a song performed by American rock band Santana and Rob Thomas of Matchbox Twenty, who sings the lead vocals. It was released on June 15, 1999, as the lead single from Santana's 1999 studio album, Supernatural. It was written by Itaal Shur and Thomas, who re-wrote Shur's original melody and lyrics, and produced by Matt Serletic.
Don Henson, known professionally as Jeremy Jordan, is an American singer and actor from Hammond, Indiana.
"Free Fallin" is the opening track from American musician Tom Petty's debut solo album, Full Moon Fever (1989). The song was written by Petty and his writing partner for the album, Jeff Lynne, and features Lynne on backing vocals and bass guitar. The duo wrote and recorded the single in two days, making it the first song completed for Full Moon Fever.
"After the Love Has Gone" is a single by Earth, Wind & Fire released in 1979 on ARC/Columbia Records. The song reached No. 2 on both the US Billboard Hot 100 and the US Billboard Hot R&B Singles chart, No. 4 on the UK Pop Singles chart, and No. 3 on the US Billboard Adult Contemporary Songs chart. "After the Love Has Gone" was certified gold in the US by the RIAA and silver in the UK by the BPI.
"Don't Bring Me Down" is the ninth and final track on the English rock band the Electric Light Orchestra's 1979 album Discovery. It is their highest-charting hit in the United States to date.
"Shine a Little Love" is a song by English rock band Electric Light Orchestra (ELO). It was released as a single in the US and UK in 1979.
The discography of Beck, an American rock musician, singer-songwriter, record producer and multi-instrumentalist, consists of 14 studio albums, one compilation album, one remix album, four extended plays (EPs) and 52 singles. With a pop art collage of musical styles, oblique and ironic lyrics, and postmodern arrangements incorporating samples, drum machines, live instrumentation and sound effects, Beck has been hailed by critics and the public throughout his musical career as being amongst the most creative and idiosyncratic musicians of 1990s and 2000s alternative rock.
"Lost Without U" is a song by American singer Robin Thicke. It was released on December 4, 2006 as the second single from his second album, The Evolution of Robin Thicke (2006). People magazine voted the ballad as 2007's Sexiest Song of the Year. It was also named the 10th best song of 2007 by Vibe magazine.
"Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain" is a song written by songwriter Fred Rose. First recorded by Elton Britt in 1946, then made more popular by Roy Acuff in 1947, the song has been covered by many artists, including Hank Williams Sr., Johnny Russell, Charley Pride, and Elvis Presley. Most notably, the song was recorded by Willie Nelson as part of his 1975 album Red Headed Stranger. Both the song and album revived Nelson's success as a singer and recording artist.
"Nobody Knows" is a song by R&B singer Tony Rich from his 1996 debut album, Words. Released as his debut single on November 7, 1995, the song peaked at number two on both the Billboard Hot 100 and Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks charts. It also became a hit in several other countries, topping the Irish Singles Chart and reaching number two in Australia and Canada, number four in the United Kingdom, and the top 20 in the Netherlands, New Zealand, and Sweden. Rich received a nomination for the 1997 Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance.
"Soldier of Love" is the first single and title track from Soldier of Love by the English band Sade. It premiered worldwide on 8 December 2009, and it was released on iTunes digitally on 12 January 2010. It was also the band's first new material in almost ten years, preceding their long-awaited sixth studio album of the same name which was released worldwide on 8 February 2010. The song was number-one on the Billboard Adult R&B. The song debuted at #58 on the Billboard Hot 100 becoming the band's highest debut on the chart. It peaked at number 52, making it the band's highest-peaking single on that chart since 1992's "No Ordinary Love".
Russell Edward Dickerson is an American country pop singer-songwriter from Union City, Tennessee. Dickerson has released two albums through Triple Tigers. Both have accounted for four singles charting on Hot Country Songs and Country Airplay: "Yours", "Blue Tacoma", "Every Little Thing", and "Love You Like I Used To".
This is the discography for American jazz saxophonist Dave Koz which consists of 19 studio albums, one collaboration album, four live albums, one compilation album, one video album, and 66 singles.
"Baddest" is a song by American musicians Yung Bleu, Chris Brown, and 2 Chainz. It was released through Vandross Music Group and Empire as the third anticipation single from Bleu's album Moon Boy on June 11, 2021. The song was written produced by Hitmaka, OG Parker, Romano, and Mike Woods.
Donnell Spencer Jr. is a session musician, drummer and award-winning composer. He has worked with or toured with Patti Austin, Anita Baker, El De Barge, Chaka Khan, and Jody Watley. He has been associated musically with mainstream films Running Scared and Without You I'm Nothing. As a composer, his work had created hits such as "Oops, Oh No!" by Cerrone & La Toya Jackson, "Say You Really Want Me" by Kim Wilde, "Take Your Time" by "Pebbles, "Temporary Lovers" by The Controllers, "Turned Away" by Chuckii Booker, "Until the End of Time" by Freddie Jackson and more.