Jamshied Sharifi is an American composer, conductor, musician, and record producer. Born in Topeka, Kansas to an Iranian father and an American mother, Sharifi was exposed to music at an early age, learning Jazz and Middle Eastern music through his father and European classical and church music through his mother. He began to study classical piano at age five and quickly developed a thirst for musical instruction and a desire to improvise. At age nine he began studying guitar and drums, and at age ten added flute.
Donald Eugene Cherry was an American jazz trumpeter. Beginning in the late 1950s, he had a long tenure performing in the bands of saxophonist Ornette Coleman, including on the pioneering free jazz albums The Shape of Jazz to Come (1959) and Free Jazz: A Collective Improvisation (1960). Cherry also collaborated separately with musicians such as John Coltrane, Charlie Haden, Sun Ra, Ed Blackwell, the New York Contemporary Five, and Albert Ayler.
The earliest traces of Danish music go back to the many twisting Bronze-Age horns or lurs which some experts have identified as musical instruments. They have been discovered in various parts of Scandinavia, mostly Denmark, since the end of the 18th century. Denmark's most famous classical composer is Carl Nielsen, especially remembered for his six symphonies, while the Royal Danish Ballet specializes in the work of Danish choreographer August Bournonville. Danes have distinguished themselves as jazz musicians, and the Copenhagen Jazz Festival has acquired an international reputation. The modern pop and rock scene has produced a few names of note, including MØ, Dizzy Mizz Lizzy, Lukas Graham, D-A-D, Tina Dico, Aqua, The Raveonettes, Michael Learns to Rock, Volbeat, Alphabeat, Safri Duo, Medina, Oh Land, Kashmir, King Diamond, Outlandish, and Mew. Lars Ulrich is the first Danish musician to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Adewale Ayuba, is a Nigerian singer known for singing Fuji music.
Charles Edward Haden was an American jazz double bass player, bandleader, composer and educator whose career spanned more than 50 years. Building on the work of predecessors such as Jimmy Blanton and Charles Mingus, Haden helped to revolutionize the harmonic concept of bass playing in jazz, evolving a style that sometimes complemented the soloist, and other times moved independently, liberating bassists from a strictly accompanying role, to allow more direct participation in group improvisation.
Lyle David Mays was an American jazz pianist, composer, and member of the Pat Metheny Group. Metheny and Mays composed and arranged nearly all of the group's music, for which Mays won eleven Grammy Awards.
David William Sanborn is an American alto saxophonist. Though Sanborn has worked in many genres, his solo recordings typically blend jazz with instrumental pop and R&B. He released his first solo album Taking Off in 1975, but has been playing the saxophone since before he was in high school and was a session musician long before its release. He remains popular as a session musician, playing in several albums of various artists.
Kenneth Earl Burrell is an American jazz guitarist known for his work on numerous top jazz labels: Prestige, Blue Note, Verve, CTI, Muse, and Concord. His collaborations with Jimmy Smith were notable, and produced the 1965 Billboard Top Twenty hit Verve album Organ Grinder Swing. He has cited jazz guitarists Charlie Christian, Oscar Moore, and Django Reinhardt as influences, along with blues guitarists T-Bone Walker and Muddy Waters.
The baritone saxophone is a member of the saxophone family of instruments, larger than the tenor saxophone, but smaller than the bass. It is the lowest-pitched saxophone in common use — the bass, contrabass and subcontrabass saxophones are relatively uncommon. Like all saxophones, it is a single-reed instrument. It is commonly used in concert bands, chamber music, military bands, big bands, and jazz combos. It can also be found in other ensembles such as rock bands and marching bands. Modern baritone saxophones are pitched in E♭.
Jerome Najee Rasheed, known professionally as Najee, is an American jazz-Smooth jazz saxophonist and flautist.
Providence was an American six-piece rock band, active from 1971 to 1974. The group originated in Boise, Idaho, but was later based in Portland, Oregon. The Moody Blues signed Providence to a recording contract with Threshold. They released one album, Ever Sense the Dawn, in 1972.
Paul Winter is an American saxophonist, composer, and bandleader. He is a pioneer of world music and earth music, which interweaves the voices of the wild with instrumental voices from classical, jazz and world music. The music is often improvised and recorded in nature to reflect the qualities brought into play by the environment.
Phil Driscoll is a trumpeter, singer, composer, and producer. He performs in varying music genres and styles which include rock and roll, rhythm and blues, and patriotic music, and is best known for his work in Christian music and his longterm Christian ministry. In 1985, Driscoll won the Grammy Award for Best Gospel Performance – Duo/Group for a duet with Debby Boone on "Keep the Flame Burning", and he has been nominated for three additional Grammys, two for Best Gospel Performance – Male and one for Best Gospel/Pop Album. He has also won three Dove Awards for his music, and the 1999 Christian Country Music Association Award for Best Musician.
Tony Guerrero is a musician, songwriter, and producer. His career as a jazz trumpeter has spanned nearly forty years beginning with the release of his first CD, Tiara, in 1988. To date, he has released nine solo albums, several of which have garnered him critical praise, Top 20 jazz radio play, and earned him a worldwide audience. His songs have been recorded by jazz artists around the world including contemporary artists Brian Bromberg and Greg Vail, and he has toured as a headliner and guest artist throughout the United States, Europe, Asia, South America, and the South Pacific. He has played on over 200 albums by other artists and recorded and/or performed with artists as diverse as Freddie Hubbard, Paul McCartney, Joe Sample, Jane Lynch, Tom Scott, Brian Wilson, Billy Idol, Dick Van Dyke, Slash, Phil Keaggy, David Pack, and numerous others. His work as a composer and producer has placed him in a wide variety of styles from jazz, rock, country, Christian, and musical theater.
Robert Lyle is a jazz pianist/organist and educator.
Yinka Davies is a Nigerian vocalist, dancer, lyricist and judge of reality show, Nigerian Idol. Yinka has been in the Nigerian entertainment industry for 28 years.
Mike Aremu is a Nigerian Afro jazz saxophone player. His music draws from traditional Nigerian music.
Kunle Ajayi is a Nigerian gospel singer, songwriter, saxophonist, televangelist and Director of Music at the Redeemed Christian Church of God.
The Lagos International Jazz Festival (LIJF), also known as Lagos Jazz Fest, is an annual celebration of jazz music and culture that was founded by Ayoola Shadare of Inspiro Productions and takes place in Lagos, Nigeria.
Oluwafemi Abolade Leye, known professionally as Femi Leye, is a Nigerian guitarist, singer, songwriter, record producer, and composer. His music is a hybrid of African ethnic sounds, Contemporary Soul, Jazz, Rhythm and Blues, Funk and Yoruba Music.
