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Jazzmatazz, Vol. 1
''Jazzmatazz Volume 1 (An Experimental Fusion of Hip-Hop and Jazz)'' is the debut solo studio album by American hip hop recording artist Guru. It was released on May 18, 1993 through Chrysalis Records. Recording sessions took place at D&D Studios in New York. Production was handled by Guru himself, who also served as executive producer together with Duff Marlowe and Patrick Moxey. The album combines a live jazz band performance with hip hop production and rapping. It features contributions from singers N'Dea Davenport, Carleen Anderson, Dee C Lee, French rapper MC Solaar, and musicians Simon Law, Branford Marsalis, Courtney Pine, Donald Byrd, Gary Barnacle, Lonnie Liston Smith, Ronny Jordan, Roy Ayers and Zachary Breaux. Guru, quoted in the album's liner notes, talked about his natural affinity for both jazz and rap. "Jazz's mellow tracks, along with the hard rap beat, go hand-in-glove with my voice", he said. The album made it to number 94 on the ''Billboard'' 200 and number 15 ...
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Guru (rapper)
Keith Edward Elam (July 17, 1961April 19, 2010), better known by his stage name Guru (a backronym for Gifted Unlimited Rhymes Universal), was an American rapper and record producer. He was a member of the hip hop duo Gang Starr, along with DJ Premier. He was born in Roxbury, Massachusetts. In 2012, About.com placed him #49 on their list of Top 50 MCs of Our Time, and ''The Source'' ranked him #30 on their list of Top 50 Lyricists of All Time, saying "Guru dropped some of the most thoughtful rhymes on wax". Guru died on April 19, 2010, from myeloma at age 48. Early life Elam was born in the Roxbury neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. His father, Harry, was a judge and his mother, Barbara, was the co-director of libraries in the Boston Public Schools system. He attended the Advent School on Beacon Hill in Boston, Noble and Greenough School in Dedham, Massachusetts, and Cohasset High School in Cohasset, Massachusetts for high school. Elam graduated with a degree in busine ...
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Sputnikmusic
Sputnikmusic is an American music community website offering music criticism and music news alongside features commonly associated with wiki-style websites. The format of the website is unusual in that it includes both professional and amateur content, distinguishing it from professionally written music websites such as ''Pitchfork'' and ''Tiny Mix Tapes'', as well as collecting and presenting a wiki-style metadata database in a manner comparable to Rate Your Music and Discogs. Over time, the site came to be established as a credible source; it is now among the sources that Metacritic uses to compile "Critic Scores" and is used as a news source by other websites. As a general rule, the staff writers tended to focus on new releases; however, any user was welcome to submit a review of any album that has been officially released. All genres of music were covered by the site, with dedicated subsections for metal, punk, indie, rock, hip hop, and pop; an 'Other' section also caters ...
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Courtney Pine
Courtney Pine, (born 18 March 1964), is a British jazz musician, who was the principal founder in the 1980s of the black British band the Jazz Warriors. Although known primarily for his saxophone playing, Pine is a multi-instrumentalist, also playing the flute, clarinet, bass clarinet and keyboards. On his 2011 album, ''Europa'', he plays almost exclusively bass clarinet. Background Pine's parents were Jamaican immigrants, his father a carpenter and his mother a housing manager. As a child, he wanted to be an astronaut. Born in London, Pine lived in the ‘Avenues’ area of Kensal Green in north-west London, before moving to Wembley and attending Kingsbury High School, where he studied classical clarinet, teaching himself the saxophone from the age of 14.Maya Jaggi"Fusion visionary" ''The Guardian'', 30 September 2000. He began his music career playing reggae, touring in 1981 with Clint Eastwood & General Saint. Career In 1986 Pine's debut album '' Journey to the Urge With ...
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Branford Marsalis
Branford Marsalis (born August 26, 1960) is an American saxophonist The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed on a mouthpiece vibrates to pro ..., 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. Early life Marsalis was born on August 26, 1960, in Breaux Bridge, Louisiana, and raised in New Orleans. He is the son of Dolores (née Ferdinand), a jazz singer and substitute teacher, and Ellis Marsalis, Jr., Ellis Louis Marsalis, Jr., a pianist and music professor.Stated on ''Finding Your Roots'', PBS, March 25, 2012 His brothers Jason Marsalis, Wynton Marsalis, and Delfeayo Marsalis are also ...
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Simon Law
Simon Law (born 28 May 1961, in Luton, England) is a producer, keyboardist and songwriter for Soul II Soul. Career Law is an original member of Soul II Soul. The band had a #1 UK hit single with "Back to Life (However Do You Want Me)", where he appeared in one of the song's two music videos, and a Top 10 hit with " Keep On Movin'". The band were awarded two Grammys for the songs "Back to Life" and the instrumental "African Dance", both of which Law co-wrote. He worked on all subsequent Soul II Soul albums apart from ''Volume III Just Right'', producing and co-writing many of the band's other UK hit singles, including "Missing You", "Love Enuff" and "Represent". He performs with the band regularly to this day and was on the Jools Holland show '' Later'' in November 2012. Law is also a record producer who has worked with artists such as Chanté Moore ("Love's Taken Over"), James "J.T." Taylor, and Maxi Priest Max Alfred "Maxi" Elliott (born 10 June 1961), known by his stage ...
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MC Solaar
Claude M'Barali, professionally known as MC Solaar (; born 5 March 1969), is a French rapper of Senegalese and Chadian origin. He is one of France's most famous and influential hip hop artists. Some consider him the best French rapper of all time. MC Solaar is known for his complex lyrics and distinctive flows, which rely on word play, lyricism, and inquiry. In the English-speaking world, Solaar was signed by London-based acid jazz record label Talkin' Loud and recorded with British group Urban Species and rapper Guru, who was a member of New York-based rap group Gang Starr. Solaar has released eight studio albums and one live album. His eighth studio album, ''Géopoétique'', produced by Alain Etchart and mixed by sound engineer David Gnozzi, won best album of the year at the Victoires de la Musique awards in 2018. Biography Early life Claude M'Barali was born in Dakar, Senegal, to parents from Chad. When he was six months old, his parents immigrated to France where they se ...
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Dee C Lee
Diane Catherine Sealy (born 6 June 1961), known as Dee C. Lee, is a British singer. Born to Saint Lucian parents, she grew up in south east London. Early in her career, she was a member of the British band Central Line under the aliases Dee Sealy in 1981 and Dee C Lee in 1983. She was also a backing singer for Wham!, and then became a member of The Style Council, as well as performing as a solo artist. Career Lee was an ex-member and backing vocalist from the funk/soul group Central Line under the alias Dee Sealy in 1981 and her current stage name Dee C Lee in 1983. She was also a backing vocalist for the pop group Wham! in the early 1980s and appeared in their music videos for the songs "Wham Rap! (Enjoy What You Do)", Young Guns (Go for It)" and "Club Tropicana". Following her departure from Wham!, Lee released her first solo single, "Selina Wow Wow", in 1984. In 1984, she then worked with The Style Council and appeared on their debut studio album '' Café Bleu'' (release ...
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Carleen Anderson
Carleen Cassandra Anderson (born May 10, 1957) is an American singer and musician. She is known for her work with the Young Disciples and numerous collaborations. Her distinguished solo career began in 1992. She is the acclaimed composer, writer and producer of futuristic operas. Carleen Anderson is the daughter of the singer Vicki Anderson, stepdaughter of Bobby Byrd and goddaughter of James Brown. By the time Anderson was three years old, she was singing solos in front of the congregation. By the age of seven, she was playing piano by ear, directing the church choir and writing songs every week for the choir to sing before her grandfather delivered his Sunday sermons. Anderson’s vocal skills were influenced by her paternal aunt, Betty Faye Anderson, a Juilliard scholar, Gospel singer and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s first soprano soloist. Her uncle, David Anderson Jr., and his daughters, Pamela and Jhelisa, along with their mother, Yvonne, had a very successful family go ...
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N'Dea Davenport
N'Dea Davenport (born September 22, 1966) is an American singer, songwriter, dancer and producer. She was the lead vocalist in the UK acid jazz band the Brand New Heavies and made pioneering contributions to the genre of acid jazz. Career Her diverse projects include collaborations with music producers and artists, such as Mark Ronson, Louie Vega, Roger Sanchez, Guru’s Jazzmatazz, Madonna, Natalie Merchant, Mos Def, Sly and Robbie, J Dilla, and Malcolm McLaren. Dance scholarships, acting and music were the core of her developments as an artist and entertainer. Immediately after finishing college, she left her then home of Atlanta, Georgia, en route to Los Angeles. There she engaged in theatrical productions and commercial music video and was embraced by artists in both art, music and popular culture. Her legacy as an artist began also with her involvement in the burgeoning Los Angeles underground club and rave scene in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Working simultaneously ...
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Rapping
Rapping (also rhyming, spitting, emceeing or MCing) is a musical form of vocal delivery that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and street vernacular". It is performed or chanted, usually over a backing beat or musical accompaniment. The components of rap include "content" (what is being said), "flow" (rhythm, rhyme), and "delivery" (cadence, tone). Rap differs from spoken-word poetry in that it is usually performed off-time to musical accompaniment. Rap is a primary ingredient of hip hop music commonly associated with that genre; however, the origins of rap predate hip-hop culture by many years. Precursors to modern rap include the West African griot tradition, Cockney rhyming slang, certain vocal styles of blues, jazz, 1960s African-American poetry and ''Sprechgesang''. The use of rap in popular music originated in the Bronx, New York City in the 1970s, alongside the hip hop genre and cultural movement. Rapping developed from the role of master of ceremonies (MC) at ...
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Hip Hop Production
Hip hop production is the creation of hip hop music in a recording studio. While the term encompasses all aspects of hip hop music creation, including recording the rapping of an MC, a turntablist or DJ providing a beat, playing samples and "scratching" using record players and the creation of a rhythmic backing track, using a drum machine or sequencer, it is most commonly used to refer to recording the instrumental, non-lyrical and non-vocal aspects of hip hop. Music production Hip hop producers may be credited as the record producer or songwriter; they may also supervise recording sessions. Hip hop instrumentals are colloquially referred to as beats or musical compositions, while the composer is called either a programmer, songwriter or beat maker. In the studio, the hip hop producer often functions as both the composer and as a traditional record producer. They are sometimes called Orchestrators, P. Diddy is an example of one, and they are ultimately responsible for the f ...
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Jazz
Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major form of musical expression in traditional and popular music. Jazz is characterized by swing and blue notes, complex chords, call and response vocals, polyrhythms and improvisation. Jazz has roots in European harmony and African rhythmic rituals. As jazz spread around the world, it drew on national, regional, and local musical cultures, which gave rise to different styles. New Orleans jazz began in the early 1910s, combining earlier brass band marches, French quadrilles, biguine, ragtime and blues with collective polyphonic improvisation. But jazz did not begin as a single musical tradition in New Orleans or elsewhere. In the 1930s, arranged dance-oriented swing big bands, Kansas City jazz (a hard-swinging, bluesy, improvisationa ...
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