Marius Kahan (born October 25, 1955, London, England) is an English crossover jazz /

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African Americans in the m ...

/ Latin electric violinist and composer. Classically trained at Trinity College London, he was attracted to jazz at a time when notable figures of the genre were developing new means of expression through the use of electric instruments and alternative rhythms borrowed from

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

and Latin styles of music. Key influences on his direction included violinist Jean-Luc Ponty,

Santana Santana may refer to: Transportation * Volkswagen Santana, an automobile * Santana Cycles, manufacturer of tandem bicycles * Santana Motors, a former Spanish automobile manufacturer Boats * Santana 20, an American sailboat design by W. D. Sch ...

Herbie Hancock Herbert Jeffrey Hancock (born April 12, 1940) is an American jazz pianist, keyboardist, bandleader, and composer. Hancock started his career with trumpeter Donald Byrd's group. He shortly thereafter joined the Miles Davis Quintet, where he help ...

Chick Corea Armando Anthony "Chick" Corea (June 12, 1941 – February 9, 2021) was an American jazz composer, pianist, keyboardist, bandleader, and occasional percussionist. His compositions "Spain", " 500 Miles High", "La Fiesta", "Armando's Rhumba", and ...

and

Frank Zappa Frank Vincent Zappa (December 21, 1940 – December 4, 1993) was an American musician, composer, and bandleader. His work is characterized by wikt:nonconformity, nonconformity, Free improvisation, free-form improvisation, sound experimen ...

. In the early 1980s, along with guitarist Richard Scarfe and percussionist / vibesman Mike Turtle, he founded acid jazz group Shinara, a five-piece combo with an unusual line-up and musically diverse style that was well received by audiences. On a visit to California to promote recordings made in his

Bracknell Bracknell () is a large town and civil parish in Berkshire, England, the westernmost area within the Greater London Built-up Area, Greater London Urban Area and the administrative centre of the Bracknell Forest, Borough of Bracknell Forest. It l ...

studio, Kahan met and signed with Los Angeles based record producer and impresario

Lee Magid Lee Magid (born Leon Magid; April 6, 1926 – March 31, 2007) was an American rhythm and blues producer and manager, who worked with artists such as Clara Ward, Al Hibbler, Sam Fletcher, and Della Reese.''ASCAP Biographical Dictionary,'' Fourth ...

, a music business veteran responsible for steering numerous artists to success including

Lou Rawls Louis Allen Rawls (December 1, 1933 – January 6, 2006) was an American record producer, singer, composer and actor. Rawls released more than 60 albums, sold more than 40 million records, and had numerous charting singles, most notably his s ...

, Della Reese and violinist Papa John Creach. Shinara's self-released album ''The View From Here'', based on the Bracknell sessions, was completed in 1984, but the group folded shortly after due to financial pressure on individual members and few copies saw the light of day. During the 1990s, under Magid's guidance, Kahan produced his solo debut ''Tomorrow’s Memories'', released on independent label DJC Records in 1998. Featuring prominent players from London’s session scene, including guitarist Mark Jaimes, keyboard players Simon Carter and Jason Wright, and bassists Winston Blissett and Dale Davis, ''Tomorrow's Memories'' attracted critical acclaim and enjoyed extensive airplay on

102.2 Jazz FM 102.2 Jazz FM (also known as London Jazz Radio and JFM) was a local jazz and soul music station for London run by GMG Radio. The station was based in and broadcast from Castlereagh Street in London. The station experimented with its core playli ...

and Solar Radio in the UK, as well as being playlisted as far afield as Moscow and Budapest across the U.S. Magid's deteriorating health prevented him from effectively promoting the release in the US and he died in 2007. Despite lacking representation, Kahan's reputation continued to spread via jazz podcasts.

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* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kahan, Marius 1955 births English composers English violinists British male violinists Living people 21st-century violinists 21st-century British male musicians