Eric Darius
Eric Darius (born December 3, 1982), is an American saxophonist, vocalist, songwriter, producer, and educator. Early life Darius was born in New Jersey to a father of Haitian descent and a mother of Jamaican descent. He grew up in Tampa, Florida. Born into a musical family, his father plays bass, his mother and sister sing, and his older brother plays drums and trumpet. Darius grew up listening to Stevie Wonder, Michael Jackson, Earth, Wind and Fire, Marvin Gaye, Al Green, Grover Washington, Jr., David Sanborn, George Benson, Bob Marley. He developed a love and appreciation for music at an early age, as his parents exposed him to music from many genres. The first time he saw someone playing saxophone was when in church when he was nine years old. He fell in love with the sound. His parents bought him a saxophone for his birthday. He began his performing career at the age of 11, when he joined and toured with Sonny LaRosa and America's Youngest Jazz Band. The band included kid ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Livingston, New Jersey
Livingston is a township (New Jersey), township in Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's population was 31,330, its highest United States census, decennial count ever and an increase of 1,964 (+6.7%) from 29,366 recorded at the 2010 United States census, 2010 census, which in turn reflected an increase of 1,975 (+7.2%) from the 27,391 counted in the 2000 United States census, 2000 census. In 2023, the Population Estimates Program by the United States Census Bureau calculated that the township had a population of 31,089. Livingston was incorporated as a township by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on February 5, 1813, from portions of Caldwell Township (now Fairfield Township, Essex County, New Jersey, Fairfield Township) and Springfield Township, Union County, New Jersey, Springfield Township (now in Union County, New Jersey, Union County). Portions of the original township were later taken ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Michael Jackson
Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Michael Jackson, one of the most culturally significant figures of the 20th century. Over a four-decade career, List of Michael Jackson records and achievements, his music achievements broke Timeline of African-American firsts, racial barriers in America and made him a dominant figure across the world. Through songs, stages, and fashion, he proliferated visual performance for artists in popular music; popularizing street dance moves including the Moonwalk (dance), moonwalk, the Robot (dance), robot, and the anti-gravity lean. Jackson is often deemed the greatest entertainer of all time based on his acclaim and records. The eighth child of the Jackson family, Michael made his public debut in 1964 at age six, as a member of the Jackson 5 (later known as the Jacksons). After signing with Motown ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Jack Wilkins
Jack Rivers Lewis (June 3, 1944 – May 5, 2023), known professionally as Jack Wilkins, was an American jazz guitarist. Career A native of New York City, Wilkins grew up listening to his parents' music, such as Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra, and Billie Holiday. He started playing guitar when he was thirteen. He had an older cousin who played albums for him by Charlie Christian, Tal Farlow, Django Reinhardt, and Johnny Smith. He cited Smith's ''Designed for You'' as one of the albums that meant the most to him, in addition to ''Sounds of Synanon'' by Joe Pass, ''Poll Winners'' by Barney Kessel, '' The Swinging Guitar of Tal Farlow'', and ''Interpretations of Tal Farlow''. While still in his teens, he worked as a guitarist in bands led by Les Elgart, Larry Elgart, Warren Covington, and Sammy Kaye. Wilkins worked with Dan Armstrong, Lew Soloff, Lew Tabackin, and Lloyd Wells. In his twenties, he worked as a vibraphonist. He formed the band The Jazz Partners and played vibes with ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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University Of South Florida
The University of South Florida (USF) is a Public university, public research university with its main campus located in Tampa, Florida, Tampa, Florida, United States, and other campuses in St. Petersburg, Florida, St. Petersburg and Sarasota, Florida, Sarasota. It is one of 12 members of the State University System of Florida. USF is home to 14 colleges, offering more than 240 undergraduate, graduate, specialist, and doctoral-level degree programs. USF is Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education, classified among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity" and is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. USF is a member of the Association of American Universities, Association of American Universities (AAU) and is designated by the Florida Board of Governors as one of three Preeminent State Research Universities. Founded in 1956, USF is the fourth largest university in Florida by enrollment, ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Essentially Ellington
The Essentially Ellington High School Jazz Band Competition & Festival is an annual high school jazz festival and competition that takes place every May at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City. The festival is aimed at encouraging young musicians to play music by Duke Ellington and other jazz musicians. Process Every year Jazz at Lincoln Center transcribes arrangements of Ellington's music and sends them to participating high school band directors in the U.S. and Canada. During the year, band directors are sent a newsletter and given access to online educational materials to help with the arrangements. Students can email Jazz at Lincoln Center for help and send recordings of their band's finished performances to the Center for evaluation. These recordings can also count as applications to the Essentially Ellington High School Jazz Band Competition & Festival in New York City. Fifteen top bands are invited to the festival, which occurs every May at Frederick Rose Hall in Jazz at L ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Montreux Jazz Festival
The Montreux Jazz Festival (formerly Festival de Jazz Montreux and Festival International de Jazz Montreux) is a music festival in Switzerland, held annually in early July in Montreux on the Lake Geneva shoreline. It is the second-largest annual jazz festival in the world after Canada's Montreal International Jazz Festival. Initiator and head organizer Claude Nobs brought an array of artists to Montreux. Mathieu Jaton has organised the festival since Nobs' death in 2013. History The Montreux Jazz Festival opened was founded in 1967 by Claude Nobs, Géo Voumard and René Langel with considerable help from Ahmet and Nesuhi Ertegun of Atlantic Records. The festival was first held at Montreux Casino. The driving force is the tourism office under the direction of Raymond Jaussi. It lasted for three days and featured almost exclusively jazz artists. The highlights of this era were Charles Lloyd, Miles Davis, Keith Jarrett, Jack DeJohnette, Bill Evans, Soft Machine, Weather ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Louis Armstrong
Louis Daniel Armstrong (August 4, 1901 – July 6, 1971), nicknamed "Satchmo", "Satch", and "Pops", was an American trumpeter and vocalist. He was among the most influential figures in jazz. His career spanned five decades and several eras in the history of jazz. Armstrong received numerous accolades including the Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance, Grammy Award for Best Male Vocal Performance for ''Hello, Dolly! (song), Hello, Dolly!'' in 1965, as well as a posthumous win for the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1972. His influence crossed musical genres, with inductions into the DownBeat, ''DownBeat'' Jazz Hall of Fame, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and the National Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame, among others. Armstrong was born and raised in New Orleans. Coming to prominence in the 1920s as an inventive trumpet and cornet player, he was a foundational influence in jazz, shifting the focus of the music from collective improvisation to solo performance. ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Count Basie
William James "Count" Basie (; August 21, 1904 – April 26, 1984) was an American jazz pianist, organist, bandleader, and composer. In 1935, he formed the Count Basie Orchestra, and in 1936 took them to Chicago for a long engagement and their first recording. He led the group for almost 50 years, creating innovations like the use of two "split" tenor saxophones, emphasizing the rhythm section, riffing with a big band, using arrangers to broaden their sound, his minimalist piano style, and others. Many musicians came to prominence under his direction, including the tenor saxophonists Lester Young and Herschel Evans, the guitarist Freddie Green, trumpeters Buck Clayton and Harry "Sweets" Edison, plunger trombonist Al Grey, and singers Jimmy Rushing, Helen Humes, Dennis Rowland, Thelma Carpenter, and Joe Williams (jazz singer), Joe Williams. As a composer, Basie is known for writing such jazz standards as "Blue and Sentimental", "Jumpin' at the Woodside" and "One O'Clock Jump" ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Duke Ellington
Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974) was an American Jazz piano, jazz pianist, composer, and leader of his eponymous Big band, jazz orchestra from 1924 through the rest of his life. Born and raised in Washington, D.C., Ellington was based in New York City from the mid-1920s and gained a national profile through his orchestra's appearances at the Cotton Club in Harlem. A master at writing miniatures for the three-minute 78 rpm recording format, Ellington wrote or collaborated on more than one thousand compositions; his extensive body of work is the largest recorded personal jazz legacy, and many of his pieces have become Standard (music), standards. He also recorded songs written by his bandsmen, such as Juan Tizol's "Caravan (1937 song), Caravan", which brought a Spanish tinge to big band jazz. At the end of the 1930s, Ellington began a nearly thirty five-year collaboration with composer-arranger-pianist Billy Strayhorn, whom he called his writ ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Bob Marley
Robert Nesta Marley (6 February 1945 – 11 May 1981) was a Jamaican singer, songwriter, and guitarist. Considered one of the pioneers of reggae, he fused elements of reggae, ska and rocksteady and was renowned for his distinctive vocal and songwriting style. Marley increased the visibility of Jamaican music worldwide and became a global figure in popular culture. He became known as a Rastafarian icon, and he infused his music with a sense of spirituality. Marley is also considered a global symbol of Jamaican music and Culture of Jamaica, culture and identity and was controversial in his outspoken support for democratic social reforms. Marley also supported the legalisation of Cannabis (drug), cannabis and advocated for Pan-Africanism. Born in Nine Mile, Jamaica, Marley began his career in 1963, after forming the group Teenagers with Peter Tosh and Bunny Wailer, which became Bob Marley and the Wailers, the Wailers. In 1965, they released their debut studio album, ' ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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David Sanborn
David William Sanborn (July 30, 1945 – May 12, 2024) was an American alto saxophonist. He worked in many musical genres; his solo recordings typically blended jazz with instrumental pop and R&B. He began playing the saxophone at the age of 11 and released his first solo album, ''Taking Off,'' in 1975. He was active as a session musician and played on numerous albums by artists including Stevie Wonder, Bruce Springsteen, Aretha Franklin, Sting, the Eagles, Rickie Lee Jones, James Brown, George Benson, Carly Simon, Elton John, Bryan Ferry, Ween, and The Rolling Stones. Sanborn released more than 20 albums and won six Grammy awards. In 2012, Sanborn was described by critic Scott Yanow as "the most influential saxophonist on pop, R&B and crossover players of the past 20 years." He became identified with radio-friendly smooth jazz, although he disliked the term and said he was not a jazz musician. Early life Sanborn was born in 1945 in Tampa, Florida, where his father wa ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Grover Washington, Jr
Grover Washington Jr. (December 12, 1943 – December 17, 1999) was an American jazz-funk and soul-jazz saxophonist and Grammy Award winner. Along with Wes Montgomery and George Benson, he is considered by many to be one of the founders and legends of the smooth jazz genre. He wrote some of his material and later became an arranger and producer. Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, Washington made some of the genre's most memorable hits, including "Mister Magic", "Reed Seed", "Black Frost", "Winelight", "Inner City Blues", "Let it Flow (For 'Dr. J')", and "The Best is Yet to Come". In addition, he performed very frequently with other artists, including Bill Withers on " Just the Two of Us", Patti LaBelle on " The Best Is Yet to Come", and Phyllis Hyman on "A Sacred Kind of Love". Early life Washington was born in Buffalo, New York, on December 12, 1943. His mother was a church chorister, and his father was a collector of old jazz gramophone records and a saxophonist as well, ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |