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Smooth Jazz
Smooth jazz is commercially oriented crossover jazz music. Although often described as a "genre", it is a debatable and highly controversial subject in jazz music circles. As a radio format, however, smooth jazz radio became the successor to easy listening music on radio station programming from the mid-1970s through the early 1990s. History Smooth jazz may be thought of as commercially-oriented, crossover jazz which came to prominence in the 1980s, displacing the more venturesome jazz fusion from which it emerged. It avoids the improvisational "risk-taking" of jazz fusion, emphasizing melodic form, and much of the music was initially "a combination of jazz with easy-listening pop music and lightweight R&B." During the mid-1970s in the United States, it was known as "smooth radio"; the genre was not termed "smooth jazz" until the 1980s. The term itself seems to have been birthed directly out of radio marketing efforts. In an industry focus group in the late 1980s, one pa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Brampton
Brampton is a city in the Canadian Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Ontario, and the regional seat of the Regional Municipality of Peel. It is part of the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) and is a List of municipalities in Ontario#Lower-tier municipalities, lower-tier municipality within the Peel Region. The city has a population of 656,480 as of the 2021 Canadian census, 2021 census, making it the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, ninth most populous municipality in Canada and the third most populous city in the Greater Golden Horseshoe urban area, behind Toronto and Mississauga. The City of Brampton is bordered by Vaughan to the east, Halton Hills to the west, Caledon, Ontario, Caledon to the north, Mississauga to the south, and Etobicoke (Toronto) to the southeast. Named after the town of Brampton, Carlisle, Brampton in Cumberland, England, Brampton was incorporated as a village in 1853 and as a town in 1873, and became a city in 1974. Th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bob James (musician)
Robert McElhiney James (born December 25, 1939) is an American jazz keyboardist, arranger, and record producer. He founded the band Fourplay and wrote "Angela", the theme song for the TV show ''Taxi (TV series), Taxi.'' According to ''VICE (magazine), VICE'', music from his first seven albums has often been sampling (music), sampled and believed to have contributed to the formation of hip hop. Among his most well known recordings are "Nautilus (song), Nautilus", "Westchester Lady", "Tappan Zee", and his version of "Take Me to the Mardi Gras". Early life and family James was born on Christmas Day of 1939 in Marshall, Missouri, United States. He started playing the piano at age four. His first piano teacher, Sister Mary Elizabeth, who taught at Mercy Academy, discovered that he had perfect pitch. At age seven, James began to study with R. T. Dufford, a teacher at Missouri Valley College. At age 15, James continued his studies with Franklin Launer, a teacher at Christian College ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bill Withers
William Harrison Withers Jr. (July 4, 1938 – March 30, 2020) was an American singer and songwriter. He is known for having several hits over a career spanning 18 years, including "Ain't No Sunshine" (1971), "Grandma's Hands" (1971), "Use Me (Bill Withers song), Use Me" (1972), "Lean on Me (song), Lean on Me" (1972), "Lovely Day" (1977) and "Just the Two of Us (Grover Washington Jr. song), Just the Two of Us" (1980) (recorded in collaboration with Grover Washington Jr.). Withers won three Grammy Awards out of nine total nominations. His life was the subject of the 2009 documentary film ''Still Bill (film), Still Bill''. Withers was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2005 and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2015. Two of his songs, "Ain't No Sunshine" and "Lean on Me", were inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. Early life William Harrison Withers Jr., the youngest of six children, was born in the small coal mining town of Slab Fork, West Virginia, on July 4, 1938. He ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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, so ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Morning Dance
''Morning Dance'' is the second album by the jazz fusion group Spyro Gyra. The album was released in March 9, 1979 and was certified gold by the RIAA on September 19, 1979, and was certified platinum on June 1, 1987. At ''Billboard'' magazine, the album reached No. 27 on the Top 200 albums chart, while the song " Morning Dance" reached No. 24 on the Hot 100 songs chart and No. 1 on the Adult Contemporary songs chart. In Canada, the album reached No. 47 in its 10th week, and returned to No. 49 in its 20th week of 25 in the top 100. Critical reception ''The Globe and Mail'' wrote that "''Morning Dance'' is too heavily produced and too tightly arranged to be a very impressive jazz record." Track listing and personnel # " Morning Dance" (Jay Beckenstein) – 3:58 #* Jay Beckenstein – alto saxophone #* Jeremy Wall – electric piano #* John Tropea – electric and acoustic guitars #* Jim Kurzdorfer – bass #* Ted Reinhardt – drums #* Rubens Bassini – congas and percussi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Spyro Gyra
Spyro Gyra is an American jazz fusion band that was formed in Buffalo, New York, in 1974. The band's music combines jazz, R&B, funk, and pop music. The band's name comes from ''Spirogyra'', a genus of green algae which founder Jay Beckenstein had learned about in college. History Early years Saxophonist Jay Beckenstein and keyboardist Jeremy Wall formed a band with jazz and rock musicians who were playing in the Buffalo bar and club circuit. In 1974, when a bar owner asked for the band's name, Beckenstein said, "spirogyra", a type of algae he had learned about in school. The bar owner wrote the name incorrectly, "Spyro Gyra", but it stuck. The founding members of the band were Beckenstein, Wall, bassist Jim Kurzdorfer, drummer Tom Walsh, and keyboardist Tom Schuman. In 1977, they released '' Spyro Gyra'' independently before making a deal with Amherst Records, which re-released the album with a different cover. It included "Shaker Song," which reached No. 90 on Billboard ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bobby Caldwell
Robert Hunter Caldwell (August 15, 1951 – March 14, 2023) was an American singer and songwriter. He released several albums spanning R&B, soul, jazz, and adult contemporary. He is known for his soulful and versatile vocals. Caldwell released the hit single and his signature song " What You Won't Do for Love" from his double platinum debut album '' Bobby Caldwell'' in 1978. After several R&B and smooth jazz albums, Caldwell turned to singing standards from the Great American Songbook. He wrote many songs for other artists, including the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 No. 1 single " The Next Time I Fall" for Amy Grant and Peter Cetera. Caldwell's musical catalog is perhaps best known today for its later sampling by several prolific hip hop and R&B artists. Early life Bobby Caldwell was born in Manhattan, but grew up in Miami, Florida. His mother sold real estate and one of her clients was reggae singer Bob Marley; Caldwell and Marley became friends. Growing up in Miami exposed Cald ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
What You Won't Do For Love (song)
"What You Won't Do for Love" is a song by American singer-songwriter Bobby Caldwell. It was released in September 1978 as the lead single from his eponymous debut album (1978). It was written by Caldwell and Alfons Kettner, and produced by Ann Holloway. The song has been covered and sampled numerous times, including by Tupac Shakur in the posthumous 1998 hit " Do for Love". Background and release After gaining a reputation in Miami clubs as a talented musician, Caldwell was signed to an exclusive contract with TK Records in 1978 by TK Records president Henry Stone. Heading to the studio, Caldwell recorded his first album, which was given a redo after Stone felt the album was good but "didn't have a hit". Caldwell returned to the studio and came up with the final product, which included "What You Won't Do for Love". The song's horn arrangement was written and recorded by Miami arranger Mike Lewis. The song is in the key of F-sharp minor (although the pitch of the commercial trac ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Feels So Good (composition)
"Feels So Good" is the title of an instrumental composition by the American flugelhorn player Chuck Mangione. It was written and produced by Mangione, and is the title track from his 1977 album ''Feels So Good''. "Feels So Good" was released as a single in early 1978, which reached number 4 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart in June of that year after spending a week atop the ''Billboard'' easy listening chart in May.Hyatt, Wesley (1999). ''The Billboard Book of #1 Adult Contemporary Hits'' (Billboard Publications) The recording was also nominated for a Grammy Award for Record of the Year at the ceremony held in 1979, losing out to Billy Joel's " Just the Way You Are". Mangione re-recorded the tune (as a slow ballad, and with lyrics sung by Don Potter) for his 1982 album ''70 Miles Young''. Mangione was quoted describing the editing of the original version of the track as "major surgery." Chart performance Weekly charts Year-end charts Personnel * Chuck Mangione: Flu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chuck Mangione
Charles Frank Mangione ( ; born November 29, 1940) is an American flugelhorn player, trumpeter and composer. He came to prominence as a member of Art Blakey's band in the 1960s, and later co-led the Jazz Brothers with his brother, Gap Mangione, Gap. He achieved international success in 1978 with his jazz-pop single "Feels So Good (composition), Feels So Good". Mangione has released more than 30 albums since 1960. Early life and career Mangione was born and raised in Rochester, New York, Rochester, New York (state), New York, United States, to Italian American, Italian parents. His paternal uncle was writer Jerre Mangione. With his pianist brother Gap Mangione, Gap, they led the Mangione Brothers Sextet/Quintet, which recorded three albums for Riverside Records, before Mangione branched out into other work. One of Chuck's compositions for the Mangione Brothers Sextet, "Something Different," was recorded by Cannonball Adderley on his 1961 album ''African Waltz''. He attended the E ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Flugelhorn
The flugelhorn (), also spelled fluegelhorn, flugel horn, or flügelhorn, is a brass instrument that resembles the trumpet and cornet, but has a wider, more conical bore. Like trumpets and cornets, most flugelhorns are pitched in B♭, though some are in C. It is a type of valved bugle, developed in Germany in the early 19th century from a traditional English valveless bugle. The first version of a valved bugle was sold by Heinrich Stölzel in Berlin in 1828. The valved bugle provided Adolphe Sax (creator of the saxophone) with the inspiration for his B♭ soprano (contralto) saxhorns, on which the modern-day flugelhorn is modelled. Etymology The German word ''Flügel'' means ''wing'' or ''flank'' in English. In early 18th century Germany, a ducal hunt leader known as a ''Flügelmeister'' blew the ''Flügelhorn'', a large semicircular brass or silver valveless horn, to direct the wings of the hunt. Military use dates from the Seven Years' War, where this instrument was em ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Breezin' (song)
"Breezin'" is an instrumental song composed by American singer and musician Bobby Womack. It was first recorded in December 1970 by the influential Hungarian jazz guitarist Gábor Szabó, in partnership with Womack himself. This version, produced by Tommy LiPuma, was included on Szabó's album ''High Contrast'' (1971) and was released as a single in April 1971 in the United States and 1972 in the Netherlands, reaching No. 43 on the R&B chart. Womack wrote some lyrics for the song that weren't used in Szabo's instrumental version but he does perform the song with lyrics on his DVD ''Raw'', released in 2010. Gábor Szabó version (1971) Track listing "Breezin'"s full length on Szabó's album ''High Contrast'' is 3:11, while the single version is edited to 3:03. Chart position Personnel *Gábor Szabó – electric guitar, acoustic guitar * Bobby Womack – songwriter, electric rhythm guitar *Jim Keltner – drums *Felix "Flaco" Falcon – congas * Phil Upchurch – bass guita ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
