13.06.2006

• Brian McKnight Brian McKnight grew up in a family where music came naturally. He was a member of the church choir along with his immediate family; his grandfather was the director. With a gospel upbringing, McKnight explored other genres of music. Still in his early teens, he exercised his writing ambitions by pen...

• Carla Cook Based in New York but originally from Detroit, Carla Cook is an earthy yet sophisticated jazz singer who has strong R&B leanings. For Cook, being a jazz singer doesn't mean being a jazz purist or a jazz snob—there are elements of R&B, blues and gospel in her singing, and she is willi...

17.05.2006

• Cassandra Wilson Although her recording career has been somewhat erratic, Cassandra Wilson became one of the top jazz singers of the '90s, a vocalist blessed with a distinctive and flexible voice who is not afraid to take chances. She began playing piano and guitar when she was nine and was working as a vocalist b...

09.05.2006

• Chuck Mangione Throughout the 1970s, Chuck Mangione was a celebrity. His purposely lightweight music was melodic pop that was upbeat, optimistic and sometimes uplifting. Mangione's records were big sellers yet few of his fans from the era knew that his original goal was to be a bebopper. His father had often t...

21.04.2006

• Chris Botti Though best-known as a contemporary jazz performer, trumpeter Chris Botti made his initial splash on the pop music scene. A native of Oregon, he started playing at the age of ten, and while still in high school began performing professionally. After studying in the prestigious Indiana University...

08.04.2006

• Chuck Loeb A skillful guitarist capable of playing any style of music, Chuck Loeb"s own solo projects have generally been commercially successful crossover jazz, which has been classified through the years as "contemporary" or "smooth" jazz. He started playing guitar when he was 11, discovered jazz when he w...

04.04.2006

• Acoustic Alchemy During the late '80s and '90s, Nick Webb and Greg Carmichael produced a series of mellow albums classified as adult contemporary music, though the guitarists encompass the range of jazz and new age as well. Both grew up in England during the '60s listening to pop/rock, though Webb studied jazz guita...