Jazz Featured Artists
Gabin
Delightfully eccentric Italian duo Gabin has returned and this time brought along some friends. On its 2005 album "Mr. Freedom," the group crosses acid blues, dark folk, and, most unexpectedly, straight-up pop rock, often sung by faded stars and mixed by dance maestros. The oddly listenable result has earned Gabin slots on "Sex and the City," "Six Feet Under," and assorted commercials. read more »
- Location:
- Italy
Wei-Chi
Is "soulful computer jazz" a contradiction in terms? Much digitally constructed jazz has been criticized precisely for its lack of soul, but that's hardly the case in Raoul Walton's forward- thinking avant-garde project. Maybe that's because he composes as though for a traditional combo, then techs it up into crisp modern mixes. read more »
Minus 8
It's no surprise that Robert Jan Meyer--a.k.a. Minus 8--recently has been tapped for a movie sound track and an Apple Computer ad. The jazz producer has a knack for turning distinct stylings--Hammond licks, bossa beats, and '80s house--into universal themes in his ambient confections. read more »
Jeffery Beach
Trained in classical fingerstyle methods and schooled on pickers as disparate as Chet Atkins and Pat Metheny, this San Diego jazz guitarist artfully combines elements of each. Beach's tonality and production sit squarely in Metheny's clean, contemporary mode, but his bluesy scale-bending has a warmth straight from Atkins and Earl Klugh. read more »
- Filed under:
- Jazz » Contemporary Jazz
- Location:
- San Diego, California, United States
Lou Wang
This Vancouver-born and Berklee-bred jazz pianist finds intriguing middle spaces between influences Bill Evans and Keith Jarrett. In tight, mellow combo arrangements, Wang blends Evans' masterful chordology with ambitious, inventive phrasing that bears Jarrett's mark. read more »
- Location:
- Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
What Is Jazz?
Mix the soul of blues, the harmony of classical music, the rhythmic complexity of African music and the melodic improvisational qualities of Indian music, and you'll get somewhere near what has become one of the truest and most original art forms America has created. Jazz grew out of ragtime and blues music at the beginning of the 20th century, and has continued to develop under the guidance of visionaries such as Duke Ellington, Miles Davis, and Herbie Hancock, influencing classical, rock, and hip-hop music as well as contemporary art and literature. While it started as dance music, jazz has developed many offshoots that are meant to be listened to closely, with intensely intricate improvisations and complex rhythms justified by a natural, inherent swing.
Notable Artists: Louis Armstrong, Miles Davis, John Coltrane
Jazz Charts
 
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9: KARMA FUSION GROUPfiled under: Fusion
downloads last week: 547
location: Moscow, Russian Federation
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Higher Ground: Hurricane Relief Benefit Concertfiled under: New Orleans Jazz
downloads last week: -
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