Artist Index How to use Artist INDEX

Robben Ford　

Robben Ford has had a diverse career. He taught himself guitar when he was 13 and considered his first influence to be Mike Bloomfield. At 18 he moved to San Francisco to form the Charles Ford ..more

Ronnie Laws　

The younger brother of Hubert Laws, Ronnie Laws has a nice soulful sound on tenor, but has never seriously pursued playing jazz. Throughout his career, which includes early-’70s gigs with Q ..more

Rodney Franklin　

Fusion keyboardist Rodney Franklin was born in Berkeley, CA, in 1958. He began piano lessons at the age of six. After graduation, he worked with John Handy in San Francisco and toured with Fre ..more

Roy Ayers　

Once one of the most visible and winning jazz vibraphonists of the 1960s, then an R＆B bandleader in the 1970s and ’80s, Roy Ayers’ reputation s now that of one of the prophets of acid jazz ..more

Level 42　

At the beginning of their career, Level 42 was squarely a jazz-funk fusion band, contemporaries of fellow Brit funk groups like Atmosfear, Light of the World, Incognito, and Beggar ..more

Lenny White　

A versatile drummer, Lenny White is still best-known for being part of Chick Corea’s Return To Forever in the 1970’s. White was self-taught on drums and he largely started his career on to ..more

Lee Ritenour　

Lee Ritenour has long been the perfect studio musician, one who can melt into the background without making any impact. While he possesses impressive technique, Ritenour has mostly played {\inst ..more

Richard Bona　

Jazz bassist Richard Bona was born and raised in the West African nation of Cameroon, going on to session dates with Joe Zawinul, Regina Carter, and Bob James as well as a two-year stin ..more

Return To Forever　

Jazz keyboard player Chick Corea’s Return to Forever emerged as one of the key jazz-rock fusion bands of the 1970s. Like Weather Report and the Mahavishnu Orchestra, they were formed by an ..more

Larry Carlton　

Best known for his signature Gibson 335 guitar and his supreme technique, Larry Carlton sees no drawing a line between genres. He draws on his varied musical roots including jazz, rock, country, and n ..more

Ramsey Lewis　

Pianist and composer Ramsey Lewis has been a major figure in contemporary jazz since the late 1950s, playing music with a warm, open personality that’s allowed him to cross over to the pop and R＆B ..more

Medeski Martin And Wood　

A group that effortlessly straddles the gap between avant-garde improvisation and accessible groove-based jazz, Medeski, Martin ＆ Wood have simultaneously earned standings as relentlessly innovativ ..more

Mezzoforte　

Marcus Miller　

Primarily a bassist, multi-instrumentalist, and producer, Marcus Miller has worked on hundreds of sessions -- crossing jazz, R＆B, and rock -- and has released several solo recordings since ..more

Mahavishnu Orchestra　

One of the premiere fusion groups, the Mahavishnu Orchestra were considered by most observers during their prime to be a rock band, but their sophisticated improvisations actually put their h ..more

Bob James / David Sanborn　

Bob James　

Bob James’ recordings have practically defined pop/jazz and crossover during the past few decades. Very influenced by pop and movie music, James has often featured R＆B-ish soloists ( ..more

Bobbi Humphrey　

Bobbi Humphrey is a jazz flautist whose musical tastes lean toward fusion and smooth jazz-pop. From the outset of her career, Humphrey was quite popular, winning a large crossover audie ..more

Boney James　

A solid saxophonist whose style falls on the R＆B-ish and pop side of jazz, Boney James (who is heavily influenced by Grover Washington Jr.) is a consistent best-seller who can always be relied u ..more

Brett Raymond　

Like many of his contemporaries, Brett Raymond is a man of many talents. Comparable in talent to Lex de Azevedo and Jay Richards, Raymond enjoys a successful career as a composer, arranger ..more