Azymuth　

Brazilian electrified trio Azymuth called their music samba doido, which means crazy samba. The actual sounds, though, were not so crazy： the intelligent, high-voltage blend of Brazilian r ..more

Allan Holdsworth　

Guitarist Allan Holdsworth was widely considered one of the finest instrumentalists in all of jazz fusion, yet never truly received the recognition that he so rightfully deserved. Born on August 6, ..more

Al Di Meola　

Guitarist Al Di Meola first rose to prominence as a blazing jazz fusion artist before his playing matured and he began to conquer other styles, such as acoustic Latin music. Born on July 22, 1954 i ..more

Hirotake Izumi　

Weldon Irvine　

Keyboardist Weldon Irvine looms large in the pantheon of jazz-funk, profoundly influencing the subsequent generations of hip-hop artists for whom he served as collaborator and mentor. Born in ..more

Weather Report　

Weather Report started out as a jazz equivalent of what the rock world in 1970 was calling a supergroup. But unlike most of the rock supergroups, this one not only kept going for a good ..more

CASIOPEA　

Quincy Jones　

In a musical career that has spanned seven decades, Quincy Jones has earned his reputation as a renaissance man of American music. Jones has distinguished himself as a bandleader, a solo artist, ..more

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 began perform ..more

Crusaders　

Grover Washington Jr.　

One of the most popular saxophonists of all time, Grover Washington, Jr. was long the pacesetter in his field. His roots were in R＆B and soul-jazz organ combos, but he also fared very well on ..more

Kenny G　

A phenomenally successful instrumentalist whose recordings routinely made the pop, R＆B, and jazz charts during the 1980s and ’90s, Kenny G’s sound became a staple on adult contemporary and smooth j ..more

Shakatak　

British crossover jazz, funk, and pop outfit Shakatak are a sophisticated ensemble who have enjoyed a long career. With a sound steeped in contemporary jazz and R＆B, they found success with both in ..more

Jaco Pastorius　

Jaco Pastorius was a meteor who blazed on to the scene in the 1970s, only to flame out tragically in the 1980s. With a brilliantly fleet technique and fertile melodic imagination, Pastorius made ..more

Jean-Luc Ponty　

It has been a long, fascinating odyssey for Jean-Luc Ponty, who started out as a straight jazz violinist only to become a pioneer of the electric violin in jazz-rock in the ’70s and an inspir ..more

Julian Lage　

Jazz guitarist Julian Lage is somewhat of a child prodigy -- playing his instrument at the age of five and performing in public a year later. Shortly thereafter, Lage began playing with such ren ..more

John Scofield　

One of the big three of late 20th and early 21st century jazz guitarists (along with Pat Metheny and Bill Frisell), John Scofield’s influence grew in the ’90s and continued into the 21st ..more

George Benson　

George Benson is simply one of the greatest guitarists in jazz history, but he is also an amazingly versatile musician, and that frustrates to no end critics who would paint him into a narrow {\ ..more

Spyro Gyra　

Founded in 1974 by saxophonist Jay Beckenstein, Spyro Gyra have consistently been one of the commercially successfully pop-jazz groups of the past 30 years. The band became a full-time ventur ..more

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