Chu Kosaka　

Sly & The Family Stone　

Sly ＆ the Family Stone harnessed all of the disparate musical and social trends of the late ’60s, creating a wild, brilliant fusion of soul, rock, R＆B, psychedelia, and funk that bro ..more

Bobby Caldwell　

Bobby Caldwell has been a favorite among fans of sophisticated R＆B and contemporary jazz since 1978, the year the singer, songwriter, and guitarist hit the Top Ten of Billboard’s Hot 100 and R＆B ch ..more

Ultravox　

Rejecting the abrasive guitars of their punk-era contemporaries in favor of lushly romantic synthesizers, Ultravox emerged as one of the primary influences on the British electro-pop movement of th ..more

Issa (Isabell Oversveen)　

Jackie De Shannon　

Singer and songwriter Jackie DeShannon has quite a musical legacy. Her early singles crafted doo wop to intelligent lyrics. She toured with the Beatles in 1964 and more than held her own. She wr ..more

Lovely Summerchan　

James　

As one of the first groups to be dubbed the next Smiths, James became an institution on the British alternative music scene during the ’80s and ’90s with their pleasant folk-pop. Early in thei ..more

Britney Spears　

More than any other single artist, Britney Spears was the driving force behind the return of teen pop in the late ’90s. The blockbuster success of the Spice Girls and Backstreet Boys certainl ..more

Nao Matsushita　

Maria Schneider　

Maria Schneider is widely thought of as a potentially great arranger who is following in the footsteps of Gil Evans (her main inspiration), George Russell, and Bob Brookmeyer. After extens ..more

Itabashi Fumio　

Four Tet　

Perhaps the definitive indie electronic artist, Four Tet (Kieran Hebden) is a British DJ and producer whose experimental yet highly accessible recordings, which blend organic and electronic soun ..more

THE ORAL CIGARETTES　

Hawkwind　

Any sci-fi fan with long memories probably remembers those 1970s’ DAW paperback editions of Michael Moorcock’s sword-and-sorcery novels, with their images of heavily armored, very muscular warri ..more

Pete Ham　

Although every member of Badfinger composed material for the group, Pete Ham was probably the most important songwriter in the band. He wrote all of their hits, and also co-wrote Without You, ..more

Friko　

Ray Charles　

Ray Charles was the musician most responsible for developing soul music. Singers like Sam Cooke and Jackie Wilson also did a great deal to pioneer the form, but Charles did even more to ..more

Ron Carter　

The epitome of class and elegance, though not stuffy, Ron Carter has been a world class bassist and cellist since the ’60s. He’s among the greatest accompanists of all time, but has also done many ..more

D'Angelo　

D’Angelo was one of the founding fathers and leading lights of the neo-soul movement of the mid- to late ’90s, which aimed to bring the organic flavor of classic R＆B back to the hip-hop ag ..more