Fusion | Musicosity

Fusion

Sidestepper

Sidestepper began as a solo studio project in 1996 for main man Richard Blair, who had first gone to Colombia in 1993 to work with renowned folk singer Totó La Momposina -- the two had met at Peter Gabriel’s Real World studios where Richard worked as an engineer. The result was the first album, 1997’s Southern Star featuring the Latin drum and bass tune ‘Maine’. The project soon developed into a production and writing duo with colombian songwriter Ivan Benavides, and has since become a full live band.

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Joshua Redman

Joshua Redman (born February 1, 1969) is a prominent American jazz saxophonist who records for Nonesuch Records. Redman, who is Black and Jewish, was born in Berkeley, California. He is the son of jazz saxophonist Dewey Redman. He is a graduate of Berkeley High School. Then in 1991 he graduated summa cum laude from Harvard University, where he was a member of Phi Beta Kappa Society. Redman won the Thelonious Monk International Jazz Saxophone Competition the same year and began focusing on his musical career.

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Krakatau

There are several artists named KRAKATAU: 1. avant-fusion band led by guitarist Raoul Björkenheim. 2. Indonesian jazz outfit. They play fusion at first, but then experimenting by merging indonesian ethnic style with western jazz. 3. Russian experimental metal band which was formed in Moscow in 2004, inspired by the experiments of Mike Patton, and other worthy guru, so the band has always been close to the spirit of musical freedom.

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Hiromi

Hiromi Uehara (上原ひろみ, born 26 March 1979) is a Japanese jazz composer and pianist. She is known for her virtuosic technique, energetic live performances and blend of jazz with other musical genres such as progressive rock, classical and fusion in her compositions. She performs as a trio alongside bassist Tony Grey and drummer Martin Valihora. On October 19, 2006, the trio added guitarist David Fiuczynski (from the Screaming Headless Torsos), to form Hiromi's Sonicbloom.

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Herbie Hancock

Herbert Jeffrey Hancock (born April 12, 1940) is a jazz pianist and composer from Chicago, Illinois, United States. Hancock is one of jazz music's most important and influential pianists and composers. He embraced elements of rock, funk, and soul while adopting fre-er stylistic elements from jazz. As part of Miles Davis' "second great quintet" Hancock helped redefine the role of a jazz rhythm section, and was later one of the first jazz musicians to embrace synthesizers and jazz funk.

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ROBERT GLASPER

Robert Glasper was raised in Houston, Texas. His mother was his first and strongest musical influence. Mrs. Glasper not only played piano and sang gospel music in the family's church, she led a band that worked the city's jazz and blues club circuit as well. By the age of twelve, young Robert was playing piano in that church. "Gospel music is built on emotion and spirituality; you go to church and leave crying," he smiles. "It definitely just gave me that sensitivity and knowing how to reach people and knowing how to be in tune with your feelings and the emotion of the music. My thing is, it helps me relate to the audience 'cause they're gonna give you what you give them. When you bring the crowd into your world, you can do anything you want."

By the time he reached adolescence, Robert knew his destiny was to be a jazz musician. He was accepted to the Houston's famed High School for the Performing Arts ("Jason Moran went there before me."). Post-graduation, Glasper enrolled at New School University in Manhattan. Soon after arrival, he hooked up with future bandmember Reid and vocalist Bilal, an old schoolmate. As an undergrad, Glasper gigged with Christian McBride, Russell Malone and Kenny Garrett. Professional life after the New School was even sweeter: stints with Nicholas Payton, Roy Hargrove, Terence Blanchard, Carmen Lundy, and Carly Simon.

The Bilal connection brought the pianist back to hip-hop. Glasper's contributions to Bilal's debut and subsequent tour brought him to the attention of Q-Tip (A Tribe Called Quest). "Tip would come hang out at my shows, and one day he called me and said, ‘I'm doing this tour and I need you to play keys. Can you do it?’” He's also since played with Mos Def, and is featured prominently on Bilal's forthcoming sophomore release.

In 2003, Glasper's first album Mood was released on indie label Fresh Sound New Talent, and two years later, Blue Note came calling. At Blue Note, Glasper joins a jazz piano legacy that stretches back to 1939, beginning with Albert Ammons and Meade Lux Lewis, and continuing through Thelonious Monk, Bud Powell, Herbie Hancock, McCoy Tyner, Chick Corea, Andrew Hill, Cecil Taylor, Gonzalo Rubalcaba, Jacky Terrasson, Jason Moran and Bill Charlap. Undaunted, Glasper reflects, “I’m just happy to be a part of the Blue Note family and its rich history.”

-- From Glasper's Official Website Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.

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Richard Bona

Born in 1967 in the village of Minta in East Cameroon, Bona grew up in a home filled with music. He began to perform in public at the age of five, singing in the village church with his mother and four sisters. His earliest instruments were wooden flutes and hand percussion. Eventually he constructed his own 12-string acoustic guitar. After moving to the bigger city of Douala, Richard began playing gigs at the age of 11 on a rented electric guitar. A major turning point in his life happened in 1980 when a Frenchman came to his town and established a jazz club in a local hotel.

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Code Black

Code Black (real name Corey Soljan) is a hardstyle producer from Sydney, Australia. He came to prominence with Sam Gonzalez (also known as Audiofreq) in the hardstyle collaboration known as Bioweapon. When Bioweapon fell apart in 2010, Corey went on producing under the name Code Black (although he originally used the name Inverse, while Gonzalez was named Orbit1), while Sam still kept using Bioweapon as a name and later introduced a new nickname, Audiofreq (rd. Audiofreak). He is one of the many upcoming hardstyle talents in the world with the popularity of hardstyle rapidly rising.

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