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Roberta Flack has been the voice behind your favorite slow jams since 1968. A classically trained pianist and humanitarian, Flack's legacy as a vocalist lives on even as ALS prevents her from performing.
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From playing piano to composing and arranging, Bob James couldn't anticipate that his highly harmonic playing and early recordings would become the most sampled music ever.
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Despite facing discrimination in the jazz world for being a woman and Japanese, Toshiko Akiyoshi pressed on — becoming a composer-arranger for big bands, working with Charles Mingus and receiving critical acclaim.
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Eddie Henderson didn’t immediately gravitate toward jazz. He studied classical trumpet and went to medical school but after studying under several jazz icons, he hit the music scene in earnest and continues to perform with a dream team of artists.
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A living legend of the tenor saxophone, Houston Person is a master of swing and hard bop, but the heart of his sound has always been in the blues.
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In the lifetime of any composer and artist, to be associated with an iconic piece of music is to live in rarified company. Abdullah Ibrahim's "Mannanberg" reached such heights as the unofficial theme of anti-apartheid fighters in South Africa.
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Since his first recording in 1962, Roy Ayers has worked with some of the most familiar and iconic names in rap, pop and neo hip-hop soul.
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Saxophone giant Sonny Rollins was born Sept. 7, 1930. His relentless pursuit of greatness — as a musician, and as a person — has made a huge impact on jazz.
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The powerhouse drummer Jack DeJohnette continues to dazzle critics and fans alike, both as a leader and as an “in-demand” sideman.
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Mavis Staples started singing with her family, the Staples Singers, in the '50s. With a voice that belied her tiny size, she eventually became the center of attention of the group.