100 Notable alumni of
Berklee College of Music
Updated:
The Berklee College of Music is 74th in the world, 38th in North America, and 36th in the United States by aggregated alumni prominence. Below is the list of 100 notable alumni from the Berklee College of Music sorted by their wiki pages popularity. The directory includes famous graduates and former students along with research and academic staff.
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DJ Khaled
- Occupations
- media personalityrecord producerhype manmusic executivesongwriter
- Biography
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Khaled Mohammed Khaled, known professionally as DJ Khaled, is an American disc jockey, record producer, and record executive. Originally a Miami-based radio hype man, Khaled has become known for his extensive curation of high-profile music industry artists and producers to record singles or albums. His distinctions are his booming voice presence, "motivational" abstractions, and numerous catchphrases. While his musical contribution is often questioned, Khaled's role has been described as "organization, direction, promotion".
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Steven Tyler
- Occupations
- singer-songwritercomposerbanjoistactorpianist
- Biography
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Steven Victor Tallarico, known professionally as Steven Tyler, is an American singer, best known as the lead singer of the Boston-based rock band Aerosmith, in which he also plays the keyboards, harmonica and percussion. He has been called the "Demon of Screamin'" due to his high screams and his powerful wide vocal range. He is also known for his on-stage acrobatics. During his performances, Tyler usually dresses in colorful, sometimes androgynous outfits and makeup with his trademark scarves hanging from his microphone stand.
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Charlie Puth
- Enrolled in the Berklee College of Music
- Studied in 2013
- Occupations
- DJ producerYouTubersingermusicianmusic arranger
- Biography
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Charles Otto Puth Jr. is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. His initial exposure came through the viral success of his song covers uploaded to YouTube. Puth signed with the record label eleveneleven in 2011 after performing on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, while also songwriting and producing material for other artists.
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Quincy Jones
- Occupations
- jazz trumpeteractorbandleadersongwritertrumpeter
- Biography
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Quincy Delight Jones Jr. is an American record producer, songwriter, composer, arranger, and film and television producer. His career spans over 70 years, with 28 Grammy Awards won out of 80 nominations, and a Grammy Legend Award in 1992.
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John Mayer
- Occupations
- composermusic artistrecord producersingeractor
- Biography
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John Clayton Mayer is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. Born and raised in Fairfield County, Connecticut, Mayer attended Berklee College of Music in Boston, but he left and moved to Atlanta in 1997 with Clay Cook. Together, they formed a short-lived two-man band called Lo-Fi Masters. After their split, Mayer continued to play local clubs, refining his skills and gaining a following. After his appearance at the 2000 South by Southwest festival, he was signed to Aware Records, and eventually to Columbia Records, which released his first extended play Inside Wants Out. His following two studio albums—Room for Squares (2001) and Heavier Things (2003)—performed well commercially, achieving multi-platinum status. In 2003, he won the Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance for his single "Your Body Is a Wonderland".
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Sofia Boutella
- Occupations
- dancermodelrhythmic gymnastactor
- Biography
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Sofia Boutella is an Algerian actress, dancer and model.
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Meghan Trainor
- Occupations
- singer-songwritercomposertelevision personalityrecord producersinger
- Biography
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Meghan Elizabeth Trainor is an American singer-songwriter and television personality. She rose to prominence after signing with Epic Records in 2014 and releasing her debut single "All About That Bass", which reached number one on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart and sold 11 million copies worldwide. Trainor has released five studio albums with the label and has received various accolades, including the 2016 Grammy Award for Best New Artist.
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St. Vincent
- Enrolled in the Berklee College of Music
- Studied in 2001
- Occupations
- guitaristcomposermusiciansinger-songwriterrecording artist
- Biography
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Anne Erin Clark, known professionally as St. Vincent, is an American musician and singer. Her guitar playing has been praised for its melodic style and use of distortion, and she has been listed among the best guitarists of the 21st century by multiple publications. Rolling Stone named Clark the 26th-greatest guitarist of all time in 2023.
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Psy
- Occupations
- film actorrecord producerchoreographerrappertelevision producer
- Biography
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Park Jae-sang, known professionally as Psy (stylized in all caps), is a South Korean singer, rapper, songwriter, and record producer. Psy is known domestically for his humorous videos and stage performances, and internationally for his hit single "Gangnam Style". The song's refrain was entered into The Yale Book of Quotations as one of the most famous quotations of 2012.
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Trey Parker
- Occupations
- actorshowrunnervoice actortheatrical directorscreenwriter
- Biography
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Randolph Severn "Trey" Parker III is an American actor, animator, writer, producer, director, and musician. He is best known for co-creating South Park (since 1997) and The Book of Mormon (2011) with his creative partner Matt Stone. Parker was interested in film and music as a child and at high school and attended the University of Colorado Boulder, where he met Stone. The two collaborated on various short films and co-starred in Parker’s feature-length musical Cannibal! The Musical (1993).
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Chaka Khan
- Occupations
- singer-songwritersingerjazz musicianrecording artistcomposer
- Biography
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Yvette Marie Stevens, better known by her stage name Chaka Khan, is an American singer. Known as the "Queen of Funk", her career has spanned more than five decades beginning in the early 1970s as the lead vocalist of the funk band Rufus. With the band she recorded the notable hits "Tell Me Something Good", "Sweet Thing", "Do You Love What You Feel" and the platinum-certified "Ain't Nobody". Her debut solo album featured the number-one R&B hit "I'm Every Woman" (which became a pop hit for Whitney Houston). Khan scored another R&B charts hit with "What Cha' Gonna Do for Me" before becoming the first R&B artist to have a crossover hit featuring a rapper, with her 1984 cover of Prince's "I Feel for You". More of Khan's hits include "Through the Fire" and a 1986 collaboration with Steve Winwood that produced a number-one hit on the Billboard Hot 100, "Higher Love".
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Steve Vai
- Occupations
- songwriterguitaristmusicianrecord producercomposer
- Biography
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Steven Siro Vai is an American guitarist, songwriter, and producer. A three-time Grammy Award winner and fifteen-time nominee, Vai started his music career in 1978 at the age of eighteen as a transcriptionist for Frank Zappa, and played in Zappa's band from 1980 to 1983. He embarked on a solo career in 1983 and has released eight solo albums to date. He has recorded and toured with Alcatrazz, David Lee Roth, and Whitesnake, as well as recording with artists such as Public Image Ltd, Mary J. Blige, Spinal Tap, Alice Cooper, Motörhead, and Polyphia. Additionally, Vai has toured with live-only acts G3, Zappa Plays Zappa, and the Experience Hendrix Tour, as well as headlining international tours.
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Henry Lau
- Occupations
- record producerdancercomposermusiciansinger
- Biography
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Henry Lau, often mononymously referred to as Henry, is a Canadian singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer based in South Korea and China. He debuted in 2008 as a member of Super Junior-M and launched his solo career in 2013 with Trap. His song "It's You", released in 2017, became the most streamed Korean original soundtrack song on Spotify for two consecutive years in 2018 and 2019. In 2018, Henry left SM Entertainment following the expiration of his contract, and subsequently joined Monster Entertainment Group.
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Wang Leehom
- Occupations
- actorfilm directorsongwriterscreenwriterrecord producer
- Biography
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Wang Leehom, sometimes credited as Leehom Wang, is an American singer-songwriter, actor, producer, and film director. Formally trained at Eastman School of Music, Williams College and Berklee College of Music, his music is known for fusing hip-hop and R&B, with traditional Chinese music (Beijing opera, Kunqu, Chinese orchestra, and tribal music from Tibet, Yunnan, and Mongolia). Since his 1995 debut, Wang has released 25 albums, that have sold over 60 million copies. He is a four-time winner and 19-time nominee of the Golden Melody Awards, the "Grammys" of Chinese music. His sold-out concert at the 90,000 seat Beijing Bird's Nest on April 14, 2012 was the first solo pop concert to be held at the iconic venue. With over 72 million followers on social media, Wang is one of the most followed celebrities in China (peaked as #1 most followed person in China's social media in 2014). In 2018, CNN dubbed him "King of Chinese Pop" and the LA Times called him "the biggest American star America has never heard of." Wang was listed as one of Goldsea's "The 100 Most Inspiring Asian Americans of All Time."
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Jason Mraz
- Occupations
- composermandolinistsingerguitarist
- Biography
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Jason Thomas Mraz is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. He rose to prominence with the release of his debut studio album, Waiting for My Rocket to Come (2002), which spawned the single "The Remedy (I Won't Worry)", that peaked at number 15 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. His second studio album Mr. A-Z (2005) peaked at number five on the Billboard 200.
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Wyclef Jean
- Occupations
- rapperguitaristsongwriterhuman rights activistactor
- Biography
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Nel Ust Wyclef Jean is a Haitian rapper and musician. At the age of nine, Jean immigrated to the United States with his family. He first achieved fame as a founding member, co-producer and guitarist of the New Jersey hip hop trio The Fugees, alongside Lauryn Hill and Pras Michel. The group released the albums Blunted on Reality (1994) and The Score (1996), the latter becoming one of the best-selling albums of all time. Jean would follow this with the release of his first solo studio album, Wyclef Jean Presents The Carnival (1997), which contains the top ten hit "Gone till November".
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Sheila E
- Occupations
- percussionistsinger-songwriterdrummersinger
- Biography
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Sheila Escovedo, known under the stage name Sheila E., is an American singer and drummer. She began her career in the mid-1970s as a percussionist for the George Duke Band. After separating from the group in 1983, Sheila began collaborating with Prince and launched a solo career, starting with the release of her debut album in 1984, which included her biggest hit "The Glamorous Life". She also saw a hit with the 1985 single "A Love Bizarre". She is sometimes referred to as the "Queen of Percussion".
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Catriona Gray
- Occupations
- beauty pageant contestantmodelactorsinger
- Biography
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Catriona Elisa Magnayon Gray is a Australian born- Filipina model, singer, tv host and beauty queen best known for winning the title of Miss Universe 2018. She is the fourth Filipina to win the Miss Universe competition. Previously, Gray was crowned Miss Universe Philippines 2018 and Miss World Philippines 2016.
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Mike Portnoy
- Occupations
- composerrecord producermusicianrecording artistdrummer
- Biography
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Michael Stephen Portnoy is an American musician who is primarily known as the drummer, backing vocalist, and co-founder of the progressive metal band Dream Theater.
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Rivers Cuomo
- Occupations
- singercomposerguitarist
- Biography
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Rivers Cuomo is an American musician. He is best known as the lead vocalist, guitarist, and songwriter of the rock band Weezer.
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Johnny Ramone
- Occupations
- songwriterguitarist
- Biography
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John William Cummings, better known by his stage name Johnny Ramone, was an American musician who was the guitarist and a founding member of the Ramones, a band that helped pioneer the punk movement. The band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2002. Until the band's disbandment in 1996, Johnny, along with the lead vocalist Joey Ramone, were the only two original members who stayed since its inception.
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Diana Krall
- Occupations
- jazz pianistjazz singercomposersongwriter
- Biography
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Diana Jean Krall is a Canadian jazz pianist and singer known for her contralto vocals. She has sold more than 15 million albums worldwide, including over six million in the US. On December 11, 2009, Billboard magazine named her the second greatest jazz artist of the decade (2000–2009), establishing her as one of the best-selling artists of her time.
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Melissa Etheridge
- Occupations
- singer-songwritercomposerguitaristsingermusician
- Biography
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Melissa Lou Etheridge is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and guitarist. Her eponymous debut album was released in 1988 and became an underground success. It peaked at No. 22 on the Billboard 200 and its lead single, "Bring Me Some Water", garnered Etheridge her first Grammy Award nomination for Best Rock Vocal Performance, Female in 1989. Her second album, Brave and Crazy, appeared that same year and earned Etheridge two more Grammy nominations. In 1992, Etheridge released her third album, Never Enough, and its lead single, "Ain't It Heavy", won Etheridge her first Grammy Award.
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Eric André
- Enrolled in the Berklee College of Music
- Graduated with Bachelor of Fine Arts
- Occupations
- comedianfilm actorscreenwritervoice actortelevision producer
- Biography
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Eric Samuel André is an American comedian, actor, TV show host, writer, producer, and musician. He is best known as the creator, host, and co-writer of the Adult Swim surreal comedy series The Eric Andre Show (2012–present). His other notable roles include Mike on the FXX comedy series Man Seeking Woman (2015–2017) and the voice of Azizi in the remake of The Lion King (2019). He also performs music under the stage name Blarf.
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Juan Luis Guerra
- Occupations
- songwritersingerrecord producerrecording artistcomposer
- Biography
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Juan Luis Guerra Seijas is a Dominican musician, singer, composer, and record producer. He has sold 15 million records worldwide, making him one of the best-selling Latin music artists. Throughout his career, he has won numerous awards including 24 Latin Grammy Awards, three Grammy Awards, and one Latin Billboard Music Award. He won 3 Latin Grammy Awards in 2010, including Album of the Year. In 2012, he won the Latin Grammy Award for Producer of the Year.
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Ouyang Nana
- Occupations
- television actorvoice actorcellistfilm actor
- Biography
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Ouyang Nana is a Taiwanese singer, musician and actress, known for coming of age romance film Secret Fruit and the cyberpunk action film Bleeding Steel.
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Park Bom
- Occupations
- singeractorfilm actor
- Biography
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Park Bom, previously known mononymously as Bom, is a South Korean singer. She is best known as a member of the South Korean girl group 2NE1.
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Donald Fagen
- Occupations
- singer-songwriterjazz musicianrecord producersingerrecording artist
- Biography
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Donald Jay Fagen is an American musician best known as the co-founder, lead singer, co-songwriter, and keyboardist of the band Steely Dan, formed in the early 1970s with musical partner Walter Becker. In addition to his work with Steely Dan, Fagen has released four solo albums, beginning with The Nightfly in 1982, which was nominated for seven Grammys.
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Alan Silvestri
- Occupations
- conductorvoice actorcomposerfilm score composer
- Biography
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Alan Anthony Silvestri is an American composer and conductor of film and television scores. He has been associated with director Robert Zemeckis since 1984, composing music for nearly all of his feature films including the Back to the Future film series, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Death Becomes Her, Forrest Gump, Cast Away, and The Polar Express. Silvestri also scored many other popular movies, including Predator, The Abyss, Father of the Bride, The Bodyguard, Eraser, The Parent Trap, Stuart Little, The Mummy Returns, Lilo & Stitch, The Wild, Night at the Museum trilogy, G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, The Croods, Ready Player One, and several Marvel Cinematic Universe films, including the Avengers films.
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Howard Shore
- Occupations
- saxophonistconductorcomposerfilm score composer
- Biography
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Howard Leslie Shore is a Canadian composer, conductor and orchestrator noted for his film scores. He has composed the scores for over 80 films, most notably the scores for The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit film trilogies. He won three Academy Awards for his work on The Lord of the Rings, with one being for the song "Into the West", an award he shared with Eurythmics lead vocalist Annie Lennox and writer/producer Fran Walsh, who wrote the lyrics. He is a consistent collaborator with director David Cronenberg, having scored all but one of his films since 1979, and collaborated with Martin Scorsese on six of his films.
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Sid Sriram
- Occupations
- songwriter
- Biography
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Sidharth Sriram is an Indian Carnatic musician, music producer, playback singer. He is an R&B songwriter and has been working in the Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Hindi, Marathi and English music industry. He regularly collaborates with his sister Pallavi Sriram, a Bharatanatyam dancer, and music directors.
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Aimee Mann
- Occupations
- guitaristtelevision actoractorsinger-songwritercomposer
- Biography
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Aimee Elizabeth Mann is an American singer-songwriter. Over the course of four decades, she has released more than a dozen albums as a solo artist and with other musicians. She is noted for her sardonic and literate lyrics about dark subjects. Mann's work with the producer Jon Brion in the 1990s was influential on American alternative rock.
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Natalie Maines
- Occupations
- guitaristsinger-songwriter
- Biography
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Natalie Louise Maines is an American singer. She is the lead vocalist for the country band the Chicks.
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Billy West
- Occupations
- comedianpodcasterradio personalitymusicianvoice actor
- Biography
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William Richard Werstine, known professionally as Billy West, is an American voice actor, musician and former radio personality. His voice roles include Bugs Bunny in the 1996 film Space Jam and several subsequent projects, the title characters of Doug and The Ren & Stimpy Show, as well as the Futurama characters Philip J. Fry, Professor Farnsworth, Dr. Zoidberg, Zapp Brannigan and many more. In commercials, he voices the Red M&M and formerly voiced Buzz for Honey Nut Cheerios. West also voices other such established characters such as Elmer Fudd, Popeye, Shaggy Rogers, Skeets, Muttley, and Woody Woodpecker. He was a cast member on The Howard Stern Show, during which time he was noted for his impressions of Larry Fine, Marge Schott, George Takei, and Jackie Martling.
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Pat Metheny
- Occupations
- guitaristcomposermusicianmusic teacherjazz guitarist
- Biography
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Patrick Bruce Metheny is an American jazz guitarist and composer.
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Lisa Loeb
- Occupations
- guitaristwomen's rights activistactorcomposersinger
- Biography
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Lisa Anne Loeb is an American singer-songwriter, musician, author and actress. She started her career with "Stay (I Missed You)" from the film Reality Bites, the first Billboard number one single for an artist without a recording contract. She achieved two additional top 20 singles with "Do You Sleep?" in 1996 and "I Do" in 1998. Her studio albums include two back-to-back albums that were certified gold: Tails and Firecracker.
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Keith Jarrett
- Occupations
- pianistrecording artistcomposerjazz musician
- Biography
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Keith Jarrett is an American pianist and composer. Jarrett started his career with Art Blakey and later moved on to play with Charles Lloyd and Miles Davis. Since the early 1970s, he has also been a group leader and solo performer in jazz, jazz fusion, and classical music. His improvisations draw from the traditions of jazz and other genres, including Western classical music, gospel, blues, and ethnic folk music.
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Allison Scagliotti
- Occupations
- actorfilm actortelevision actor
- Biography
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Allison Scagliotti is an American actress, musician and director, best known for her roles in Drake & Josh, Warehouse 13, and Stitchers. She performs as a musician under the name La Femme Pendu.
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John Petrucci
- Occupations
- composerguitaristrecord producersingersongwriter
- Biography
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John Peter Petrucci is an American guitarist, best known as a founding member of the progressive metal band Dream Theater. He produced or co-produced (often with Mike Portnoy before his initial departure from the band in 2010) all of Dream Theater's albums from Metropolis Pt. 2: Scenes from a Memory (1999) to A View from the Top of the World (2021), and has been the sole producer of the band's albums released since A Dramatic Turn of Events (2011). Petrucci has also released two solo albums: Suspended Animation (2005) and Terminal Velocity (2020).
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Bruce Hornsby
- Occupations
- pianistsinger-songwritersingerjazz musician
- Biography
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Bruce Randall Hornsby is an American singer-songwriter and pianist. His music draws from folk rock, jazz, bluegrass, folk, Southern rock, country rock, jam band, rock, heartland rock, and blues rock musical traditions.
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Loren Allred
- Occupations
- pianistcomposersingeractor
- Biography
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Loren Allred is an American singer. Allred made her Billboard Hot 100 debut with the platinum-selling "Never Enough" from The Greatest Showman musical. She is featured on Michael Bublé's Love album in a duet of "Help Me Make It Through the Night", and alongside David Foster, as part of his An Intimate Evening PBS concert special and album. Her debut EP Late Bloomer was released on September 24, 2021.
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Ximena Sariñana
- Occupations
- television actorsongwritersingerfilm actorjazz musician
- Biography
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Ximena Sariñana Rivera is a Mexican singer-songwriter and actress. In 2009, she received critical acclaim and a Grammy nomination for her debut album, Mediocre.
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Esperanza Spalding
- Occupations
- composerlibrettistmusic teacherrecording artistdouble-bassist
- Biography
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Esperanza Emily Spalding is an American bassist, singer, songwriter, and composer. Her accolades include five Grammy Awards, a Boston Music Award, a Soul Train Music Award, and two honorary doctorates: in 2018 from her alma mater Berklee College of Music and in 2022 (along with Charles Lloyd and Wayne Shorter) from CalArts.
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Kelly Yu
- Occupations
- actorsinger
- Biography
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Kelly Yu Wenwen is a Chinese Canadian singer, songwriter, actress, music producer and director. She is famous for starring in the romantic film The Ex-File 3: The Return of the Exes and for singing and composing the film song OST "Decency".
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Tiwa Savage
- Occupations
- actorsinger-songwritermusician
- Biography
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Tiwatope Omolara Savage, known professionally as Tiwa Savage (listen), is a Nigerian singer, songwriter, and actress who has been called the Queen of Afrobeats. Savage sings in English and Yoruba; her music is a blend of afrobeats, R&B, afropop, pop and hip-hop. Savage's contributions to the Nigerian music industry have earned her several achievements.
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Billy Squier
- Occupations
- guitaristcomposermusiciansinger-songwriterkeyboardist
- Biography
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William Haislip Squier is an American musician, singer, and songwriter who had a string of arena rock and crossover hits in the early 1980s. His best-known songs include "The Stroke", "Lonely Is the Night", "My Kinda Lover", "In the Dark", "Rock Me Tonite", "Everybody Wants You", "Emotions in Motion", "Love Is the Hero", and "Don't Say You Love Me". Squier's best-selling album, 1981's Don't Say No, is considered a landmark release of arena rock, bridging the gap between power pop and hard rock.
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Susan Tedeschi
- Occupations
- singer-songwritercomposersingerguitarist
- Biography
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Susan Tedeschi is an American singer and guitarist. A multiple Grammy Award nominee, she is a member of the Tedeschi Trucks Band, a conglomeration of her band, her husband Derek Trucks’ band, and other musicians.
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Gavin DeGraw
- Occupations
- pianistsinger-songwritermusicianguitarist
- Biography
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Gavin Shane DeGraw is an American singer-songwriter. DeGraw rose to fame with his song "I Don't Want to Be" from his debut album Chariot (2003); the song became the main theme song for The WB/CW drama series One Tree Hill. Other notable singles from his debut album were the title track and "Follow Through".
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Al Di Meola
- Occupations
- guitaristjazz musicianrecording artistcomposerjazz guitarist
- Biography
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Albert Laurence Di Meola is an American guitarist. Known for his works in jazz fusion and world music, he began his career as guitarist with the group Return to Forever in 1974. From 1976 to 1978 he played with Stomu Yamashta in the supergroup Go on three records. The 1970s and 1980s saw albums such as Land of the Midnight Sun, Elegant Gypsy, Casino and Friday Night in San Francisco earn him both critical and commercial success.
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Hiromi Uehara
- Occupations
- pianistjazz musiciancomposer
- Biography
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Hiromi Uehara, known professionally as Hiromi, is a Japanese jazz composer and pianist. She is known for her virtuosic technique, energetic live performances and blending of musical genres such as stride, post-bop, progressive rock, classical, nu jazz and fusion in her compositions.
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Michaela Jaé Rodriguez
- Occupations
- actorsingermodel
- Biography
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Michaela Antonia Jaé Rodriguez, formerly known as Mj Rodriguez, is an American actress and singer. Born in Newark, New Jersey, Rodriguez attended several performing arts schools in her youth before being cast in a theater production of Rent as Angel Dumott Schunard, winning the 2011 Clive Barnes Award for her performance.
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Tim "Ripper" Owens
- Occupations
- guitaristsinger
- Biography
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Timothy S. "Ripper" Owens is an American heavy metal singer who currently performs with KK's Priest, Spirits of Fire, the Three Tremors and A New Revenge. He first gained attention as the lead singer of Judas Priest and then Iced Earth. He took the nickname "Ripper" from the Judas Priest song "The Ripper" during his time in the tribute band British Steel.
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Julia Wu
- Occupations
- singer
- Biography
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Julia Wu is a Chinese Australian R&B singer based in Taiwan.
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Kiesza
- Occupations
- singer-songwritermodeldancersongwriterlyricist
- Biography
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Kiesa Rae Ellestad, known professionally as Kiesza, is a Canadian singer and multi-instrumentalist from Calgary. In 2017, she was involved in a car accident in Toronto, suffering severe injuries that required her to take several years off to recover. To date, she has released the albums Sound of a Woman (2014) and Crave (2020).
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Jerry Only
- Occupations
- singerbassist
- Biography
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Gerald Caiafa Jr., better known by his stage name Jerry Only, is an American musician, best known as the bassist for the Misfits and later the vocalist as well. He is the only member to appear in every Misfits lineup.
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Cindy Blackman
- Occupations
- jazz musician
- Biography
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Cindy Blackman Santana, sometimes known as Cindy Blackman, is an American jazz and rock drummer. Blackman has recorded several jazz albums as a bandleader and has performed with Pharoah Sanders, Sonny Simmons, Ron Carter, Sam Rivers, Cassandra Wilson, Angela Bofill, Buckethead, Bill Laswell, Lenny Kravitz, Joe Henderson and Joss Stone.
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Roy Wang
- Occupations
- singer-songwritersingermusicianactorrecording artist
- Biography
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Roy Wang, also known as Wang Yuan is a Chinese singer-songwriter, television host and actor. He was named by Time as one of the 30 Most Influential Teens of 2017. Wang has been a UNICEF ambassador since 2018. He set up his own charity foundation, the Yuan Foundation, that focuses on helping the elderly and children.
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Paula Cole
- Occupations
- singer-songwritersingermusicianrecord producercomposer
- Biography
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Paula Dorothy Cole is an American singer-songwriter and producer. After gaining attention for her performances as a vocalist on Peter Gabriel's 1993–1994 Secret World Tour, she released her first album, Harbinger, which suffered from a lack of promotion when the label, Imago Records, folded shortly after its release. Her second album, This Fire (1996), brought her worldwide acclaim, peaking at number 20 on the Billboard 200 album chart and producing two hit singles, the triple-Grammy nominated "Where Have All the Cowboys Gone?", which reached the top ten of the Billboard Hot 100 in 1997, and "I Don't Want to Wait", which was used as the theme song of the television show Dawson's Creek. Cole was a featured performer in the 1996 prototype mini-tour for Lilith Fair, and also was a headliner for Lilith Fair in 1997 and 1998. She won the Grammy Award for Best New Artist in 1998, and also became the first woman ever to be nominated for "Producer of the Year" in her own right in that same year.
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Joe Zawinul
- Occupations
- jazz musiciancomposerrecording artistorganistkeyboardist
- Biography
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Josef Erich Zawinul was an Austrian jazz and jazz fusion keyboardist and composer. First coming to prominence with saxophonist Cannonball Adderley, Zawinul went on to play with Miles Davis and to become one of the creators of jazz fusion, a musical genre that combined jazz with rock. He co-founded the groups Weather Report and The Zawinul Syndicate. He pioneered the use of electric piano and synthesizer, and was named "Best Electric Keyboardist" twenty-eight times by the readers of DownBeat magazine.
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Al Kooper
- Occupations
- guitaristrecord producermusic teachermusiciansongwriter
- Biography
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Al Kooper is an American retired songwriter, record producer, and musician, known for organizing Blood, Sweat & Tears, although he did not stay with the group long enough to share its popularity. Throughout much of the 1960s and 1970s he was a prolific studio musician, including playing organ on the Bob Dylan song "Like a Rolling Stone", French horn and piano on the Rolling Stones song "You Can't Always Get What You Want", and lead guitar on Rita Coolidge's "The Lady's Not for Sale". Kooper produced a number of one-off collaboration albums, such as the Super Session album that saw him work separately with guitarists Mike Bloomfield and Stephen Stills. In the 1970s Kooper was a successful manager and producer, recording Lynyrd Skynyrd's first three albums. He has had a successful solo career, writing music for film soundtracks, and has lectured in musical composition. Kooper was selected for induction for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2023.
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Jan Hammer
- Occupations
- composerpianistsongwriterfilm score composerfilm producer
- Biography
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Jan Hammer is a Czech-American musician, composer, and record producer. He first gained his most visible audience while playing keyboards with the Mahavishnu Orchestra during the early 1970s, as well as his film scores for television and film including "Miami Vice Theme" and "Crockett's Theme", from the 1980s television program Miami Vice. He has continued to work as both a musical performer and producer.
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Brad Whitford
- Occupations
- songwriterguitarist
- Biography
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Bradley Ernest Whitford is an American musician who is best known for serving as guitarist for the hard rock band Aerosmith for which he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2001. He has also worked as a songwriter for the group, co-composing well-received tracks such as 1976's "Last Child".
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John Myung
- Occupations
- bassistcomposermusicianlyricist
- Biography
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John Ro Myung is an American bassist and a founding member of the progressive metal band Dream Theater.
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Vinnie Colaiuta
- Occupations
- session musicianjazz musiciandrummer
- Biography
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Vincent Peter Colaiuta is an American drummer known for his technical mastery who has worked as a session musician in many genres. He was inducted into the Modern Drummer Hall of Fame in 1996 and the Classic Drummer Hall of Fame in 2014. Colaiuta has won one Grammy Award and has been nominated twice. Since the late 1970s, he has recorded and toured with Frank Zappa, Joni Mitchell, and Sting, among many other appearances in the studio and in concert.
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André Manoukian
- Occupations
- jazz pianistsongwriterradio personality
- Biography
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André Antranik Manoukian is a French songwriter, arranger, jazz musician and actor of Armenian descent.
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Gillian Welch
- Occupations
- singer-songwriterguitaristsingerrecording artistcomposer
- Biography
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Gillian Howard Welch is an American singer-songwriter. She performs with her musical partner, guitarist David Rawlings. Their sparse and dark musical style, which combines elements of Appalachian music, bluegrass, country and Americana, is described by The New Yorker as "at once innovative and obliquely reminiscent of past rural forms."
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Joey Kramer
- Occupations
- rock drummersongwriter
- Biography
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Joseph Michael Kramer is an American musician best known as the drummer of the hard rock band Aerosmith, which was inducted to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2001.
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Esther Ofarim
- Occupations
- singer
- Biography
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Esther Zaied, better known by her married name Esther Ofarim, is an Israeli singer. She came second in the 1963 Eurovision Song Contest with the song "T'en va pas", representing Switzerland. After marrying Abi Ofarim in 1958, she was half of the husband-and-wife folk duo Esther & Abi Ofarim in the 1960s. After the couple divorced, she undertook a successful solo career.
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Branford Marsalis
- Occupations
- jazz musicianactorrecording artistcomposersaxophonist
- Biography
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Branford Marsalis is an American saxophonist, composer, and bandleader. While primarily known for his work in jazz as the leader of the Branford Marsalis Quartet, he also performs frequently as a soloist with classical ensembles and has led the group Buckshot LeFonque. From 1992 to 1995 he led the Tonight Show Band.
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Brendon Small
- Occupations
- guitaristtelevision actorcomposervoice actorsinger
- Biography
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Brendon Small is an American actor, stand-up comedian, writer, director, producer, and musician who is known for co-creating the animated series Home Movies (1999–2004, with Loren Bouchard) and Metalocalypse (2006–2013, with Tommy Blacha). He also writes the music, and is the main performer for the virtual melodic death metal band Dethklok, which began as the subject of Metalocalypse but has taken on a life of its own, with four albums and an occasional live touring band, headed by Small. Small has also released two albums under his own name, in a similar musical style to Dethklok.
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James Valentine
- Occupations
- musiciancomposerguitarist
- Biography
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James Burgon Valentine is an American musician who is the lead guitarist and backing vocalist for the pop band Maroon 5.
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Qveen Herby
- Occupations
- rappersinger
- Biography
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Amy Renee Heidemann Noonan, better known professionally as Qveen Herby, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and entrepreneur. Born and raised in Seward, Nebraska, she first gained fame as part of the music duo Karmin, with which she released two studio albums. Following the duo's hiatus in 2017, she began the solo project, Qveen Herby, which incorporated R&B and hip hop influences. She released her first solo extended play, EP 1 on June 2, 2017. She released her debut album, A Woman, on May 21, 2021.
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Leah LaBelle
- Occupations
- singer
- Biography
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Leah LaBelle Vladowski was an American singer. She rose to prominence in 2004 as a contestant on the third season of American Idol, placing twelfth in the season finals. In 2007, LaBelle began recording covers of R&B and soul music for her YouTube channel. These videos led to work as a backing vocalist starting in 2008 and a record deal in 2011 with Epic in partnership with I Am Other and So So Def Recordings. LaBelle released a sampler, three singles, and a posthumous extended play (EP).
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Daniel Wayne Sermón
- Occupations
- singerguitaristsongwriter
- Biography
-
Daniel Wayne Sermon is an American musician, songwriter, and record producer. He is the lead guitarist for the pop rock band Imagine Dragons.
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Betty Who
- Occupations
- songwritersinger
- Biography
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Jessica Anne Newham, known by her stage name Betty Who, is an Australian-American musician, singer and songwriter. After independently releasing her debut single, "Somebody Loves You" (2012), and her debut extended play, The Movement (2013), she signed with RCA Records and later released her debut studio album, Take Me When You Go (2014). Her second studio album, The Valley (2017), saw the commercial success of her cover of "I Love You Always Forever", which peaked inside the top ten in Australia and reached the top of the Billboard Dance Club Songs chart in the United States.
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Robert Moog
- Occupations
- inventormusical instrument makermusicianuniversity teacher
- Biography
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Robert Arthur Moog was an American engineer and electronic music pioneer. He was the founder of the synthesizer manufacturer Moog Music and the inventor of the first commercial synthesizer, the Moog synthesizer, which debuted in 1964. In 1970, Moog released a more portable model, the Minimoog, described as the most famous and influential synthesizer in history. Among Moog's honors are a Technical Grammy Award, received in 2002, and an induction into the National Inventors Hall of Fame.
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Fred Cheng
- Occupations
- television actorfilm actorsingeractor
- Biography
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Frederick "Fred" Cheng is a Canadian-born Hong Kong musician and actor. He rose to fame after competing and winning the 2013 Hong Kong singing competition, Voice of the Stars. He is currently signed to TVB management.
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John Scofield
- Occupations
- jazz musiciancomposerguitaristrecording artistjazz guitarist
- Biography
-
John Scofield is an American guitarist and composer whose music over a long career has blended jazz, jazz fusion, funk, blues, soul and rock. He first came to mainstream attention in the band of Miles Davis, and has toured and recorded with many prominent jazz artists, including saxophonists Eddie Harris, Dave Liebman, Joe Henderson and Joe Lovano; keyboardists George Duke, Joey DeFrancesco, Herbie Hancock, Larry Goldings and Robert Glasper; fellow guitarists Pat Metheny, John Abercrombie, Pat Martino and Bill Frisell; bassists Marc Johnson and Jaco Pastorius; and drummers Billy Cobham and Dennis Chambers. Outside the world of jazz, he has collaborated with Phil Lesh, Mavis Staples, John Mayer, Medeski Martin & Wood, and Gov't Mule.
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Roy Hargrove
- Occupations
- brass playerjazz musiciantrumpeter
- Biography
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Roy Anthony Hargrove was an American jazz musician and composer whose principal instruments were the trumpet and flugelhorn. He achieved worldwide acclaim after winning two Grammy Awards for differing styles of jazz in 1998 and 2002. Hargrove primarily played in the hard bop style for the majority of his albums, but also had a penchant for genre-crossing exploration and collaboration with a variety of hip hop, soul, R&B and alternative rock artists. As Hargrove told one reporter, "I've been around all kinds of musicians, and if a cat can play, a cat can play. If it's gospel, funk, R&B, jazz or hip-hop, if it's something that gets in your ear and it's good, that's what matters."
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Daniel Platzman
- Occupations
- singermusiciansongwriter
- Biography
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Daniel James Platzman is an American musician, songwriter, record producer and composer. He is the drummer for the pop rock band Imagine Dragons.
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Derek Sherinian
- Occupations
- composerguitaristrecord producersession musicianmusician
- Biography
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Derek Sherinian is an American keyboardist who has toured and recorded for Alice Cooper, Billy Idol, and Joe Bonamassa, among others. He was also a member of Dream Theater from 1994 to 1999, is the founder of Planet X and also one of the founding members of Black Country Communion, Sons of Apollo, and Whom Gods Destroy. He has released nine solo albums that have featured a variety of prominent guest musicians, including guitarists Slash, Yngwie Malmsteen, Allan Holdsworth, Steve Lukather, Joe Bonamassa, Michael Schenker, Steve Vai and Al Di Meola.
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Brad Mehldau
- Occupations
- recording artistjazz pianistcomposermusic arranger
- Biography
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Bradford Alexander Mehldau is an American jazz pianist, composer, and arranger.
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David Marks
- Occupations
- singerguitaristsongwriter
- Biography
-
David Lee Marks is an American guitarist who was an early member of the Beach Boys. While growing up in Hawthorne, California, Marks was a neighborhood friend of the original band members and was a frequent participant at their family get-togethers. Following his departure from the group, Marks fronted the Marksmen and performed and recorded as a session musician.
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Mane de la Parra
- Occupations
- film actorcomposertelevision actorsingeractor
- Biography
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Mane de la Parra, also known as Mane, is a Mexican singer and actor.
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Bob James
- Occupations
- jazz musiciancomposerrecord producermusic arrangerkeyboardist
- Biography
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Robert McElhiney James is an American jazz keyboardist, arranger, and record producer. He founded the band Fourplay and wrote "Angela", the theme song for the TV show Taxi. According to VICE, music from his first seven albums has often been sampled and believed to have contributed to the formation of hip hop. Among his most well known recordings are "Nautilus", "Westchester Lady", "Tappan Zee", and his version of "Take Me to the Mardi Gras".
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Reeves Gabrels
- Occupations
- songwritermusiciansingerguitarist
- Biography
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Reeves Gabrels is an American guitarist, songwriter and record producer. A member and guitarist of British band the Cure since 2012, Gabrels worked with David Bowie from 1987 to 1999 and was a member of the band Tin Machine. He has lived in New York, Boston, London, Los Angeles, Nashville, and New York's Hudson Valley. His Nashville-based band since 2007, Reeves Gabrels & His Imaginary Friends, features Gabrels on guitar and vocals.
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Pedro Aznar
- Occupations
- pianistcomposersingerguitarist
- Biography
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Pedro Aznar is an Argentine musician and singer-songwriter. He has a musical experience in jazz, Argentine folk and rock music and has a successful career as a solo artist. He is well known for giving rock songs a jazz-oriented style, by playing the fretless bass, with a big influence from Jaco Pastorius.
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Lalah Hathaway
- Occupations
- singerjazz musicianrecording artist
- Biography
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Eulaulah Donyll "Lalah" Hathaway is an American singer. In 1990 Hathaway released her first album titled Lalah Hathaway. After releasing another album, titled A Moment (1994), it debuted at number 34 on the Top R&B albums chart. In 1999 she collaborated with Joe Sample on the album The Song Lives On. After a five-year hiatus, she returned with her fourth album, Outrun the Sky (2004). The single "Forever, For Always, For Love" peaked at number 1 on the Hot Adult R&B Airplay.
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Adrianne Lenker
- Occupations
- musician
- Biography
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Adrianne Elizabeth Lenker is an American musician. She is the lead vocalist, guitarist and principal songwriter of the band Big Thief.
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Arthur H
- Occupations
- singer-songwritercomposersingermusicianlyricist
- Biography
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Arthur Higelin, better known under his stage name Arthur H ( IPA: [aʁtyʁ ɑʃ]), is a French singer-songwriter and pianist. He is best known in France for his live performances—four of his albums were recorded live.
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BT
- Occupations
- disc jockeyrecord producercomposermusicianclub DJ
- Biography
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Brian Wayne Transeau, known by his initials as BT, is an American musician, DJ, singer, songwriter, record producer, composer, and audio engineer. An artist in the electronic music genre, he is credited as a pioneer of the trance and intelligent dance music styles that paved the way for EDM, and for "stretching electronic music to its technical breaking point." In 2010, he was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Electronic/Dance Album for These Hopeful Machines. He creates music within myriad styles, such as classical, film composition, and bass music.
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Bill Frisell
- Occupations
- composerjazz guitarist
- Biography
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William Richard Frisell is an American jazz guitarist. He first came to prominence at ECM Records in the 1980s, as both a session player and a leader. He went on to work in a variety of contexts, notably as a participant in the Downtown Scene in New York City, where he formed a long working relationship with composer and saxophonist John Zorn. He was also a longtime member of veteran drummer Paul Motian's groups from the early 1980s until Motian's death in 2011. Since the late 1990s, Frisell's output as a bandleader has also integrated prominent elements of folk, country, rock ‘n’ roll and Americana. He has six Grammy nominations and one win.
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Reb Beach
- Occupations
- guitaristmusician
- Biography
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Richard Earl "Reb" Beach Jr. is an American rock guitarist. He is a member of the bands Winger and Whitesnake.
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Cleo Laine
- Occupations
- stage actorsingerfilm actoractorjazz musician
- Biography
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Dame Cleo Laine, Lady Dankworth is an English singer and actress known for her scat singing. She is the widow of jazz composer and musician Sir John Dankworth and the mother of bassist Alec Dankworth and singer Jacqui Dankworth.
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Bruce Cockburn
- Occupations
- guitaristcomposersinger-songwriterrecording artistsinger
- Biography
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Bruce Douglas Cockburn is a Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist. His song styles range from folk to folk- and jazz-influenced rock to soundscapes accompanying spoken stories. His lyrics reflect interests in spirituality, human rights, environmental issues, and relationships, and describe his experiences in Central America and Africa.
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Justin Tranter
- Occupations
- singersinger-songwritercomposer
- Biography
-
Justin Drew Tranter is an American songwriter, singer, and activist. Frequently co-writing with Julia Michaels, Tranter has written songs for artists such as Britney Spears, Gwen Stefani, Linkin Park, Kelly Clarkson, Sara Bareilles, Selena Gomez, Justin Bieber, DNCE, Citizen Queen, Kesha, Imagine Dragons, The Knocks, Fifth Harmony, 5 Seconds of Summer, Ariana Grande, Lady Gaga, Raye, Bea Miller, Demi Lovato, Dua Lipa, Måneskin, and Fall Out Boy. From 2004 to 2014, Tranter was the lead singer of Semi Precious Weapons, a rock band based in New York. Since February 2017, they have been a board member of GLAAD, an organization that promotes LGBT acceptance in the entertainment and news industries. Tranter's songs have garnered over 50 million single sales and 40 billion streams on Spotify and YouTube as of May 2021.
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Elliot Easton
- Occupations
- musicianguitaristsongwriter
- Biography
-
Elliot Easton is an American musician who is best known as the lead guitarist and backing vocalist for the American new wave band The Cars. His melodic guitar solos are an integral part of the band's music. Easton has also recorded music as a solo artist, and has played in other bands. He is a left-handed guitarist. In 2018, Easton was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of The Cars.
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Diana Wang
- Occupations
- singeractor
- Biography
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Diana Wang is a Dutch singer and film actress.
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Lia
- Occupations
- songwritersinger
- Biography
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Lia is a Japanese singer and songwriter. Lia recorded "Tori no Uta" for Key's 2000 visual novel Air, which was reused in its 2005 anime adaptation and became influential in popular culture. She additionally recorded two other tracks for the visual novel, which were commercially successful.
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Laufey Lín Jónsdóttir
- Enrolled in the Berklee College of Music
- Studied in 2021
- Occupations
- pianistcellistsingerguitarist
- Biography
-
Laufey Lín Bing Jónsdóttir, known mononymously as Laufey, is an Icelandic singer-songwriter and record producer. She achieved prominence in the early 2020s for her success as a jazz-inspired pop artist, with critics noting that her jazz-inflected songs have received considerable success for a genre that has largely declined commercially.
