100 Notable alumni of
Berklee College of Music
The Berklee College of Music is 72nd 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
- disc jockeysongwritermusic executivehype manrecord producer
- Biography
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Khaled Mohammed Khaled, known professionally as DJ Khaled, is an American DJ, record executive, record producer and rapper.
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Charlie Puth
- Enrolled in the Berklee College of Music
- Studied in 2013
- Occupations
- YouTubersongwritersingermusic producersinger-songwriter
- Biography
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Charles Otto Puth Jr. is an American singer and songwriter. His initial exposure came through the viral success of his song videos uploaded to YouTube. Puth signed with the record label eleveneleven in 2011 after performing on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, while songwriting and producing material for other artists.
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Steven Tyler
- Occupations
- banjoistcomposersinger-songwriterguitaristsinger
- 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 harmonica, piano 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 (and sometimes androgynous) outfits and makeup with his trademark scarves hanging from his microphone stand.
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Quincy Jones
- Occupations
- songwriterbandleaderactorjazz trumpetermusic executive
- 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 70 years, with a record of 80 Grammy Award nominations, 28 Grammys, and a Grammy Legend Award in 1992.
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John Mayer
- Occupations
- actorsingerrecord producermusic artistcomposer
- 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 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 2001 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
- danceractorrhythmic gymnastmodel
- Biography
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Sofia Boutella is an Algerian actress, dancer and model.
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Meghan Trainor
- Occupations
- singer-songwritermusiciansingerrecord producertelevision personality
- 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
- guitaristsingermulti-instrumentalistrecording artistsinger-songwriter
- Biography
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Anne Erin Clark, known professionally as St. Vincent, is an American singer, musician, and songwriter. Her music is noted for its complex arrangements utilizing a wide array of instruments. St. Vincent is the recipient of various accolades, including three Grammy Awards.
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Psy
- Occupations
- film actorsongwritersingertelevision producerrapper
- Biography
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Park Jae-sang, known professionally as Psy (stylized in all caps as PSY), 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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Chaka Khan
- Occupations
- composerrecording artistjazz musiciansingersinger-songwriter
- Biography
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Yvette Marie Stevens, better known by her stage name Chaka Khan, is an American singer. Her career has spanned more than five decades, beginning in the 1970s as the lead vocalist of the funk band Rufus. Known as the "Queen of Funk", Khan was the first R&B artist to have a crossover hit featuring a rapper, with "I Feel for You" in 1984. Khan has won ten Grammy Awards and has sold an estimated 70 million records worldwide.
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Henry Lau
- Occupations
- record producersongwriteractorsingermusician
- Biography
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Henry Lau, often mononymously referred to as Henry, is a Canadian singer, songwriter, musician, record producer, and actor 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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Trey Parker
- Occupations
- actormusiciantelevision actorsingervoice actor
- Biography
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Randolph Severn "Trey" Parker III is an American actor, animator, filmmaker, and composer. He is 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. They also co-wrote and co-starred in the feature-length musical Cannibal! The Musical (1993).
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Steve Vai
- Occupations
- songwritermusicianactorrecord producerguitarist
- Biography
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Steven Siro Vai is an American guitarist, composer, 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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Wang Leehom
- Occupations
- guitaristfilm directorsongwriteractorsinger
- 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, Yunan, 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
- guitaristsingermandolinistcomposer
- Biography
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Jason Thomas Mraz is an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. 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 reached the top 20 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. His next two studio albums, Mr. A-Z (2005), and We Sing. We Dance. We Steal Things. (2008), peaked in the top five on the Billboard 200; with the latter album spawning the Grammy Award winning singles "Make It Mine", and "Lucky" with Colbie Caillat.
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Wyclef Jean
- Occupations
- human rights activistfilm producerrapperactormusician
- Biography
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Nel Ust Wyclef Jean is a Haitian rapper, musician, and actor. 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
- singerdrummersinger-songwriterpercussionist
- Biography
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Sheila Cecilia Escovedo, known under the stage name Sheila E., is an American percussionist and singer. 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 a solo career, starting with the release of her debut album in 1984, which included her biggest hit song, "The Glamorous Life". She also saw a hit with the single "A Love Bizarre". She is sometimes referred to as the "Queen of Percussion".
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Catriona Gray
- Occupations
- beauty pageant contestantsingeractormodel
- Biography
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Catriona Elisa Magnayon Gray is a Filipina model, singer, beauty queen, television personality, youth advocate and arts ambassador 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
- drummersongwritersingerrecording artistmusician
- Biography
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Michael Stephen Portnoy is an American musician who is primarily known as the former drummer, backing vocalist, and co-founder of the progressive metal band Dream Theater. In September 2010, Portnoy announced his departure from Dream Theater after 25 years, with Mike Mangini taking his place as drummer of the band. Since his departure Portnoy has remained active, with a variety of bands and projects, including Adrenaline Mob, Transatlantic, Yellow Matter Custard, Flying Colors, The Winery Dogs, Liquid Tension Experiment, Metal Allegiance, Sons of Apollo, the Neal Morse Band and BPMD.
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Diana Krall
- Occupations
- songwritercomposerjazz singerjazz pianist
- 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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Johnny Ramone
- Occupations
- guitarist
- 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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Rivers Cuomo
- Occupations
- guitaristcomposersinger
- Biography
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Rivers Cuomo is an American singer, songwriter, and musician. He is the lead vocalist, guitarist, pianist, songwriter, and frontman of the rock band Weezer.
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Ouyang Nana
- Occupations
- film actorcellistvoice actortelevision 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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Melissa Etheridge
- Occupations
- singer-songwriterrecording artistmusiciansingerguitarist
- 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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Park Bom
- Occupations
- film actoractorsinger
- 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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Juan Luis Guerra
- Occupations
- songwriterrecording artistmusiciansingerrecord producer
- Biography
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Juan Luis Guerra Seijas is a Dominican musician, singer, composer, and record producer. He has sold 30 million records worldwide, making him one of the best-selling Latin music artists. Throughout his career, he has won numerous awards including 23 Latin Grammy Awards, three Grammy Awards, and one Latin Billboard Music Award. Guerra 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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Sid Sriram
- Occupations
- songwriter
- Biography
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Sidharth "Sid" Sriram is an Indian Carnatic musician, music producer, playback singer, and songwriter raised in America. 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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Alan Silvestri
- Occupations
- conductorfilm score composercomposervoice actor
- 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 all of his feature films including the Back to the Future film series, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Forrest Gump, Cast Away, and The Polar Express. Silvestri also composed many other popular movies, including Predator, The Abyss, Father of the Bride, The Bodyguard, The Parent Trap, Stuart Little, The Mummy Returns, Lilo & Stitch, Night at the Museum, G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, Ready Player One, and several Marvel Cinematic Universe films, including the Avengers films.
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Aimee Mann
- Occupations
- television actorguitaristfilm actorrecording artistmusician
- 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. Her work with the producer Jon Brion in the 1990s was influential on American alternative rock, and she is noted for her sardonic and literate lyrics about dark subjects.
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Donald Fagen
- Occupations
- singer-songwriterpianistrecording artistsingerrecord producer
- 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. He began his solo career in 1982 with the album The Nightfly, which was nominated for seven Grammy Awards. In 2001, Fagen was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Steely Dan. Following Becker's death in 2017, Fagen has continued to tour as the only original member of Steely Dan.
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Natalie Maines
- Occupations
- singer-songwriterguitarist
- 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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Howard Shore
- Occupations
- saxophonistfilm score composercomposerconductor
- Biography
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Howard Leslie Shore is a Canadian composer and conductor 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 also a consistent collaborator with director David Cronenberg, having scored all but one of his films since 1979.
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Lisa Loeb
- Occupations
- actorwomen's rights activistguitaristsinger-songwritertelevision actor
- Biography
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Lisa Loeb is an American singer-songwriter, musician, author and actress. She started her career with the number one hit song "Stay (I Missed You)" from the film Reality Bites, the first 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; these were Tails and Firecracker.
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Billy West
- Occupations
- podcastercomedianactorsingervoice actor
- Biography
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William Richard Werstine, known professionally as Billy West, is an American voice actor. 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, and Zapp Brannigan. 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
- composerjazz guitaristrecording artistjazz musicianguitarist
- Biography
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Patrick Bruce Metheny is an American jazz guitarist and composer.
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Eric André
- Enrolled in the Berklee College of Music
- Graduated with Bachelor of Fine Arts
- Occupations
- film actorcomediantelevision actoractortelevision producer
- Biography
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Eric Samuel André is an American comedian, actor, 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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Keith Jarrett
- Occupations
- pianistjazz musiciancomposerrecording artist
- Biography
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Keith Jarrett is an American jazz and classical music 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, Jarrett 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
- television actorfilm actoractor
- 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
- lyricistsongwritersingerrecord producerguitarist
- 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 former member Mike Portnoy before he departed 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
- pianistjazz musiciansingersinger-songwriter
- 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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Ximena Sariñana
- Occupations
- television actorjazz musicianfilm actorsingersongwriter
- 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
- jazz musiciandouble-bassistrecording artistsingermusic teacher
- 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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Tiwa Savage
- Occupations
- musiciansinger-songwriteractor
- Biography
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Tiwatope Savage, known professionally as Tiwa Savage (listen), is a Nigerian singer, songwriter, and actress who has been called the Queen of Afrobeats. Born in Isale Eko, she relocated to London at the age of 11 for her secondary education. Five years later, she began her music career doing backup vocals for artists such as George Michael and Mary J. Blige. After participating in the UK edition of The X Factor and graduating from Berklee College of Music, Savage signed a publishing deal with Sony/ATV Music Publishing in 2009. Inspired by the growth of the Nigerian music industry, Savage moved back to Nigeria and signed with Mavin Records in 2012. She made an appearance on the label's 2012 compilation album Solar Plexus.
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Gavin DeGraw
- Occupations
- pianistguitaristmusiciansinger-songwriter
- 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 drama series One Tree Hill. Other notable singles from his debut album were "Chariot" and "Follow Through".
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Al Di Meola
- Occupations
- jazz guitaristcomposerrecording artistjazz musicianguitarist
- 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 a guitarist of the group Return to Forever in 1974. Between the 1970s and 1980s, albums such as Elegant Gypsy and Friday Night in San Francisco earned him both critical and commercial success.
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Susan Tedeschi
- Occupations
- guitaristsingercomposersinger-songwriter
- 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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Hiromi Uehara
- Occupations
- composerjazz musicianpianist
- 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 and fusion in her compositions.
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Tim "Ripper" Owens
- Occupations
- singerguitarist
- 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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Kiesza
- Occupations
- modelsinger-songwriterbeauty pageant contestantmulti-instrumentalistsinger
- 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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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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Jerry Only
- Occupations
- bassistsinger
- 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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Paula Cole
- Occupations
- composerrecord producermusiciansingersinger-songwriter
- Biography
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Paula Dorothy Cole is an American singer-songwriter. 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. She won the Grammy Award for Best New Artist in 1998.
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Joe Zawinul
- Occupations
- organistpianistjazz musiciankeyboardistrecording artist
- 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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Roy Wang
- Occupations
- recording artistactormusiciansingersinger-songwriter
- 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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John Myung
- Occupations
- lyricistmusiciancomposerbassist
- 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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Al Kooper
- Occupations
- pianistsongwritermusicianmusic teacherrecord producer
- Biography
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Al Kooper is a retired American 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, 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", among many other appearances. Kooper also 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 also had a successful solo career, writing music for film soundtracks, and has lectured in musical composition. In 2023 Kooper was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
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Jan Hammer
- Occupations
- songwriterfilm producerrecording artistmusicianrecord 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
- guitaristsongwriter
- Biography
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Bradley Ernest Whitford is an American musician who is best known for serving as the rhythm 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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Gillian Welch
- Occupations
- composerrecording artistsingerguitaristsinger-songwriter
- 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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Vinnie Colaiuta
- Occupations
- drummerjazz musiciansession musician
- Biography
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Vincent Peter Colaiuta is an American drummer 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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James Valentine
- Occupations
- guitaristcomposermusician
- Biography
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James Burgon Valentine is an American musician who is the lead guitarist and backing vocalist for the pop rock band Maroon 5.
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André Manoukian
- Occupations
- composerradio personalityjazz musiciansongwriterpianist
- Biography
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André Antranik Manoukian is a French songwriter, arranger, jazz musician, and actor of Armenian descent. Between 2002-2017, he served as one of four judges in the French version of Pop Idol, Nouvelle Star.
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Branford Marsalis
- Occupations
- saxophonistcomposerrecording artistactorjazz musician
- 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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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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Brendon Small
- Occupations
- television actorguitaristtelevision producerscreenwriteranimator
- Biography
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Brendon Small is an American actor, stand-up comedian, animator, writer, director, producer, and musician known for co-creating the animated series Home Movies (1999–2004, with Loren Bouchard) and Metalocalypse (2006–13, 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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Fred Cheng
- Occupations
- actorsingerfilm actortelevision actor
- 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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Joey Kramer
- Occupations
- songwriterrock drummer
- 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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Roy Hargrove
- Occupations
- trumpeterjazz musicianbrass player
- 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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Robert Moog
- Occupations
- musical instrument makerengineerinventormusicianuniversity 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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Qveen Herby
- Occupations
- singerrapper
- Biography
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Amy Renee Heidemann Noonan, 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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John Scofield
- Occupations
- jazz musiciandesignerjazz guitaristrecording artistguitarist
- Biography
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John Scofield, sometimes referred to as "Sco", 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 drummer 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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Daniel Wayne Sermón
- Occupations
- songwriterguitaristsinger
- Biography
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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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Mane de la Parra
- Occupations
- film actortelevision presenteractorsingertelevision actor
- Biography
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Mane de la Parra, also known as Mane, is a Mexican singer and actor.
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Daniel Platzman
- Occupations
- songwritermusiciansinger
- 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
- pianistmusiciansession musicianrecord producerguitarist
- 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 and Sons of Apollo. 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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Betty Who
- Occupations
- singersongwriter
- 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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Brad Mehldau
- Occupations
- music arrangercomposerjazz pianistrecording artist
- Biography
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Bradford Alexander Mehldau is an American jazz pianist, composer, and arranger.
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David Marks
- Occupations
- songwriterguitaristsinger
- Biography
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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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Pedro Aznar
- Occupations
- pianistguitaristsingercomposer
- 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
- recording artistjazz musiciansinger
- 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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Diana Wang
- Occupations
- actorsinger
- Biography
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Diana Wang is a Dutch-born Taiwanese singer and film actress.
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Reeves Gabrels
- Occupations
- guitaristsingermusiciansongwriter
- 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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Bob James
- Occupations
- jazz musicianpianistkeyboardistmusic arrangerrecord producer
- 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 (magazine), 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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BT
- Occupations
- disc jockeysongwritersingerclub DJmusician
- 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 a myriad of styles, such as classical, film composition, and bass music.
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Justin Tranter
- Occupations
- composersinger-songwritersinger
- Biography
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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, 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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Bill Frisell
- Occupations
- jazz guitaristcomposer
- Biography
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William Richard Frisell is an American jazz guitarist, composer and arranger. Frisell 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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Arthur H
- Occupations
- singer-songwriterpianistsinger
- Biography
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Arthur Higelin, better known under his stage name Arthur H (IPA: [aʁtyʁ ɑʃ]), is a French pianist, songwriter and singer. He is best known in France for his live performances—four of his albums were recorded live.
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Reb Beach
- Occupations
- musicianguitarist
- 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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Bruce Cockburn
- Occupations
- guitaristmusicologistsongwritersingerrecording artist
- Biography
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Bruce Douglas Cockburn is a Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist. His song styles range from folk to jazz-influenced rock and his lyrics cover a broad range of topics including human rights, environmental issues, politics, and Christianity.
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Fonseca
- Occupations
- singersongwriter
- Biography
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Juan Fernando Fonseca Carrera is a Colombian singer. Born in Bogotá, he chose music at an early age, studying music formally at institutions such as Javeriana University in Bogota and Berklee College of Music in Boston. Fonseca's self-titled debut gained him considerable attention in Colombia. His second album released Corazón (2005) explored the crossroads where pop/rock influences meet the vallenato, bullerengue, and tambora. Gratitud followed in 2008, with Ilusión arriving in 2011.
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Cleo Laine
- Occupations
- jazz musicianactorfilm actorsingerstage actor
- Biography
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Dame Cleo Laine, Lady Dankworth is an English jazz and pop singer and an actress, known for her scat singing and for her vocal range. Though her natural range is that of a contralto, she is able to produce a G above high C, giving her an overall compass of well over three octaves. Laine is the only female performer to have received Grammy nominations in the jazz, popular and classical music categories. She is the widow of jazz composer and musician Sir John Dankworth.
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Elliot Easton
- Occupations
- songwriterguitaristmusician
- Biography
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Elliot Easton is an American guitarist. He played lead guitar and sang backing vocals for The Cars, and his 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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Sadao Watanabe
- Occupations
- saxophonistjazz musiciancomposerrecording artist
- Biography
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Sadao Watanabe is a Japanese jazz musician who plays alto saxophone and sopranino saxophone. He is known for his bossa nova recordings, although his work encompasses many styles, with collaborations from musicians all over the world.
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Adam Dutkiewicz
- Occupations
- composerrecord producermusiciansingerguitarist
- Biography
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Adam Jonathan Dutkiewicz is an American musician, recording engineer, songwriter, and music producer, best known as the lead guitarist and backup vocalist from Massachusetts metalcore bands Killswitch Engage, Aftershock, and Times of Grace, as well as the guitarist and co-lead vocalist for the melodic death metal supergroup Serpentine Dominion.
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Mike Stern
- Occupations
- jazz guitaristcomposerjazz musicianmusicianguitarist
- Biography
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Mike Stern is an American jazz guitarist. After playing with Blood, Sweat & Tears, he worked with drummer Billy Cobham, then with trumpeter Miles Davis from 1981 to 1983 and again in 1985. He then began a solo career, releasing more than a dozen albums.
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Ashe
- Occupations
- musician
- Biography
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Ashlyn Rae Willson, better known as Ashe, is an American singer and songwriter. She is best known for her 2019 single "Moral of the Story", which was featured in the Netflix film To All the Boys: P.S. I Still Love You (2020) and was produced by Noah Conrad with additional production from Finneas O'Connell. Ashe also co-wrote Demi Lovato's 2017 single "You Don't Do It for Me Anymore" and has toured with Louis the Child, Lauv and Whethan. She was nominated for a Juno Award for her gold-certified single "Let You Get Away" with Shaun Frank. Her debut studio album Ashlyn was released on May 7, 2021. Her second album, Rae, was released on October 14, 2022.
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Juliana Hatfield
- Occupations
- autobiographercomposerrecording artistguitaristsinger-songwriter
- Biography
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Juliana Hatfield is an American musician and singer-songwriter from the Boston area, formerly of the indie rock bands Blake Babies, Some Girls, and The Lemonheads. She also fronted her own band, The Juliana Hatfield Three, along with bassist Dean Fisher and drummer Todd Philips, which was active in the mid-1990s and again in the mid-2010s. It was with the Juliana Hatfield Three that she produced her best-charting work, including the critically acclaimed albums Become What You Are (1993) and Whatever, My Love (2015) and the singles "My Sister" (1993) and "Spin the Bottle" (1994).
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Mitsuyoshi Yoshino
- Occupations
- keyboardistcomposerrecord producermusic arrangermusician
- Biography
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Mickie Yoshino is a Japanese keyboard player, composer, producer, and arranger. Yoshino is known for leading the rock band Godiego. In 2005, he won a Japan Academy Prize for his music. Yoshino's compositions were used in the film Swing Girls (Altamira Pictures). Yoshino still produces music with groups such as Godiego and EnTRANS.
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Dominic Miller
- Occupations
- guitaristsongwriter
- Biography
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Dominic James Miller is an Argentine-born guitarist. With much of his career as a sideman and guitarist for singer Sting, he has also released several solo albums.
