Artists

Kyoto Jazz Massive

The forerunners in Japanese nu-jazz, Kyoto Jazz Massive initially began in the early '90s when brothers Shuya and Yoshihiro Okino decided to start DJing together. After a number of singles were released, the group signed to German label Compost, who released Kyoto Jazz Massive's debut, Spirit of the Sun, in 2002. 

A Tribe Called Quest

A Tribe Called Quest was formed in 1988, though both Q-Tip (b. Jonathan Davis) and Phife (b. Malik Taylor) had grown up together in Queens. Q-Tip met DJ Ali Shaheed Muhammad while at high school and, after being named by the Jungle Brothers (who attended the same school), the trio began performing. A Tribe Called Quest's recording debut came in August 1989, when their single, Description of a Fool.

Thievery Corporation

Thievery Corporation make abstract, instrumental, mid-tempo dance music whose classification falls somewhere between trip-hop and acid jazz. Featuring the production skills of Rob Garza and Eric Hilton, Thievery Corporation released several warmly received singles on their own Eighteenth Street Lounge (ESL) label (named after their own Washington, D.C. bar and nightclub) in 1996.

Galactic

Formed in 1994, Galactic was the inspiration of childhood friends and Chevy Chase, Maryland natives guitarist Jeff Raines and bassist Robert Mercurio.