Artists
Hiromi Uehara
Japan has produced an impressive assemblage of jazz pianists, from Toshiko Akiyoshi and Makoto Ozone. And now, well into the change of the 21st century, the pianist / composer Hiromi is the latest in that line of amazing musicians.
Hitomitoi
Music of Hitomitoi band incorporates various genres (including soul, jazz, and funk), and sometimes is also described as the modern city pop revival.
Incognito
An acid jazz project rooted in the Brit-funk scene, Incognito are led by Jean-Paul "Bluey" Maunick, a multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, producer, and arranger who has guided an ever-changing lineup since 1979.
Indigo Jam Unit
A killer combo from Japan — a club jazz unit that mixes warm, round bass with hard-hitting piano — all held together nicely with two drummers on the bottom, and some very crisp production!
Jaared
Heavily influenced by David Sanborn, instrumentalist Jaared is a Washington, D.C.-based alto and soprano saxophonist who has focused primarily on smooth jazz and crossover jazz in the ‘90s and the new millennium.
Jamala
Jamala (the real name Susana Jamaladinova) — a Ukrainian and Crimean Tatar jazz-singer (spinto soprano) performing the music of her own composition on the junction of jazz, soul, world music and rhythm&blues with the elements of classics and gospel.
James Brown
"Soul Brother Number One," "the Godfather of Soul," "the Hardest Working Man in Show Business," "Mr. Dynamite" — those are mighty titles, but no one can question that James Brown earned them more than any other performer. Other singers were more popular, others were equally skilled, but few other African-American musicians were so influential over the course of popular music.
James Taylor Quartet
Emerging from the tragic bankruptcy of Stiff Records, James Taylor, founding member of the infamous group The Prisoners — formed The James Taylor Quartet. JTQ's first single, Blow Up, was released on the Re Elect The President (Acid Jazz) label in 1985. It was a huge success, immediately attracting the attention of John Peel who championed it; the track appearing three years running on Peel's seminal Festive 50 Chart.