Results for "Composer"

Taeko Kunishima

Born: September 2

"I was born in Japan and studied classical piano performance at university. When I heard Miles Davis on the radio, I switched to jazz.

I had a long absence from musical activity while living in the Middle East, and shortly after, in my youth. By experiencing different cultures and listening to Japanese, classical, jazz and  Arabic music I was inspired to write my own diverse compositions ." —Taeko Kunishima (June 2022)

Kunishima has released five albums on 33 jazz records and been played on  BBC Radio 3 Late Junction, Jazz FM, BBC World, and Resonance FM.

Simeon Nathanael Davis

Born: September 2, 1997

With a career spanning two continents before he was 20, arrangements that have received awards from both Downbeat (2021) and the American Society of Music Arrangers and Composers (2021) while still a student, and compositions described as “on a scale with Everglades by Terence Blanchard,” (Gary Lowe, WUNH), Simeon Nathanael Davis is a composer, bandleader, saxophonist, and violinist who blends jazz, folk, classical, and neo-soul music with his roots in South African jazz to programmatically trace narratives drawn from mythology, religion, fiction, and lived experiences. Davis was raised and lived in Cape Town, South Africa for 17 years

Vicki Burns

Born: August 26, 1961

Vicki Burns has a pleasing wide-ranging voice, crystal clear diction, and she knows how to sing as if she means it.” Bebop Spoken Here 

“Avoiding the predictability of safe havens, her music brims with many more surprises and uncharted delights... Vicki Burns is irresistible.” Dr. Herbert Wong 

Jazz singer Vicki Burns is the complete package. With her three-octave range, sure sense of rhythm, and perfect intonation, she can scat convincingly, swing like a horn, and write hip songs worthy of attention from other vocalists.

She has produced three CDs as a leader: Siren Song (2005), Live at Anna’s Jazz Island (2008), and her 2022 release Lotus Blossom Days.  Jazz writer Marc Myers said, "Vicki's voice on Lotus Blossom Days is warm and round, sophisticated and optimistic with shades of blue. She also takes terrific risks that pay off.” 

Leandros Pasias

Leandros Pasias was born in Thessaloniki. At the age of 10 he began piano lessons with his teacher Tasos Mantzaris at the conservatory Musicworkshop. Also he took classical harmony and jazz harmony lessons with Jiannis Angelakis at the Modern Conservatory of Thessaloniki.

At the age of 18 he continued his studies at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam in the department of jazz piano with professors Karel Boehlee, Rob van Bavel, Hans Vroomans and classical piano lessons with Gert-Jan Vermeulen. Among others, he attended the workshop of the internationally renowned professor Arnold Dooyewerd. In Amsterdam took part in seminars with: Avishai Cohen Trio, Mike Clark, Dominique DiPiazza, Robin Eubanks, Panagiotis Andreou, Hilario Duran Trio, Enrico Pieranunzi, Dennis Mackrel, Miles Okazaki and Jeff Levenson.

Aubrey Johnson

Aubrey Johnson is a New York-based jazz vocalist, composer, and educator. Her debut record, Unraveled, featuring her original music and arrangements and produced by Steve Rodby (Pat Metheny Group), was released on Outside In Music in 2020. Play Favorites, her duo album with the pianist Randy Ingram was released on Sunnyside Records in 2022. A third studio album, The Lively Air, featuring Aubrey’s compositions and arrangements was will be released in March 2026 on Greenleaf Records. Among the 50+ albums Aubrey has appeared on as a sideperson are Bobby McFerrin’s Grammy-nominated release, VOCAbuLaries, Arturo O'Farrill's Grammy Award-winning album Four Questions, and Lyle Mays’ Grammy Award-winning Eberhard (on which she also served as executive producer.) 

Wesley Amorim

​​ ​Versatile Music Producer, Composer and Latin Grammy nominated Guitarist. Resilient and resourceful character with 18 years of performance history. Skilled at areas such as music and executive production, session musician, arrangement, film and media composition. At 17, he began playing and recording professionally using a wide range of music genres, from Brazilian to jazz, rock, pop, and gospel. He has performed in Broadway musicals, including Jesus Christ Superstar and The Lion King, and with countless artists. Amorim moved to the US in 2014 and has since shared the stage and/or recorded with renowned artists, including Alcione, Cyro Baptista, Luciana Mello, Neguinho da Beija-Flor, Jair Oliveira, Oriente Lopez, and others. He has performed at Carnegie Hall, Birdland, Blue Note, Joe's Pub, The Metropolitan Room, the DiMenna Center, Club Bonafide, and many others. In 2019 Amorim released his first duo album, "Simas & Amorim Duo - 'Deuce' with the pianist Luiz Simas to the acclaim of Creed Taylor and Antonio Adolfo. ​Wesley performed on the album ‘Selfie’ by the artist Jair Oliveira, nominated for the 2019 Latin Grammy Award for Best Portuguese Language Contemporary Pop Album. His last album, 'From Home' released in november of 2020, is a duo with the guitarist Rafael Borges Amaral

Dario Boente

Born: December 21, 1973

The term "crossover artist" can mean many things. In the case of Grammy and Latin Grammy Winner Argentinian born pianist and composer Dario Boente, it means a musician who is equally at home performing romantic Argentine and jazz compositions on a grand piano, as he is programming world-beat electronica. Dario's musical personality energetically bridges the Jazz-club and the Dance-club and is a direct outgrowth of his own life. Having been brought up in Argentina and Spain, immersed in the culture of tango and Jazz, he pursued his formal studies at Berklee School of Music (Boston), the Guildhall School of Music (London) and the New School Jazz and Contemporary Music Program (New York) and his social life in the music scene of New York, Madrid, and London. In the early ’90s, Boente toured the Euro circuit playing “Big Joe Turner” as his keyboard player and musical director, with pop band Imagination, with Spanish flamenco singer "Jose El Frances", making dance tracks, and performing in the major music festivals

Sean Smith

Sean Smith Bassist and Composer Bassist Sean Smith has been an integral part of the international jazz scene for more than 30 years. He has appeared in many of the major jazz festivals, concert halls, and clubs all over the world. Sean has performed with Gerry Mulligan, Phil Woods, Benny Carter, Flip Phillips, Clark Terry, Johnny Griffin, Lee Konitz, Art Farmer, Tom Harrell, Jacky Terrasson, Bill Charlap, Peggy Lee, Rosemary Clooney, Mark Murphy, Jimmy Scott, Andy Bey, Tracy K. Smith (winner of the 2012 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry), and many others. Sean is also a prolific composer whose works have been played and recorded by such artists as Phil Woods, Mark Murphy, Bill Charlap, Gene Bertoncini, Leon Parker, and Bill Mays

Rex Shepherd

Guitarist and composer Rex Shepherd has been writing and performing music for more than 30 years. Initially a rock and blues player, Shepherd became entranced by the playing of guitarist Jim Hall on the first listen. He began learning the jazz language on guitar, studying at the University of Akron in Ohio, growing toward becoming a known performer and composer in the Cleveland area. His musical journey began with an affinity for the more "outside" music of Wayne Shorter, Ornette Coleman, Sam Rivers, and Anthony Braxton. His current style, which is grown from the jazz tradition, employs a liberal application of melody and suggestive harmonies enabling free expression of musical ideas in a context he refers to as conceptual improvisation

Anna Elizabeth Kendrick

Born: May 18

Anna Elizabeth Kendrick is a modern day old-fashioned jazz songbird and composer. She revisits the spirit of the earlier decades of the last century in her song-writing and singing style, particularly embracing the 30's, 40's and 50's.

Anna is thrilled to announce that her 3rd jazz album "Almost LIke Being In Love" was released on May 9th of 2025! It is an album of 10 classic jazz standards that she loves very much and performs frequently in her shows. There are a limited amount of CD's made up of her new album as well. "Almost Like Being In Love" was For Your Consideration in the Best Traditional Pop Vocal album category for the 1st round voting of the 68th Grammys.