Results for "Los Angeles"

Dennis Hamm

Pianist, composer, teacher, Dennis Hamm began playing professionally at age 18 and has since worked with a diverse mix of artists. The albums Hamm appears on are a testament to his versatility. In the last three years Hamm was featured on albums as varied as MTV's Rock the Cradle winner Crosby Loggins' (son of Kenny Loggins) Indy Pop/Rock album "We All Go Home", the Prog-Rock Jazz Fusion of guitarist Greg Howe's "Sound Proof", in support of which Hamm toured Europe in late 2008, Katisse Buckingham's genre bending mix of hip-hop and modern jazz on "Lyrical Worker", and an upcoming modern country release by American Idol finalist Amy Adams, which Hamm also produced. Other artists he has performed or recorded with are Kenny "Babyface" Edmonds, John Densmore (The Doors), Kenny Loggins, Buck Owens' "Buckaroos", Pete Escovedo, Will Kennedy & Jimmy Haslip (The Yellowjackets), Jojo Mayer, Ronald Bruner Jr., Ryan Leslie, Virgil Donati, Judith Hill (Michael Jackson), Tony Macalpine, Tony Royster Jr., Melvin Davis, Janek Gwizdala, Jimmy Branly, Justo Almario, Carlitos del Puerto, Sandro Albert, Cliff Almond, Monty Byrom, The Smokin' Armadillos, and his own original projects including funk/jazz group Mother Funk Conspiracy featuring L.A

Jerry Jemmott

Born: March 22, 1946

Born in the Bronx, New York in 1946, this two time Grammy Award-wining bassist was one of the pre-eminent session bassists of the late 1960s and early 1970s, working with an impressive cross section of the era's finest soul, jazz and blues artists. One of the youngest of the many jazz musicians to come out the Bronx during the 1950s, Jerry Jemmott found his way to prominence on acoustic bass with Pucho & The Latin Soul Brothers and the Mercer Ellington Orchestra. He switched to electric bass in 1964 and shaped his skills to eventually join many of his heroes in the recording studios of New York City. He played on and arranged his first major recording sessions with JJ Jackson and played on Nina Simone's 'The Blues' album in 1965. He got his big break when he was discovered by Rhythm 'n Blues/Jazz saxophonist King Curtis, and thanks to his Atlantic Records connection through Curtis he subsequently became a key architect of the Atlantic Records and Muscle Shoals Sound. Jerry has been a performer since the age of five, starting as a tap dancer with Mary Bruce’s Star Buds, in Harlem, where he performed at Carnegie Hall in their annual review

Sara Leib

Born: December 21, 1981

Nearly all of the dozen songs on Sara Leib’s remarkable Secret Love from Rodgers and Hammerstein’s “It Might As Well Be Spring” to Bob Dylan’s “Make You Feel My Love" qualify as standards, yet the Los Angeles jazz singer does quite un-standard, wonderfully refreshing things with every number she wraps her glowing, frequently cheery mezzo- soprano tones around. While transforming the tunes with amazing new twists of time and tempo, Leib uncannily cuts to the emotional cores of the composers’ original lyrics. Leib “reinterprets the template of the standard into something that seasoned jazz enthusiasts and crossover fans from the Norah Jones camp will both be blown away by,” Jamie Rattner wrote in Performer magazine of the singer’s acclaimed self-released debut CD, 2003’s It’s Not the Moon. She takes her unique way with American popular songs steps further on the highly anticipated Secret Love on Origin Records

Beth Rohde

Born: May 14

Beth Rohde has had a wide-ranging career in music as a performer and educator. She began her professional career in Boston singing jazz and Brazilian music as a solo artist and with the band Beijo do Brasil. She moved back to her hometown of Minneapolis in 1993 and worked as a jingle singer for Radio Concepts and headed the vocal department at McNally Smith College of Music. She performed and recorded as Liz Forester during that time. In 1994, her career went on hold after she was the victim of gun violence in Brazil. She resumed her career in 1996 with a 3-month tour in Japan then temporarily relocated to Atlanta to sing at events surrounding the Olympic games and to record for Cartoon Network

Derek Bomback

Born: October 13, 1985

Derek Bomback brings a distinctive voice to jazz guitar. His career has taken him all over the world with performances on six of the seven continents. Vocalist Jay Jackson has said of Bomback’s playing: “Displayed a soulful patience that you don’t often find…” Bomback’s music combines influences from American and European jazz, to bring a fresh sound to his sophisticated, yet melodic playing. Derek studied at Berklee College of Music in Boston, where he received dual degrees in Jazz Composition and Guitar Performance in 2010. Shortly after moving back to Los Angeles, he was hired by Princess Cruise Lines where he is currently one of the company’s musical directors.

Ozomatli

Active since: 1995

Since its inception in 1995, innovation and creativity have defined Ozomatli. Hailing from Los Angeles, the group found a way to represent the city’s eclectic culture through music that appeals to the local community and the world beyond. Ozomatli’s success is exemplified in an impressive variety of genres from classic to modern Latino, urban, hip-hop and other world styles. The “Dioses del Baile,” or “Gods of Dance,” have created one of the most exciting, captivating and flat-out fun live shows touring today. They continue to harness their musical instincts by conceiving new concepts and forging new sounds that keep fans on their toes and the world dancing. The band is currently in the studio working on their latest recording: Ozo-fied Volume 1: A Century of Mexican Classics, an album of classic Mexican hits reimagined with a reggae feel

Derek Turner

Born: November 28, 1962

DTurner's love for music began at the age of five. Throughout his college years he mastered three instruments: Drums, Bass and Keyboards. He has a Christian musical background and enjoys composing and arranging music genres from jazz, pop, soul, easy listening, hip hop and more. Performance and Recording Experience: DTurner has performed and/or recorded with several original artists and bands, including Ronnie Laws, gospel artist Brian Duncan and Daryl Coley. His compositions can be heard on the Weather Channel as well as numerous radio ads. He has extensive recording experience and has worked in various studios in and around the Los Angeles area. Professional Memberships: BMI Songwriters Association International, The Songwriters Guild of America and EMI Christian Music Group. Performing Credits: DTurner has performed in all major theaters across the country

Jonathan Pintoff

Mike Werner aka Guy Wonder

Guy Wonder, also frequently known as Mike Werner, plays bass and is co-founder (with Sonny Moon) of the jazz/rock mashup group Nutty. As Mike Werner, he composes and performs in the group Mike Werner's Inventory. A long-time habitue of the LA club scene, from the New Wave days to the present. Bassist, composer, arranger, orchestrator, etc.

Kamasi Washington

Born: February 18, 1981

At the age of 13 Kamasi Washington decided to begin a life long quest of the many wonders to be found in music. He made this decision one night when after a rehearsal at his home his father left his soprano saxophone lying on the piano and left Kamasi with an uncontrollable curiosity of all the beauty he’d just heard come from it. So he took father’s horn, and even though he didn’t know anything about the saxophone, in fact he’d never even touched a saxophone, and played Wayne Shorter’s “Sleeping Dancer Sleep On”, his favorite song at the time. Kamasi was shocked he had been playing drums, piano, and clarinet for years but he’d never played the saxophone. Yet he was somehow able to play a song from his heart and in that received an early glimpse of the euphoria that music can bring. And at that moment he knew that music was his life’s quest and the saxophone was his voice.