STANLEY CLARKE

www.stanleyclarke.com
Wikipedia


Image from www.jazzreview.com

Though Stanley Clarke is not one of my favorites (you know, its all about a personal preference in style), I would be remiss not to mention Stanley Clarke who is another big name, famous for his guitar and bass playing. The man is great! He is the first bassist to headline tours and sellout concerts worldwide. He is also known for his television and movie scores for Pee-Wee's Playhouse, A Man Called Hawk, Boyz In The Hood, What's Love Got To Do With it, Poetic Justic and a several more hits.

VICTOR WOOTEN - NEW CD

My CD recommendation would be Victor Wooten's CD that was released at the beginning of this month, Palmystery. If you know of Victor Wooten you know he's a great bass guitarist. If you don't know, you better ask somebody! Take a listen and when you get to the page the sample on the CD are down at towards the bottom on the page.

MARC ANTOINE

http://www.marcantoine.com/marc.html
http://www.myspace.com/mantoine


Image from http://www.davekozcruise.com

Marc Antoine, guitarist is another smooth jazz guitarist I like. It's smooth jazz with a Latin undertone.

The story is, Marc Antoine suffered an injury to one of his hands and was told he could never play the guitar again. His perseverance proved the doctors wrong. He's played for name such as Celine Dion, Rod Steward and Take 6 and has also composed and performed for soundtracks to movies including and not limited to Get Shorty and Demolition Man.

The first video is a performance. The second video is an interview, the type I like to throw in occasionally because they give you an insight in the musician not just his music.

JAY SOTO

http://www.jaysoto.com
http://www.myspace.com/jsotomusic


Image from http://www.mr88k.net

Jay Soto, jazz guitarist, composer and producer self-produced his first CD which caught the attention of producers Jeff Lorber and Paul Brown which led to his 2nd CD Stay Awhile that was released in 2007. Other producers on the album include and are not limited to Wayman Tisdale and Jonathan Butler.

I did find on video of Jay Soto. Take a look/listen. This one is definitely smooth and definitely smooth jazzy with just a little funk thrown in. I'm fairly sure you'll be clicking on his links to listen to more.

JOHN LESLIE "WES" MONTGOMERY

WIKIPEDIA
(March 6, 1925 - June 15, 1968)


Image from http://www.svpproductions.com

Wes Montgomery, jazz guitarist, is considered to be one of the jazz's best. I know that he was a favorite of both by brother and father which is why I know of him and still enjoy his music to this day.

Though many musicians are regarded as great, Wes Montgomery is a jazz icon who seems to have had a wide influence on jazz musicians who followed him. He played with Lionel Hampton, Cannonbal Adderly helped him get a recording contract and he turned down an offer to play with Cannonball Adderly to continue playing with his own band.

Take a look/listen to this clip from Ilbutunes on YouTube and maybe you'll understand all the bruhaha over this man who left us far too soon, Wes Montgomery.



Another great clip (I had to do two clips for this one) from Jazzytaka on YouTube.

NICK COLIONNE

http://www.nickcolionne.com
http://www.myspace.com/nickcolionne



I love Nick Colionne's style. It's jazzy, it's sexy, it's smooth. He was professional touring at the age of 15. He's hosting a jazz cruise I'm going on and I can't wait to see him in person. If you click the links above his picture and the clip below you can easily see why I enjoy listening to him strum that guitar.



Edited 01/31/08 - Back from the cruise so I'm adding a couple of pictures I took and a video clip. If I thought I liked Nick Colionned before, I love him now!

STEVE OLIVER

http://www.steveolivermusic.com
http://www.myspace.com/steveolivermusic



To be perfectly honest, I'd never heard of Steve Oliver until I went on this jazz cruise. Well, that's not entirely true. He did play something one night and I thought,"Oh! That's him!" I really like his unique style. You'll have to listen to a short clip of one of his performances on the jazz cruise to hear for yourself.

Norman Brown called him the human beat-box. His latest CD is called Radiance and it's one I bought on the cruise. You can also sample more of his music on the link to his MySpace page.

MARCUS MILLER

http://www.marcusmiller.com
http://www.myspace.com/marcusmillerband



I just recently found out about Marcus Miller and as far as I'm concerned, this man is awesome. Marcus plays the bass guitar but I've learned he also plays the bass clarinet. Apparently I'm not the only one who loves this man because he's got more videos clips out there than most of the jazz musicians I've looked up on the internet. Sometimes I think his style is more funk than jazz but who cares!! LOL!

This is one of my favorite video clips from Ramsey Lewis' Legends of Jazz performed with Lee Ritenour and George Duke. Watch this man's hands move!

KENNY BURRELL

http://www.vervemusicgroup.com/kennyburrell
Wikipedia


Image from http://www.gibson.com/whatsnew/pressrelease/2001/august22a.html

Kenny Burrell has been around for a long time and has played with some of the best. His style has been described as bebop jazz and blues and he has been the director of jazz studies at UCLA. If you click on the link below his picture, there is a nice interview with Kenny