“smooth jazz with an edge, with funk and rock elements” – Pioneer Press
Shaun LaBelle’s producing career has been filled with legendary groups. For example, David Pack (Ambrosia), Everette Harp, Jeff Kashiwa, and Steve Reid (Rippingtons.) Also, Shaun has worked with Branford Marsalis and the group Pieces of a Dream. Shaun performed bass on the Larger Than Life tour for Grammy award-winning recording artist Jody Watley. Currently, Shaun’s new releases Your Love Kept Calling my Name and Mon Cher Amour have charted on Billboard. Here, he reached Number Eighteen on the smooth jazz charts and Number One on UK Soul, three weeks in a row.
Najee is a fearless chart-topping contemporary jazz pioneer. In a business where trends and artists come and go, the genre-bending saxophonist’s staying power is a rare blessing. The Grammy and NAACP award-winning musician is one of the brightest stars in contemporary jazz for close to four decades. Here, he credits his genuine love for connecting with people, coupled with his consummate musicianship and sheer passion for music. Moreover, he has collaborated with Prince, Quincy Jones, Stevie Wonder, Chaka Khan, and Herbie Hancock, among others.
Keyboardist/composer Brian Simpson moved to Los Angeles directly after college. Soon, he was playing alongside Gerald Albright and Norman Brown and eventually on a world tour with Janet Jackson. In 1990 Simpson received a call from George Duke. Then, Simpson spent the next decade touring and producing with the late jazz legend. It was his tenure with George that led to working with a variety of artists. There, he connected with James Ingram, Anita Baker, Dave Koz, and Wayman Tisdale.
Recommended for fans of Jeff Lorber, David Sanborn, Bob James and Marcus Miller.
