Nicole Henry - Overjoyed

 Nicole Henry is an American jazz singer. Her debut CD, The Nearness of You received critical acclaim and earned Henry the "Best New Jazz Artist" award by HMV Japan. Henry's Teach Me Tonight reached #1 in Japan and was named HMV Japan's Best Vocal Jazz Album of 2005. She won the 2013 Soul Train Music Award for "Best Traditional Jazz Performance".

In 2000, Henry toured as a background singer for Robert Bradley's Blackwater Surprise, performing blues/rock music. IN the late 1990s, she also lent her voice to two dance music recordings written by Noel W. Sanger, one song "Miracle," reached #8 on the Billboard Dance Music Chart in 1998. She discovered jazz while singing in Miami Beach when her then bassist, Paul Shewchuk, invited her to learn some jazz standards to perform with his trio. The Miami New Times named Henry “Best Solo Musician 2002”.

In 2004, Henry released her debut CD, The Nearness of You, on Banister Records. The album earned Henry the "Best New Jazz Artist" award by HMV Japan.

The following year, Henry's Teach Me Tonight reached #1 in Japan and was named HMV Japan's Best Vocal Jazz Album of 2005.

Her 2008 album The Very Thought of You reached #7 on Billboard's jazz chart. On this third studio album, she worked with contemporary songwriters like K. J. Denhert (I Found You), and James Bryan McCollum, with whom she co-wrote "All That I Can See."

Her 2011 release Embraceable reached Top 20 on U.S. Jazz and Smooth Jazz Radio Charts and featured Kirk Whalum, Gerald Clayton, John Stoddart, Julian Lage, Gil Goldstein, Larry Gernadier and Eric Harland among others. In 2013, she sang new renditions of hits from the 1970s on her album So Good, So Right: Nicole Henry Live recorded in front of crowds at Feinstein's in New York City.

In 2013, Henry received the "Soul Train Award" for "Best Traditional Jazz Performance" after competing with George Benson, Jeffrey Osborne, Chaka Khan, Tony Bennett, Marc Anthony and Terrence Blanchard.

In 2015, Henry released her seventh CD, entitled Summer Sessions, an eight-song acoustic EP with both covers and originals, accompanied by James Bryan. Henry was invited to sing the National Anthem at the Orange Bowl in both 2010 and 2018.

In 2019, she returned to the theatrical stage and garnered critical praise for her portrayal of Nikki Marron in “The Bodyguard," a new musical based on the smash hit 1992 film. In late 2020, she will perform in the new musical “A Wonderful World,” the story of Louis Armstrong, debuting at the Colony Theatre in Miami Beach, FL. Henry is currently in the studio working on her eighth album which is slated to be released in late 2020.

Jazz Affair - Mr. Roboto / Maniac

 Jazz Affair ha existido durante diez años, abriéndose camino como uno de los raros grupos canadienses a cappella que trabajan en jazz. Este sexteto combina seis voces únicas que se unen en un todo dinámico y colorido: Luce Bélanger (soprano) Marie-Pier Deschênes (mezzosoprano), Camille Legault Coulombe (alto), Jean-François Aubin (tenor), Louis Laprise (bariton) y Christian B. Poulin (bajo). Su repertorio está compuesto por estándares de jazz y arreglos originales de canciones famosas, a las que añaden un toque de jazz. Desde un primer momento llamaron la atención por la calidad de sus arreglos y sus interpretaciones. Su trabajo ha sido reconocido en el Festival Harmony Sweepstakes A Cappella en Nueva York, donde se llevaron dos premios en 2012. Desde entonces, la banda ha hecho muchas apariciones en espectáculos y festivales a gran escala en Canadá (una gira en la Columbia Británica en 2018, una gira en el Marítimo en 2019 y una gira en Alberta 2020). Jazz Affair cuenta con dos álbumes en su discografía: Wishes (2019) y Jam (2017). En 2020, el sexteto está nominado a tres premios distintos; el Prix Opus (Québec) en la categoría “Concierto de jazz del año”, en los premios JUNO (Canadá) al “Álbum de jazz vocal del año” y en los Independant Music Awards en la categoría “Álbum de jazz con voz”. En el mismo premio, Jazz Affair ganó el premio Vox Pop por su canción “Jour heureux”.

Third World - Solid

 Third World is a Jamaican reggae fusion band formed in 1973. Their sound is influenced by soul, funk and disco. Although it has undergone several line-up changes, Stephen "Cat" Coore and Richard Daley have been constant members.

Third World started when keyboard player Michael "Ibo" Cooper and guitarist (and cellist) Stephen "Cat" Coore (son of former Deputy Prime Minister David Coore), who had originally played in The Alley Cats and then Inner Circle, subsequently left to form their own band along with Inner Circle singer Milton "Prilly" Hamilton. They recruited bassist Richard Daley, formerly of Ken Boothe's band and Tomorrow's Children, and added drummer Carl Barovier and former Inner Circle percussionist Irvin "Carrot" Jarrett before making their live debut in early 1974.

After recording some tracks with Geoffrey Chung which were not released, the band's first single was the self-produced "Railroad Track" (1974). In their early days they played primarily in Kingston's hotels and nightclubs and (along with The Wailers) supported The Jackson Five when they played at the Jamaican National Stadium.

They were soon signed by Island Records and toured Europe with The Wailers. The band's self-titled debut album was released in 1976. The album included a cover of "Satta Massagana", originally performed by The Abyssinians, which became a local hit. Hamilton and Cornell Marshall (who had replaced Barovier earlier) were replaced by two more former Inner Circle members, singer William "Bunny Rugs" Clarke and drummer Willie Stewart, before the recording of their second album, 96° in the Shade (1977), which included several local hits. Notable among its eight tracks were "1865 (96° in the Shade)", a reference to the 1865 Morant Bay rebellion, "Rhythm of Life" and the album's only cover, "Dreamland", written by Bunny Wailer.^[2] They played in front of 80,000 people at the Smile Jamaica festival in 1976.

In 1977 the band collaborated with psychiatrist Frederick Hickling on the Explanitations show that was performed at Kingston's Little Theatre early the following year.

Third World's greatest success came in the late 1970s and early 1980s, peaking with their cover version of The O'Jays' "Now That We Found Love" from their third album Journey to Addis. After its initial recording, the single was remixed at the behest of Island Records Special Projects division head, Alex Masucci, with new vocals and an uptempo beat. "Now That We Found Love" became a hit single on both sides of the Atlantic in 1978, reaching the top 10 in the UK. Journey to Addis became a top thirty hit album in the UK. They had first met Stevie Wonder in Jamaica in 1976, and the single prompted him to perform with them at the Reggae Sunsplash festival in 1981 in the wake of Bob Marley's death, playing his tribute to Marley, "Master Blaster".^[2][6] Third World went on to perform several times at the festival, and they also took part in the "Reggae Sunsplash USA" tour in 1985.^[7] Wonder also wrote, along with Melody A McCully, their 1982 hit "Try Jah Love", which brought them further exposure in North America. They were also guests during the third season of SCTV.

Amid claims of artistic differences "Carrot" split from the band in the mid-1980s. The resulting five-piece band then went on to record more commercial tunes such as "Sense of Purpose", "Reggae Ambassador", "Forbidden Love" and "Committed".

Their version of "Now That We've Found Love" was used as the basis of Heavy D's 1991 hit rap version. In 1992 they returned to work with Stephen Stewart and Geoffrey Chung on the album Committed.

In 1983, Third World had cross-over success on the UK jazz-funk scene with their reggae single "Lagos Jump" largely thanks to Robbie Vincent and Jeff Young who played the 12-inch version on their Radio London shows. The track also became popular on the London club scene and in particular at Flicks in Dartford.

Telstar Records released a double-album compilation in 1983 which collected up all the mainstream club extended versions and remixes by artists and groups that had enjoyed relatively good UK chart success between 1981 and 1983. Entitled In the Groove, the compilation's lead track on Part Two was Third World's extended version of "Dancing on the Floor (Hooked on Love)". The track had originally been released in 1981 in 7-inch edited and 12-inch extended versions, and included on Third World's Rock the World album. With the release of the Telstar compilation, this brought about an upsurge of interest in Third World's dancefloor output and certainly paved the way for the next two years recordings with Columbia Records (CBS).

In 1985, the group's focus steered by a shifting music scene, brought about a stylistic change in musical direction with the release of "Sense of Purpose". The single was released as a 7-inch edit and 12-inch extended version and later was reissued as a Shep Pettibone club remix. Whilst the single was popular, it only made the lower ends of the UK charts. The 12-inch extended version was released with an instrumental plus the full length version of their 1983 cross-over hit "Lagos Jump" which almost certainly boosted the sales of "Sense of Purpose".

Also in 1985, "Now That We've Found Love" was back in the UK charts again as Paul Hardcastle decided to release a club remix but as with the case of his D-Train remix putting the Hardcastle signature sound of electronic keyboards on the track and reverbing the opening vocal. Whilst the remix was a UK hit, the remix had seemingly lost its reggae roots and the Hardcastle remix has since largely been forgotten in the decades that have followed. The result being that most DJs and radio stations have returned to the original reggae version.

Despite several more line-up changes, including the departures of Cooper and Stewart, and a decline in mainstream success, the band is still recording and performing up to the present day, including in front of a television audience at the Cricket World Cup 2007 Opening Ceremony in Trelawny.

In 2008 the band received a lifetime achievement award from Charles Drew University.

In January 2013, the group was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Jamaica Jazz and Blues Festival in Montego Bay as they celebrated their 40th year in music.

In 2013 the group completed a 40th anniversary world tour; Illness forced Clarke to miss the European shows, with AJ Brown standing in as lead vocalist.

William "Bunny Rugs" Clarke died on 2 February 2014 in hospital in Orlando, Florida, while battling cancer. Brown was announced as Bunny Rugs' replacement.

The album Under the Magic Sun is due to be released in June 2014 on Cleopatra Records, featuring vocals from Bunny Rugs, Brown, Coore, and Maurice Gregory.

Irvin "Carrot" Jarrett died on 31 July 2018, aged 69.

The group's 2019 album More Work to be Done received a nomination for a Grammy Award in the Best Reggae Album category, the seventh time they have been nominated.

Isaac Hayes & Soul II Soul - Papa Was a Rolling Stone

Isaac Hayes (Covington, Tennessee; 20 de agosto de 1942-Memphis, Tennessee; 10 de agosto de 2008)​ fue un compositor, cantante, actor y productor estadounidense. Fue uno de los creadores del sello sureño de música soul Stax Records, donde trabajó como compositor, músico de sesión y productor de discos, haciendo equipo con su compañero David Porter durante los años 1960. Hayes y Porter, junto con Bill Withers, the Sherman Brothers, Steve Cropper y John Fogerty fueron inducidos en el Salón de la Fama de los Compositores en el año 2005 en reconocimiento a las canciones escritas por ellos, así como el dúo Sam & Dave, Carla Thomas y otros. En 2002 Hayes fue incorporado al Salón de la Fama del Rock and Roll.

La canción "Soul Man", escrita por Hayes y Porter y primero interpretada por Sam & Dave, ha sido reconocida como una de las canciones más influyentes en los pasados 50 años por el Salón de la Fama de los Grammy. También ha sido honrada por Salón de la Fama del Rock and Roll, por la revista Rolling Stone y por la Asociación Estadounidense de Grabación (RIAA) como una de las canciones del siglo. Durante los finales de los años 1960, Hayes también inició una carrera como cantante. Tuvo éxito en álbumes de soul como Hot Buttered Soul (1969) y Black Moses (1971). Fue conocido también por su música para la película Shaft (1971). Por el tema principal de la película fue premiado con el Premio Óscar a la mejor canción original en 1972. Fue el tercer afroamericano, después de Sidney Poitier y Hattie McDaniel, en ganar un premio de la Academia en un campo muy competido. También ganó dos Premios Grammy ese mismo año, y más tarde recibiría su tercer Grammy por la música de su álbum Black Moses. Su voz clara, sus largos desarrollos instrumentales y sus versiones de éxitos y clásicos le hicieron catalizador de la explosión de una nueva forma de entender el soul en los años 60; autor de himnos como «Soul Man», inventor del soul sinfónico con Hot Buttered Soul (1969) y primer afroamericano en recibir un Óscar a la mejor banda sonora por la película Shaft (1971), que inauguraba el subgénero de la blaxploitation.

Fue seguidor de la escuela del sonido Memphis, allá por los años 70, y uno de los primeros en adentrarse en el mundo de la palabra hablada o rap.

Isaac Hayes participó en el famoso festival de Wattstax en 1972, gran concierto de música de los artistas afroamericanos más destacados en aquella época, concierto realizado en el Coliseo de Los Ángeles en agosto de 1972. Ese festival tuvo una gran importancia dentro de la historia de la música soul, ya que estuvieron presentes otros destacados artistas de aquella época como Rufus Thomas, entre otros. El festival fue considerado como el Woodstock de los afroamericanos. Isaac Hayes interpretó con su banda el tema de la película Shaft y la ovación fue grande.

 El colectivo Soul II Soul fue fundado por Jazzie B y su amigo de la infancia, el instrumentista Philip "Daddae" Harvey. El colectivo cuenta con artistas tan influentes como el productor Nellee Hooper y las vocalistas Caron Wheeler, Melissa Bell, Rose Windross y Victoria Wilson James. Soul II Soul fueron pioneros en mezclar el sonido reggae con las influencias acid house provenientes de la escena Ibicenca, el Chicago House y el R n B neoyorkino en sus fiestas londinenses en plena explosión del "Summer of love" y sus primeros eventos en el Limpopo Club del Africa Centre en Covent Garden.

Su primer "dubplate", Fairplay (23 Mayo 1988), les garantizó un contrato discográfico y una fructífera relación con Richard Branson y Virgin Records. El 30 de Mayo de 1989, se lanzá Back to Life que alcanza el número 1 de las listas británicas, al igual que su primer álbum, Vol 1 Club Classics o Keep on Movin' (US), apoyado por los siguientes singles Get a Life , Keep on Movin' y Back to Life. Su segundo álbum Vol II A New Decade es lanzado el 21 Mayo 1990, el single A Dream's A Dream les garantiza otro Top 10 y el colectivo exporta su estilo "Funki Dred" a través de ropa, música, vídeos … culminando con el recibimiento de dos Grammy´s. El mismo año Hooper abandona el colectivo para producir a Massive Attack y Björk. Hasta la fecha Soul II Soul han vendido más de 6.8 millones de álbumes en más de 35 países con la ayuda de los anteriores y Vol III Just Right (Abril 1992), Vol IV The Classic albums (Diciembre 1993) y Volume V Believe(Agosto 1995). En 1996, Jazzie y Soul II Soul, firman con Island Records y posteriormente crean su propio sello Soul II Soul Recordings y tras 20 años de música y fiestas todavía continúan con eventos en Londres y la isla de Antigua, Back II Life junto con Trevor Nelson y Norman Jay entre otros.

Jo O'Meara - Missing You

 Jo Valda O'Meara (nacida el 29 de abril de 1979, en Romford, Reino Unido), es una cantante y actriz británica, más conocida por ser la líder y vocalista del grupo S Club 7.  Jo O'Meara siempre se interesó en el canto, aunque ella siempre quiso ser veterinaria, cantaba en karaokes por varios clubs y bares de su país, en su adolescencia formó su primera agrupación con unas amigas, llamada "Solid Harmonie", no tuvieron mucho éxito y Jo dejó el grupo para dedicarse a sus estudios. Un par de años después se metió en otra agrupación llamada "2-4 Family" con este grupo consiguieron un éxito en Alemania con la canción "Stay" que entró en el Top 40 Alemán, Jo dejó el grupo por alguna razón y en 1999 fue llamada para audicionar para los cástines de S Club 7 y fue elegida, en este punto comenzó su salto a la fama.Jo entra a S Club 7, a los 19 años, se caracterizó por tener la mejor y más potente voz de la banda. La gran mayoría de las canciones de S Club 7 tienen a Jo como voz principal.La banda se separa en el año 2003, y Jo se mantiene dos años sin dedicarse a la música. Pero en 2005, regresa con su álbum Relentless, sacando como sencillo What Hurts the Most. Participó en Just The Two of Us junto al actor Chris Fountain y más tarde ingresó en CBB Celebrity Big Brother.

Altered Five - Brass in Pocket

 Altered Five Blues Band (originally known as Altered Five) is an American five-piece blues band. Formed in 2002 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States, they have released six albums since 2008. Their 2021 release, Holler If You Hear Me, reached number three on the US Billboard Top Blues Albums Chart. The current line-up consists of frontman Jeff Taylor, guitarist Jeff Schroedl, bass player Mark Solveson, drummer Alan Arber, plus the returning keyboardist Steve Huebler.

The group was formed in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States, in 2002 and originally billed as simply 'Altered Five'. Bluesified, their debut album composed entirely of cover versions, was released by Cold Wind Records in June 2008. Cold Wind were based in Minneapolis, but the record label's head died and Altered Five were forced to move to another local distributor. This led to the release of Gotta Earn It on Conclave Records (2012). Their fortunes changed for the better with their next recording, Cryin' Mercy (2014). It was produced by Tom Hambridge and was the group's first release on OmniVibe Records. The record was deemed to be the 'Best Self-Released CD' at the 2015 International Blues Challenge. As the band was effectively between percussionists at the time, Hambridge played drums on all tracks on the album, although Jeff Schroedl's brother Scott played drums on their YouTube videos, produced alongside the album's promotional release. By now the band was well known as the Altered Five Blues Band and the band's members wrote every track on Cryin' Mercy.

The group then signed to Blind Pig Records, who had been recently acquired by the Orchard, a subsidiary of Sony Music. The Altered Five Blues Band next album, Charmed & Dangerous, was issued via Blind Pig in 2017, and the album track "Cookin' in My Kitchen" won 'Song of the Year' in 2018 at the Independent Music Awards. Guitar World called the album's title track a "menacing, swampy blues". Altered Five Blues Band were nominated for a Blues Music Award in the 'Best Emerging Artist Album' category in 2018.

Their next album, Ten Thousand Watts, was released on September 6, 2019, on Blind Pig Records and was again produced by Tom Hambridge, being recorded at Ocean Way in Nashville, Tennessee, in four days. Ten Thousand Watts reached number 10 on the Billboard Top Blues Albums Chart. A track from that album, "Great Minds Drink Alike", won first place in the blues category of the International Songwriting Competition. Over the years, the band has performed at festivals and venues including the Grolsch Blues Festival, W.C. Handy Blues Festival, Ann Arbor Blues and Jazz Festival, King Biscuit Blues Festival, Baltic Blues Fest, Milwaukee Summerfest, Magic City Blues Fest, Fargo Blues Fest, and at B.B. King's Blues Club, plus Buddy Guy's Legends.

The band's members are not all full-time musicians. For example, vocalist Jeff Taylor's day job is as a principal of a school in Wisconsin. Guitarist Jeff Schroedl is concurrently an executive vice president of the Hal Leonard Corporation. He has also served as a board member of the Music Publishers Association of the United States since 2011 and, in 2010, was recognized as one of the Milwaukee Business Journal's '40 under 40.'

Altered Five Blues Band celebrated their 20th anniversary as a band and released their sixth album, Holler if You Hear Me on September 3, 2021, via Blind Pig. The album was featured in Guitar World. It was again produced by Hambridge and recorded within five days at Ocean Way Nashville. Holler if You Hear Me also featured a guest appearances by the harmonica player Jason Ricci on five tracks. It debuted at number 3 on the Billboard Blues Chart and garnered three Blues Music Award nominations, including 'Album of the Year' and 'Song of the Year'. All of the 13 original songs were penned by Schroedl. When commenting on equipment used on the album, Schroedl opined, "I used two Strats on the entire record – my 1966 and a 1962 that was at the studio. The '62 had a lot of mojo, so I played that quite a bit, using different pickup combinations. I mostly plugged directly into the amps and cranked them up to about eight – including my 1968 Super Reverb, tweed Bassman and 1964 Vibroverb." Schroedl in another interview stated, "Several years ago I simply stopped trying to sound like someone else and started to build my own style around […] the quirky things that set me apart, and started to emphasize those things."

India Arie - Georgia on My Mind

 India Arie ( 3 de octubre de 1975) es una cantante de neo soul nacida en Denver que surgió a finales de los años 1990. Experimentada compositora y guitarrista inspirada en el soul de Motown y el blues. Hija de padres de Memphis y Detroit, nació en Denver. Desde pequeña tenía ya un gran contacto con la música. Cuando tenía trece años se trasladó hasta Atlanta, edad a la que ya su madre le había enseñado a tocar la guitarra. Empezó a curtirse en la música urbana de Atlanta, y empezó a participar en el colectivo musical Groovement, y la discográfica independiente EarthShare, donde editó algunas de sus primeras canciones. En 1998 tras un largo tour firmó con Motown. Estuvo aproximadamente dos años trabajando en lo que sería su álbum debut "Acoustic soul" (2001) convirtiéndose en una de las mejores muestras del neo soul. El primer sencillo "Video" tuvo una gran repercusión en la escena musical, al que seguirían otros hits como "Strength, courage & wisdom" y "Brown skin". Sólo un año después India Arie ya había recopilado temas para un nuevo álbum "Voyage to India", editado en septiembre de 2002. Con este álbum ganó dos Grammy, uno al mejor álbum de R&B, y otro a la mejor canción urban por el sencillo "Little things". En 2006 ha editado "Testimony: Vol.1 Life & Relationship" siendo el primer álbum con el que consigue el número uno del hot100 de Billboard. En este mismo año también ha trabajado con Sérgio Mendes en el tema "Timeless". En 2010 colaboró con Marc Cohn en su disco "Listening Booth:1970", interpretando el tema "Make It with You" del grupo soft pop de los 70 Bread.