Essay on Jazz: Jazz and Jazz Musician Kenny

Submitted By jordanemelia
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Cite info http://www.najeeonline.com/ I put one quote from his website dated August 23, 2009
Najee began playing the clarinet, saxophone and flute as a kid in Jamaica, Queens New York. While in high school his influences from other musicians were Jimmy Heath, Frank Foster, and Dr. Billy Taylor at the Jazzmobile in Harlem, a non-profit organization that brings Jazz to inner cities in New York. Najee continued to study the art of music with Harold Jones at the Manhattan School of Music and the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston. His career began to take off when he toured with Chaka Khan in 1983 and then met Charles Huggins of Hush Productions. While at Hush Production he recorded is Grammy nominated album titled “Najee’s Theme in 1987.” Other albums followed, "Day By Day," "Tokyo Blue," "Just An Illusion,” and “Share My World,” laying the foundation for what has been called Urban Contemporary Jazz. His accolades have been the Soul Train Music Award for Best Jazz Artist in 1991 and 1993, NAACP Image Award, & Trumpet Awards. He has toured all over the world and performed for top officials like Nelson Mandela, President Bill Clinton, and President Jerry Rawlings of the Republic of Ghana. Najee has a new album, “Mind Over Matter,” regarding the tone of the album he states, “Sometimes making music is all about the mechanics – balancing the melody with the harmony and the rhythm, making sure the tempo is right from the beginning of the song to the end, matching the right vocalist to the story within the lyrics, knowing when to come in with the solos and when to hang back…the litany of technical details to consider in crafting a piece of good music can be endless.” Najee has considerable talent for playing different musical instruments. He plays the soprano and tenor sax, flute and keyboard. Rhythm and blues remains a strong influence in his work. He has remarked that his influences include Grover Washington, Jr. and Miles Davis.
Cited Sources. http://www.artistdirect.com/artist/bio/kenny-g/433564 and http://www.amazon.com/Kenny-G/e/B000APC52G (Content provided by SoundUnwound Copyright © 2008 IMDb.com, Inc. or its affiliates)
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