{"key":"15471","name":"Steely Dan","bio":"Steely Dan is an American jazz rock band which formed in 1972. The band was formed by Donald Fagen (vocals, keyboards) and Walter Becker (guitar, bass), who met in 1967 while both attended Bard College in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York, and began a songwriting partnership shortly thereafter.Their music is characterized by dark, witty lyrical narratives, obscure lyrical allusions and complex, jazz-influenced instrumentation and chord sequences, overlying more ordinary popular song structures. Their fastidious standards in the studio and use of world-class sessions players has also been a hallmark of their work. For this, special credit should be given to their long-time producer Gary Katz and engineer Roger Nichols. The band was originally a six-piece consisting of Fagen, Becker, David Palmer (vocals), Jeff \"Skunk\" Baxter (guitar), Denny Dias (guitar) and Jim Hodder (drums), but by 1975, only Fagen and Becker remained.The band's history can be divided into three stages. In its original conception, the group was a relatively conventional rock band that toured from 1972 to 1974, releasing the singles-chart successes, 'Do It Again', 'Reelin' in the Years', 'My Old School' and 'Rikki Don't Lose That Number'. The group's name was derived from a series of dildos in the 1959 novel, 'Naked Lunch' by the avant-garde writer, William S. Burroughs; the phrase first used in the lyrics of an early, pre-Steely Dan Fagen\/Becker song, Soul Ram.In its second stage (1975 - 1980) the group, now consisting solely of Fagen and Becker, became a purely studio-based act, their album releases showing a growing obsession with polished production values, and whose output became increasingly jazz-orientated, culminating in the highly successful 'Aja' (1977) and 'Gaucho' (1980). The two split in 1981 following a tumultuous recording process for the latter album, and personal problems for both members.In the Eighties, Fagen released his seminal debut album, 'The Nightfly', and took time away from the music industry, whilst Becker, after recovering from drug dependence, was in frequent work as a producer.The third stage came when Fagen and Becker reunited in 1993, followed by a world tour (their first touring dates in 20 years). In 2000, the Grammy-award-winning 'Two Against Nature' was released to critical and surprising commercial success. Its successor followed swiftly, 'Everything Must Go' being released in 2003. The two albums show a more relaxed attitude to production, less morbid lyrical themes and an upbeat jazz pop sound, but with the characteristic wit and musical complexity of their 20th century work remaining. Fagen and Becker continue to tour as Steely Dan and release albums independently. \u2013Steely Dan's homepageWikipedia article","featuredImage":"https:\/\/assets.allamericanmusic.com\/images\/15471_h_0.jpg","feeRange":"200,000 - 350,000"}

{"key":"17372","name":"Carlos Santana","bio":"Carlos Santana (born as Carlos Augusto Santana Alves on 20 July 1947 - Autl\u00e1n de Navarro, Jalisco, M\u00e9xico) is a Mexican-born American rock guitarist. Santana became famous in the late 1960s and early 1970s with his band, Santana, which pioneered rock, salsa and jazz fusion. The band's sound featured his melodic, blues-based guitar lines set against Latin and African rhythms. Santana continued to work in these forms over the following decades. He experienced a resurgence of popularity and critical acclaim in the late 1990s. In 2003, Rolling Stone magazine listed Santana at number 15 on their list of the 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time. He has won 10 Grammy Awards and 3 Latin Grammy Awards.Santana has was an avenue named after him as well as a statue of a guitar in the city where he was born (born in Autl\u00e1n de Navarro, Jalisco, M\u00e9xico) to honour him. The family moved from there to Tijuana In La Calonia Libertad, the city on Mexico's border with California, and then San Francisco, USA. Carlos stayed in Tijuana but joined his family in San Francisco later and graduated from James Lick Middle School and Mission High School there. Most of his musical career has been spent with Santana, the band he formed in San Francisco in 1967. His music underwent large changes in 1973 when he was introduced to the spiritual leader Sri Chinmoy, by fellow guitarist \"Mahavishnu\" John McLaughlin. After this he adopted the title \"Devadip\" which he still uses. In 1998 he formed the Milagro Foundation along with his wife Deborah, which supports disadvantaged children. Later Carlos and Deborah divorced, but the Milagro Foundation is still alive and well.Other huge influences of Carlos Santana are both Miles Davis (with whom he maintained a big personal connection), and John Coltrane, who unfortunately passed away in 1967.","featuredImage":"https:\/\/assets.allamericanmusic.com\/images\/17372_h_0.jpg","feeRange":"500,000 - 1,000,000"}

{"key":"16429","name":"Robert Wyatt","bio":"Robert Wyatt, born Robert Ellidge, in Bristol, UK on 28 January 1945, is an English musician, and a former member of the influential Canterbury scene band Soft Machine.As a teenager, he lived with his parents in a fourteen-room Georgian guest-house, Wellington House, in Lydden near Canterbury. Here he was taught the drums by visiting American jazz drummer George Niedorf.In 1962, Wyatt and Niedorf moved to Majorca where they stayed with the poet Robert Graves. The following year, Wyatt returned to England and joined the Daevid Allen Trio with Daevid Allen and Hugh Hopper. Allen subsequently left for France, and Wyatt and Hopper formed the Wilde Flowers with Richard Sinclair, Kevin Ayers and Brian Hopper. Wyatt was initially the drummer in the Wilde Flowers, but following the departure of Ayers, he became lead singer.In 1966, the Wilde Flowers disintegrated, and Wyatt and Mike Ratledge formed the Soft Machine with Ayers and Allen. Here Wyatt both drummed and sang, an unusual combination for a stage rock band.In 1970, after chaotic touring, three albums and increasing internal conflicts in Soft Machine, Wyatt released his first solo album, The End of an Ear, which combined his vocal and multi-instrumental talents with tape effects.A year later, Wyatt left Soft Machine and formed his own band Matching Mole (a pun on \"machine molle\", the French for Soft Machine), a largely instrumental outfit. After two albums and a split, Matching Mole were about to embark on a third record when, on 1 June 1973, during a drunken party, Wyatt fell from a third floor window. He was subsequently paralysed from the waist down (paraplegia) and confined to a wheelchair.The injury led Wyatt to abandon the Matching Mole project, and his drumming. He promptly embarked on a solo-career, and with a collective of session musicians (including Mike Oldfield, the poet Ivor Cutler and Henry Cow guitarist Fred Frith), he released his acclaimed solo album Rock Bottom. Later that same year he put out a single, a cover version of \"I'm a Believer\", which hit number 29 in the UK chart. There were strong arguments with the producer of Top of the Pops surrounding his performance of \"I'm a Believer,\" on the grounds that his wheelchair-bound appearance 'was not suitable for family viewing', the producer wanting Wyatt to appear on a normal chair. Wyatt won the day and 'lost his rag but not the wheel chair', but gave a performance that could be described as disgruntled.Wyatt's next album, Ruth Is Stranger Than Richard, was more jazz-led, with free jazz influences and nods to African music. These solo recordings were all produced by Nick Mason of Pink Floyd.Throughout the rest of the 1970s, Wyatt guested with various acts, working with the likes of Henry Cow (documented on their Henry Cow Concerts album), Hatfield and the North, Carla Bley and Michael Mantler. His solo work during the early 1980s was increasingly politicised, and Wyatt became an outspoken member and supporter of the British Communist Party. In 1983, his interpretation of Elvis Costello's anti-Falklands War song \"Shipbuilding\", the last in a series of political cover-versions (collected as Nothing Can Stop Us), reached number 35 in the UK singles chart. In the late 1980s, after collaborations with other ex-Canterbury acts such as News from Babel, he and his wife Alfreda Benge spent a sabbatical in Spain, before returning in 1991 with a comeback album Dondestan, considered by many to be his best work since Rock Bottom. His 1997 album Shleep was also highly acclaimed.An uncredited Wyatt contributed the haunting \"Masters of the Field\", as well as \"The Highest Gander\", \"La For\u00eat Rouge\" and \"Hors Champ\" to the soundtrack of the acclaimed 2001 film Winged Migration. He can be seen in the DVD's Special Features section, and is praised by the film's composer Bruno Coulais as being a big influence in his younger days.In 2001, Wyatt was curator of the Meltdown festival, and in 2003 he put out his album Cuckooland.In 2004, Wyatt collaborated with Bj\u00f6rk on the song \"Submarine\" which was released on her fifth album Med\u00falla.In October 2007 he released Comicopera, a 16-track album, his first for the Domino label.It was produced by Wyatt himself, and recorded at his home in Louth as well as Phil Manzanera's Gallery Studio.Comicopera is divided into three acts - 'Lost in Noise', 'The Here and The Now', and 'Away with the Fairies'. Featured musicians include previous collaborators Brian Eno, Paul Weller and Phil Manzanera. Wyatt said he was keen to capture the sound of a group of musicians playing in the room together, but more importantly to have friends playing together. \"Music isn't just an abstract pleasure, it is a company, when you play a record. Why I like Duke Ellington and Charles Mingus, the big bands - is because every character in the band is identifiable as that person - there's this group of humans in a room\". \"He lives in Louth, Lincolnshire and he has equipment in his bedroom where he records himself and his albums. We brought a G4 and Pro Tools and recorded it in like one afternoon. He's such an extraordinary singer. Before he left, he insisted to give us a scale of his voice, where he sings all the tones \u2013 and he has the most amazing range, like 5 or 6 octaves. What's really interesting about his range is that each octave is of a totally different character. We actually ended up using that later for 'Oceania', we used what he calls the 'Wyattron'.\" \u2014 Bj\u00f6rk, XFM 25 August 2004","featuredImage":"https:\/\/assets.allamericanmusic.com\/images\/16429_h_0.jpg","feeRange":"please contact"}

{"key":"16306","name":"Donald Fagen","bio":"Donald Jay Fagen (born January 10, 1948) is an American musician and songwriter, best known as the co-founder, lead singer, and the principal songwriter (along with partner Walter Becker) of Steely Dan. Fagen is known for his use of complex jazz harmonies, elaborate arrangements, and exacting attention to detail and launched his successful, if sporadic solo career in 1982.Fagen penned a group of songs based on his experiences as a young man in 1950's America, and the resulting album, The Nightfly, was released in 1982, and is one of the first albums to be recorded entirely digitally. The album has been certified platinum by the RIAA. After a quiet time musically (he is reported to have suffered from writers block) for the rest of the 80s he returned in 1993 with Kamakiriad, which is a conceptual album based on a car journey. The album was produced by Walter Becker and represented the first collaboration between the two since Gaucho.This collaboration reignited Steely Dan and they released two more albums, the Grammy award winning \"Two Against Nature\" in 2000, and \"Everything Must Go\" in 2003.In 2006, Fagen released his third solo album Morph the Cat, which is partly based on old age and death, and was well received by fans.","featuredImage":"https:\/\/assets.allamericanmusic.com\/images\/16306_h_0.jpg","feeRange":"please contact"}

{"key":"17390","name":"Voo Voo","bio":"Voo Voo is a Polish band formed in 1985. Their music is a combination of rock, folk, jazz, improvisational and some other genres. The name comes from the leader initials utterred in Polish and spelled English way. Wojciech Waglewski is a Voo Voo founder and the only person remaining in a group until now since its beginning. The first vinyl album \"VOO VOO\" was hailed in Poland as one of the most important records in the musically groundbreaking decade of the 1980's. It conveyed simple sound and quite abstract as well as intimate lyrics. Early in the group career their fans had a chance to own a live recording released in 1987 on vinyl as \"KONCERT\". The second conceptual \"longplay\" was entitled \"SNO-POWI\u0104ZA\u0141KA\" and became a true jewel in Polish alternative music songwriting and rock. Decidedly poetic, almost philosophical, yet appealing to the mature and the young. In the late 80's the band has been winning more and more followers originating from different generations. They got involved with charity action called Wielka Orkiestra \u015awi\u0105tecznej Pomocy. Waglewski composed for theatre, ballet, film and television. Voo Voo has been consistently touring and recording albums for over 20 years now. The band is an icon of Polish rock music and still attracts audiences with their professional stage appearances and a very sincere attitudes. They basically rock ! Band members:\u2022\tWojciech Waglewski \u2013 guitar, main vocals, lyrics. Founder and leader of the band, the name of the band came from his initials. Father of Bartosz Waglewski and Piotr Waglewski, better known as Fisz and Emade.\u2022\tMateusz Pospieszalski \u2013 saxophone, vocals, accordion, flute, keyboard instruments\u2022\tKarim Martusewicz \u2013 double bass, bass guitarFormer members (abstract):\u2022\tAndrzej Nowicki \u2013 bass guitar, harmonica\u2022\tMilo Kurtis \u2013 percussion, jew\u2019s harp\u2022\tWojciech Morawski \u2013 drums\u2022\tJan Pospieszalski \u2013 bass guitar\u2022\tAndrzej Ryszka - percussion\u2022\tPiotr \u201cStopa\u201d \u017by\u017celewicz \u2013 percussion, whistleHe played in Polish punk band Armia","featuredImage":"https:\/\/assets.allamericanmusic.com\/images\/17390_h_0.jpg","feeRange":"please contact"}

{"key":"16395","name":"Blood, Sweat & Tears","bio":"Founder Al Kooper conceived Blood, Sweat and Tears as an experiment in expanding the size and scope of the rock band with touches of jazz , blues , classical , and folk music. When Kooper was forced out of the band soon after its eclectic debut, Child Is Father to the Man, BS&T became increasingly identified as a \"jazz-rock\" group, although its music was essentially easy-listening rhythm and blues or rock with the addition of brass.Kooper formed BS&T after leaving the Blues Project in 1967. The nucleus of the original band was Steve Katz, also of the Blues Project; Jim Fielder, who had played with the Mothers of Invention and Buffalo Springfield; and Bobby Colomby, who had drummed behind folksingers Odetta and Eric Andersen. The horn players were recruited from New York jazz and studio bands. Child Is Father featured songs by Harry Nilsson, Tim Buckley, Randy Newman, Gerry Goffin, and Carole King, along with Kooper originals and arrangements by Fred Lipsius for brass, strings, and studio effects. The band nearly broke up when Kooper, Randy Brecker, and Jerry Weiss left (Brecker to join the Thad Jones\u2013Mel Lewis Band). Regrouping under Katz and Colomby, and fronted by David Clayton-Thomas (who had sung with a Canadian blues band, The Bossmen), BS&T entered a period of immense popularity. Blood, Sweat & Tears featured arrangements of music by French composer Erik Satie and jazz singer Billie Holiday, as well as by Laura Nyro, Steve Winwood, and others. It was the #1 album for seven weeks in 1969, sold over 3 million copies, and spawned three gold singles: \u201cYou\u2019ve Made Me So Very Happy,\u201d \u201cSpinning Wheel,\u201d and \u201cAnd When I Die,\u201d each of which hit #2.In 1970 the U.S. State Department sent the band on a goodwill tour of Yugoslavia, Romania, and Poland. Blood, Sweat & Tears 3 duplicated the Blood, Sweat & Tears mix of styles and was almost as popular. The album went to #1, and two singles, \u201cHi-De-Ho\u201d and \u201cLucretia MacEvil,\u201d hit the Top 30. But interest in the group began to wane, and 4, which contained almost all original material, barely made the Top 10. In 1971 \u201cGo Down Gamblin\u2019\u201d was its last hit. By the time Clayton-Thomas left for a solo career in 1972, BS&T\u2019s place on the charts had been filled by similarly styled bands such as Chicago, Chase, and Ides of March. Katz left the next year, first to join the short-lived American Flyer and then to an A&R position at Mercury Records.BS&T became regulars in Las Vegas, with ever-changing personnel recruited largely from big bands like Maynard Ferguson\u2019s, Woody Herman\u2019s, and Doc Severinsen\u2019s. Vocalist Jerry LaCroix appeared between his tenures with Edgar Winter\u2019s White Trash and Rare Earth, while guitarist Mike Stern later played with Miles Davis\u2019 early-\u201980s band. Clayton-Thomas\u2019 return in 1974 briefly boosted BS&T\u2019s popularity, but Columbia dropped the group, and Colomby, the last original member, left in 1976. He continued to influence BS&T as producer of Brand New Day and, with Clayton-Thomas, as co-owner of the band\u2019s name and catalogue. He then moved on to a career in A&R for several labels, as well as TV reporting. Since 1975 the live act has been billed as Blood, Sweat and Tears Featuring David Clayton-Thomas.from The Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock & Roll (Simon & Schuster, 2001)http:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/artists\/bloodsweatandtears\/biography","featuredImage":"https:\/\/assets.allamericanmusic.com\/images\/16395_h_0.jpg","feeRange":"please contact"}

{"key":"15495","name":"Return to Forever","bio":"Return to Forever was the name of a jazz fusion band founded and led by keyboardist Chick Corea. The band cycled through many members, but the only consistent band mate of Corea's was bassist Stanley Clarke. Along with Weather Report and Mahavishnu Orchestra, these bands are often seen as the core of jazz fusion music in the 1970s. Several musicians, including Clarke, Flora Purim, Airto Moreira and Al Di Meola first became well-known through their performances on Return to Forever's albums.After playing on Miles Davis' albums In a Silent Way and Bitches Brew, Corea formed an avant-garde jazz band called Circle with Dave Holland, Anthony Braxton and Barry Altschul. However in 1972, after becoming a disciple of Scientology, Corea decided that he wanted to \"communicate\" with the audience. This essentially meant that he wanted to make more commercial music, since avant-garde jazz had a relatively small audience.The first line-up (1972 - 1973)The first Return to Forever band played latin-oriented music. The initial band consisted of singer (and occasional percussionist) Flora Purim, her husband Airto Moreira on drums and other percussion, Corea's longtime musical co-worker Joe Farrell on saxophone and flute, and the young bassist Stanley Clarke, who became the only constant member of the band apart from Corea. Especially in this first line-up, Clarke played double bass in addition to electric bass. Corea's electric piano was the leading instrument in this group's sound, but Clarke and Farrell were also given plenty of solo space. Purim's vocal gave some commercial appeal for their music, but many compositions were instrumental and more or less experimental in their nature. The music was composed by Corea with the exception of the title track of the second album which was written by Stanley Clarke. Lyrics were often written by Corea's friend Neville Porter, and were often related to scientology, though this is not necessarily easy to recognize for outsiders. Clarke was involved in Scientology through Corea, but left the cult in the early 1980s.The first album, named simply Return to Forever, was cut for ECM Records in 1972 and was initially released only in Europe. This album featured Corea's famous compositions Crystal Silence and La Fiesta. Shortly afterwards, Corea, Airto, Clarke and Tony Williams formed the band for Stan Getz's album Captain Marvel (1972), which featured Corea's compositions including some from the first and second Return to Forever albums. The second album, Light as a Feather (1973), was released by Polydor and included the famous song, Spain.The jazz-rock era (1973 - 1976)After the second album, Purim and Moreira left the group in order to set up their own band. Farrell also left, and guitarist Bill Connors, drummer Steve Gadd and percussionist Mingo Lewis were taken on. However, Gadd was not willing to go touring and leave his job as a hard working studio drummer. Lenny White (who had played with Corea in Miles Davis's band) replaced Gadd and Lewis, and the group's third album, Hymn of the Seventh Galaxy (1973), was rerecorded. The first recording featuring Gadd was never released and is said to be missing.The nature of the group's music had now completely changed to \"jazz-rock\", similar to what The Mahavishnu Orchestra and some progressive rock bands were doing at the same time. The music was still relatively melodic, relying on strong themes, but traditional jazz feel was almost completely gone. Distorted guitar had become prominent in the band's new sound, and Clarke played mostly electric bass. A new singer had not been hired, and all the songs were now instrumentals. This however, did not lead to a decrease in band's commercial potential - Return to Forever's jazz-rock albums always found their way to US pop album charts.The second jazz-rock album, Where Have I Known You Before, (1974) was similar in style to the previous album, but Corea played synthesizers in addition to electric piano, and Clarke had developed his famous electric bass sound and style. Since Bill Connors had wanted to concentrate on his solo career, the group had also hired a new guitarist. Earl Klugh played guitar on some group's live performances but he was soon replaced by the 19 year old guitar wizard Al Di Meola, who played guitar on the album.The next album, No Mystery (1975), was made with the same line-up as its predecessor, but the style of music was more varied. The first side of the record consisted mostly of jazz-funk, while the second side featured Corea's acoustic title track and a long composition that borrowed partly from Spanish music. On this and the following album, each member of the group composed at least one of the tracks. No Mystery won the Grammy Award for Best Jazz Performance by a Group.The last album by the most long-lasting lineup of Return to Forever was Romantic Warrior (1976). By this time the group had left Polydor for Columbia Records. The album became the best selling of all Return to Forever albums, eventually reaching gold disc status. This album continued experiments in the realm of jazz-rock and related genres, and is also famous for its technically demanding playing.The last album (1977)The final version of Return to Forever featured a four piece horn section and Corea's wife Gayle singing vocals, and recorded just one studio album, Musicmagic (1977). The music had returned closer to the gentle feel of the music of the first line-up. However, instead of strong Latin influences, the last album features bombastic arrangements for horn section and synthesizers. Compositions remained relatively complex.In 1983 the White\/Di Meola line up returned briefly on the stage, but did not record a new album, only one track issued on Corea's Touchstone album entitled \"Compadres\".Again in 2008, the classic lineup of Corea, Di Meola, Clarke, and White reunited for a reunion tour of the United States. The band's official Web site announced after the tour's completion that a concert DVD was forthcoming. In conjunction with the tour, the band released \"The Anthology,\" a two-CD set collecting remastered versions of most of the band's songs from the four albums recorded with the Corea\/Di Meola\/Clarke\/White lineup.","featuredImage":"https:\/\/assets.allamericanmusic.com\/images\/15495_h_0.jpg","feeRange":"please contact"}

{"key":"24526","name":"Tony MacAlpine","bio":"Tony MacAlpine (born August 29, 1960 in Springfield, Massachusetts) is a guitar and keyboard virtuoso who came on to the neo classical\/shred scene in the mid 80s. He later experimented with jazz rock fusion and combined it with his classical training, as can be heard on Chromaticity (2001). He has released many solo albums in his career. Some of his other projects include CAB, Planet X, Steve Vai and Ring of Fire.","featuredImage":"https:\/\/assets.allamericanmusic.com\/images\/24526_h_0.jpg","feeRange":"please contact"}

{"key":"169573","name":"Roller Trio","bio":"Roller Trio are James Mainwairing (tenor sax and electronics), Luke Wynter (guitar) and Luke Reddin-Williams (drums). Still in their early \u201920s, they met whilst studying at Leeds College of Music.Their 2012 eponymous debut album Roller Trio was nominated for the Mercury Music Prize 2012. The trio were also included on the best jazz act award shortlist at the MOBO awards 2012.http:\/\/rollertrio.com","featuredImage":"https:\/\/assets.allamericanmusic.com\/images\/169573_h_0.jpg","feeRange":"please contact"}