Who Are You?

Blossom Dearie @allmusic: A distinctive, girlish voice, crisp, impeccable delivery, and an irrepressible sense of playful swing made Blossom Dearie one of the most enjoyable singers of the vocal era. Her warmth and sparkle ensured that she’d never treat standards as the well-worn songs they often appeared in less capable hands. And though her reputation was made on record with a string of excellent albums for Verve during the ’50s, she remained a draw with Manhattan cabaret audiences long into the new millennium.

Ute Lemper : Ute Lemper’s career is vast and varied. She has made her mark on the stage, in films, in concert and as a unique recording artist. She has been universally praised for her interpretations of Berlin Cabaret Songs, the works of Kurt Weill and Berthold Brecht and  the French Chanson Book. As well as her own compositions and the more Jazz influenced collaborations and works. In the world of theater Ute made her mark with her portrayals on Broadway, in Paris and in London’s West End.

Barney Wilen : Basically a tenor player, Wilen made his name when Miles Davis chose him to play in a group he was fronting in Europe in 1957. But Wilen had already garnered a reputation with visiting Americans for a considerably accomplished technique and a real mastery of hard-bop forms. The Fontana album is an early one, combining two film soundtrack scores: Un Temoin is curtailed to fit the purposes of the film, and the group never really get going, but Wilen and Dorham have a few nice moments. Jazz Sur Seine is more like a regular quartet date, with Jackson (on piano for once), Heath and Clarke. Most of the tunes are French jazz staples – a thoughtful `Nuages’, a bright `Swing 39′, and they finish on Monk’s ‘Epistrophy’.

Lord Sitar @Tumbler : Big Jim Sullivan is the man behind Lord Sitar and was one of the most sought-after studio musicians in the UK during the 60’s. You can hear his guitar on hit records by the Small Faces, Serge Gainsbourg, Cilla Black, Georgie Fame, Tom Jones, Dusty Springfield and Chris Farlowe, to name a few.

Terry Tha Rapman : b. Terry Madaki, 28 January 1976, Terry started rapping back in 1991 in secondary school at school shows and bonfire nights. Shortly after he finished from secondary school, he recorded a demo which gave him recognition in Kaduna through radio airplay. Then he was known as Terrific. He later changed this to Tha Rapman after he hooked up with a group (Tha Croc City Click) in 1995.

Sally Norvell : While working on a screenplay about a man on Texas Death Row, Ms. Norvell was engaged to create a media advocacy campaign for the condemned man, David Lee Powell. Using her skills from years in advertising, she designed a strategic campaign of outreach and activism, taking the case from obscurity to international recognition. She wrote and managed content for a website, produced and directed a clemency video and a 29 minute film and numerous webisodes, and meaningfully engaged with attorneys, journalists and abolition activists to create an integrated, viral campaign that reached international audiences. The campaign successfully created pressure on public officials to examine and debate the many problems with the case. It stirred debate all over Texas and beyond, drilling down into the public consciousness to examine the possibilities of redemption and mercy.

Barbara Lynn @Blues Music Now : One reason why Lynn’s career is being jump-started, causing music executives and R&B purists to crave her music, is because in February the left-handed guitarist, songwriter and singer was given a Pioneer Award by the Rhythm and Blues Foundation. Lynn received the award along with some other R&B notables — Patti LaBelle, Joe Simon, Ashford and Simpson and Brenda Holloway.

Roy Hargrove @Facebook : Since his own emergence in the late ’80s, Roy Hargrove has proved to be an adventurous and wide-ranging artist, proudly immersed in the jazz tradition and yet continually striking out for new terrain. Among his groups include the straight-ahead, hard-bop Roy Hargrove Quintet and Crisol, an Afro-Cuban ensemble that won a Grammy in 1998 for Best Latin Jazz Performance with its album Habana. With the funk-oriented RH Factor, Hargrove released the 2003 album Hard Groove, featuring guest appearances by R&B superstars Erykah Badu, Common and D’Angelo. His last album, 2008’s quintet session Earfood (Groovin’ High/Emercy), was featured in dozens of year-end Top 10 lists.

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