Guitar, violin, multi instrumentalist, vocalist

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Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown, born in Vinton, Louisiana, mastered the guitar, fiddle, drums, viola, harmonica, piano, mandolin and bass. Gatemouth's smooth blend of Texas style swing with Jazz, Country and Cajun music has altered the definition of the Blues.

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Buster Williams, born in Camden New Jersey is a prodigious artist whose playing knows no limits.

 HERBIE MANN (1930-2003), f

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Herbie Mann, born in Brooklyn, New York, was a pioneer force in the evolution of the jazz flute. The world according to flutist and composer Herbie Mann was a utopian musical paradise where jazz is made up of Afro-Cuban, Middle-Eastern, R&B, and nearly every other kind of music.

Vocalist, composer, "Empress of the Blues"

Bessie Smith, born in Chattanooga, Tennessee, was a star on the vaudeville circuit by age 21 and within a few years she produced two iconicl recordings "Gulf Coast Blues" and "Down Hearted Blues. 

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Eugene "Jug" Ammons, born in Chicago, vaulted into the spotlight at 18 when he played tenor saxophone with King Kolax band.

 Frank Emilio Flynn (1921-2001), piano, composer

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Frank Emilio Flynn, born and raised in Cuba, triumphed over his blindness (the result of birth trauma) and emerged as masterful pianist, fluent in elegant danzones, spicy mambos to free-wheeling descargas.  As teenager Flynn played played with a danson ensemble and later perfected his craft at a school operated by Cuba's National Assn. for the Blind. 

 HERBIE HANCOCK (1940- ), piano, composer, bandleader

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Herbie Hancock, a native of Chicago, was a child piano prodigy, who at 11 was already performing with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. He grew up absorbing Oscar Peterson and Bill Evans and fascinated with electronic science. 

 JIMMY SABATER (1936-), timbales, piano, percussion and vocals

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Jimmy Sabater, born in New York City, grew up in a Puerto Rican household filled with latin music by Tito Puente, Willi Bobo and  Monchito Muñoz. Since 1957 Sabater's powerful vocals have set the standard for Latin music vocalists since he blasted out the salsa scene singing  "To Be With You." 

  OMAR SOSA (1965- )
Pianist, percussionist, composer, arranger, producer, bandleader

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Omar Sosa, born in Camagüey, Cuba, is renowned for his vibrant blending  of jazz and Afro-Caribbean rhythms, combining percussive piano stylings with electronic effects and Afro-Cuban shadings.

  DAVE ALLEN (1970- ), guitarist

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Dave Allen is one of the more distinctive voices on jazz guitar today. He has continually sought to forge a unique vision through his playing and writing, one that features lyrical melodies with lilting, complex rhythms.