“I listen to all those kinds of music, from classic soul to hip-hop to Brazilian music to, you know, jazz to indie to alternative... And for me, when I'm making music, it's all in my head, and all those influences in my head. So if something comes to me that's a reference from a different genre then people are used to hearing from me, I'm not afraid to go there with it.” PeopleIfsKnowsKindDifferentSoulUsedInfluenceJazzHip HopHearingHipsAlternativesGenreClassicHopsNot AfraidDifferent GenresBrazilian Music Author:John Legend
“Oscar Peterson is the greatest living influence on jazz pianists today.” TodayInfluenceJazzOscarsPianist Author:Herbie Hancock
“Shook is the musical universe I created. I come from a classical and jazz background and my father is a jazz pianist, so my world bears largely the marks of this influence. As a sort of gateway, I started composing my own music on the computer at the age of 13. Before Shook, I had not yet discovered the kind of music I wanted to dedicate myself to, so I did a little of everything.” WorldKindLittlesAgeWantedUniverseFatherMy OwnInfluenceBearsComputerMarkJazzMusicalBackgroundsComposingPianistGateways Author:Shook
“The jazz guitarist Peter Sprague calls his home recording studio SpragueLand, but sometimes it seems that the moniker better captures the way he has turned the entire southland into his own musical playground. Sprague is a highly versatile musician who draws on the wellsprings of jazz and Brazilian music as primary influences.” WaySometimesHomeSeemsInfluenceMusicianDrawsJazzMusicalStudiosPrimariesCapturePeterGuitaristPlaygroundsVersatileRecording StudioWellspringBrazilian Music Author:Andrew S. Gilbert
“Armstrong was the key creator of the mature working language of jazz. Three decades after his death and more than three-quarters of a century since his influence first began to spread, not a single musician who has mastered that language fails to make daily use, knowingly or unknowingly, of something that was invented by Louis Armstrong.” FirstsUseThreeLanguageFailingInfluenceCenturyKeysMusicianJazzCreatorSpreadDecadesMatureQuartersArmstrongQuarter Of A Century Author:Dan Morgenstern
“Well, Smoke n' Mirrors has very much a world music flavor and it doesn't park itself in one country. It borrows heavily from the Brazilian angle, which is dear to my heart, and I recorded several albums with that flavor. Probably even more so than the Brazilian flavor, there's an African, South African and West African influence and on a couple of other tracks there's some Latin flavor and there's some Indian tables on one track, all centered around my jazz guitar and acoustic guitars, and very much a Lee Ritenour sound.” WorldWellsHeartCountrySoundInfluenceCoupleMy HeartMirrorsTablesJazzWestSouthGuitarDearTrackAlbumsSmokeIndianParksLatinSouth AfricaAngleFlavorAcousticsWorld MusicAcoustic Guitar Author:Lee Ritenour
“There are many influences in my music, not only blues. R&B, Motown, gospel, old timey, jazz, even classical are all part of what I do. I started with classical, then country, then blues, and after that I started listening heavily to Motown and gospel. My earliest efforts as a songwriter were soul. Aretha Franklin, Curtis Mayfield, Wilson Pickett, Gladys Knight, James Brown, Otis Redding, Marvin Gaye and Fontella Bass are just a few of the names that come to mind as the God's of soul and Motown.” MindSoulCountryNamesEffortInfluenceListeningJazzBrownSongwritersKnightsBassFranklinWilsonOld TimeMarvinMotown Author:Rory Block
“I was a jazz major in high school, in an all-jazz band. No matter what I do, it features my musical influences.” MatterSchoolInfluenceBandMajorsHigh SchoolNo Matter WhatJazzMusicalFeaturesJazz BandMusical Influence Author:Wyclef Jean
“I guess my biggest influence was actually my Grandfather. He used to play old records on vinyl, and would play old jazz and soul music like Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday and The Rat Pack and swing music.” SoulPlayUsedRecordsInfluenceJazzHolidaySwingsGrandfatherPacksRatsMy GrandfatherVinylMusic SoulOld RecordsRat Pack Author:Ella Henderson
“My influences are jazz, blues, European classical music; they are rock music and pop music. So many kinds of music. World music from different countries like India and China. I think that would be a shame not to take advantage and do something... not unique, because I don't have this pretension.” ThinkingWorldKindDifferentCountryWould BeInfluenceRocksUniqueAdvantageIndiaShameJazzChinaPopsClassical MusicPop MusicRock MusicPretensionDifferent CountriesWorld Music Author:Rokia Traore
“Beginning in the sixties, but getting strong during the seventies and eighties, everybody was sort of Miles Davis and Chick Corea and the jazz guys on the west coast and east coast in America, and then in Switzerland and lots of groups in England and elsewhere, like here in Brazil. We were all under a heavy influence of technological gadgets and changes that we used as elements to produce and create music.” AmericaUsedGuyStrongGroupsInfluenceProduceElementsEnglandJazzWestHeavyEastMilesElsewhereSixtyTechnologicalCoastSeventiesEightyChicksBrazilGadgetsSwitzerlandWest CoastEast Coast Author:Gilberto Gil