| Hugh
Masekela was born on April 4th, 1939 in Witbank, South
Africa. As a child Masekela began singing and playing
the piano but at age 14 he started playing the trumpet.
He formed South Africa's first youth orchestra. In 1961
such artists as Dizzy Gillespie, John Dankworth and Harry
Belafonte helped Hugh get out of South Africa. He studied
at the Royal Academy of Music and then the Manhattan School
of Music. In 1968 he topped the charts with "Grazing
in the Grass" and eventually sold four million copies
worldwide. |
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| Brenda
Russell was born April 8th, 1944 in Brooklyn, New York.
Growing up in Hamilton Ontario, Russell was introduced
to her first piano while singing as a teenager in a Canadian
company of the rock musical "Hair". In 1988
she released the album "Get There" which had
a Grammy
Nomination for the song "Piano in the Dark".
She has done session work for Barbara Streisand, Elton
John, and Bette
Midler, plus Luther
Vandross, and Donna Summer among others have recorded
her songs. |
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| Herbie
Hancock was born on April 12th, 1940 in Chicago, Illinois.
Hancock, a child prodigy performed a Mozart Piano concerto
with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra at the age of 11.In
1963 he released his debut album "Takin Off"
it was a immediate success with the hit "Watermelon
Man". In 1963 he joined the Miles
Davis Quintet and remained with them for five years.
He has won 8 Grammy
Awards in the past two decades. |
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|
Jeff Golub was born
April 15th, 1955 in Akron, Ohio.Golub attended the prestigious
Berklee College of Music in Boston. He backed many artists
such as Billy Squire, Tina Turner, John Waite, Vanessa
Williams and Peter Wolfe. In 1988 he was hired to back
Rod Stewart and stayed
there for eight years. Also in 1988 he released his debut
album "Unspoken Words." In 1994 he formed the
band Avenue Blue and released three albums with the band. |
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| Luther
Vandross was born on April 20th, 1951 in New York,
New York. Vandross released his debut album in 1981 entitled
"Never Too much". In 1989 he received Top Ten
success with "Here and Now" and prior to that
he released 22 R&B Chart Singles. He has five Grammy's
to his credit including one for Best R&B Male Vocal
Performance, Two for Best R&B Song and Best R&B
Male Vocal Performance. He was also honored with a special
BET Walk of Fame Tribute. |
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