Pioneering and groundbreaking UK groove-masters Incognito embark on their third decade of creating mind blowing, hit-making classics with their harmonious new recording, Transatlantic R.P.M. The group is joined by an all-star lineup that includes the iconic Chaka Khan, R&B/jazz/soul diva and longtime Incognito vocalist Maysa, spoken word goddess Ursula Rucker, Motown legend Leon Ware and renowned Italian singer Mario Biondi.

The album started in London’s bohemian Oxton Square a year ago with Matt Cooper, Pete Biggin, Francis Hilton, Thomas Dyani and Bluey jamming and laying tracks sitting in a circle. Interrupted by several recording and touring projects, they left the tracks to marinate and returned from time to time to add spices like brass and vocal harmonies. The band had been touring and had built a strong rapport – every one was on top of their game. They all threw down knowing that they had something special on their hands.

Home girl Maysa was first to start the transatlantic revolutions. She somehow fought the jet lag and summoned the energy to deliver a moment of pure emotional soul the morning after the band’s 30th anniversary gig at the O2 in London. Joy Rose, Tony Momrelle and Vanessa Haynes followed suit and brought Bluey’s lyrics to life with stunning performances. From then on there was no doubt… the revolution had already started!

This album was conceived in the heat of the summer of 2008,” says John Legend, “in the middle of a passionate election campaign that represented change and hope, and awakened a new generation of activists who had never been inspired before.”

Faced with this moment of thrilling possibility, R&B singer Legend and hip-hop band The Roots felt a need to enter the action. “Our initial idea was to make something that was the cool, hip soundtrack to that spirit, that sense of restlessness and optimism,” says Legend. A planned single became an EP, which turned into a full album project that’s been given the appropriately fiery title Wake Up!

The musicians also realized that if this project was really going to be significant, it had to address more than one moment in history. “A big part of the guiding spirit for this record was the days that led up to November of 2008,” says Roots drummer/musical director Ahmir “?uestlove” Thompson, “but not wanting to jump the gun, we held off for a year to see if the songs could still stand no matter the political climate of Washington.”

As they got deeper into the concept, they opted to focus on songs representing the last time American youth were so politically aware, which Legend describes as “funky, soulful black music from the ‘60s and ‘70s—music that’s been sampled by many rappers, but we wanted to put our spin on it.”

Taking a cue from one of the first songs they attempted, “Wake Up Everybody” by Philly Soul masters Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes, a theme began to emerge. Urban protest songs shared a concern for awareness, engagement, consciousness—they were telling listeners to Wake Up!

The eleven songs on the resulting album—shot through with gospel, rock, and reggae inflections, yet never losing a hip-hop attack—mix selections familiar (“Wholly Holy” by Marvin Gaye, “Little Ghetto Boy” by Donny Hathaway) and obscure (Baby Huey and the Babysitters’ “Hard Times,” “Hang on in There” by Mike James Kirkland). Wake Up! blends Legend’s expressive, thoughtful vocal interpretations with the limber funk of The Roots, all filtered through Thompson’s encyclopedic musical knowledge.

Bringing Legend and The Roots together is an inspired pairing, so logical that it’s a little surprising they haven’t teamed up before. John Legend is a six-time Grammy winner whose three albums have all hit Number One on the Billboard R&B charts, and who has collaborated with such artists as Kanye West, Jay-Z, Alicia Keys, and the Black Eyed Peas. The Roots—currently visible nightly as the stupendously versatile house band on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon—have released nine acclaimed studio albums (including the recent How I Got Over) and redefined the relationship between live instruments and hip-hop. Though the Roots were rising stars in Philadelphia when Legend was attending the University of Pennsylvania, the only time they have worked together was for one song on Al Green’s 2008 album Lay It Down, which Thompson produced.

As Wake Up! took shape, a style started to present itself, firmly based in the original recordings, but never purely an imitation. Some arrangements were more faithful to the sources and some less, but all crystallize the strengths of this specific group of musicians. “We were in no way trying to make it sound super-modern,” says Legend. “There’s an audience right now that’s missing that feeling, because everything is so autotuned and produced and has so much of a sheen on it. We wanted to do something kinda dirty.”

Legend notes that the biggest transformation came on the album’s one original composition, his song “Shine,” which is featured in Academy Award-winning director Davis Guggenheim’s documentary film Waiting for Superman. He recalls his excitement as he watched the song develop from a piano-based ballad to a “Stevie-Wonder-meets-gospel” powerhouse.

The first track they cut, a hard-charging shuffle version of “Compared to What” (best known as a hit for Les McCann and Eddie Harris), set the tone for the rest of Wake Up! While they wanted to mix up the sound of the songs (a rap break from CL Smooth spikes the energy on the already-fever-pitch “Our Generation”), the lyrics remained as valid as ever.

“These songs sound so relevant now,” Legend says. “On most of them, you wouldn’t change a lyric. ‘Wake Up Everybody’ (the album’s first single, featuring contributions from Melanie Fiona and Common) has four verses—the first one is a general statement, the second is about education, third is about health care, and the fourth is about making a better environment. No editing needed.”

The singer points out that songs like “Compared to What” or Nina Simone’s “I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel to Be Free” offer tough words and strong protests, not naïve bromides. “A lot of the songs are complaining more than they’re presenting solutions,” he says. “We wanted to have a bit of that angst, because that’s hip-hop—it wasn’t all ‘Let’s hold hands,’ it was, ‘Man, this sucks.’ And I think a lot of people feel that way right now.”

John Legend explains succinctly why this album is something that the world needs—now. “The intense brew of possibility and persistent poverty, optimism and despair, activism and unrest, global connectedness and intractable global conflicts, is the reason Wake Up! exists.”

Time is testament to the mark of greatness, and for this era that mark belongs to Usher Raymond IV, the consummate entertainer who transcends the boundaries of popular culture, redefining the nature of superstardom. Usher’s considerable achievements begin with over 45 million records sold world wide and a stable of five Grammy awards. The singer, composer, producer, actor, businessman, designer and philanthropist is the quintessential contemporary icon, celebrated for nearly two decades.

Usher, a self-described “master of the moment,” was born to lead—from the stage to the boardroom. Over the course of his exemplary career, Usher has led by countless examples, creating a rich catalog of hit songs and crowning achievements. With the release of his monumental seventh album, Raymond v. Raymond, Usher returns to his original medium – making songs into masterpieces that illuminate the struggle between man and legend.

“There’s the perception and the person,” explains Usher. “There’s a perception of what life might be like for someone in my position and that perception is based on the access I’ve been granted, the women, wild nights… On the other side of that is the reality, the emotions, loves and real life experiences. Life is about balance, and I find in the end that both sides come together to create a simply, complicated individual who strives in his deeds and aspirations to make a better world along the way.”

Usher has come into his own as a sage artist, skillfully capturing the stirring emotions of the human heart in a complete, balanced album in soul-stirring jams, in serious grown man fashion. From his enchanting lyrical delivery on “There Goes My Baby,” to the cosmic creativity of “Monstar” produced by Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, Usher picks up where he left off in the style of his seminal album Confessions – expressing what’s on his mind, but leaving enough to pique the imagination and engage the five senses with breathtaking vocal delivery.

“Every super hero [has to] to have theme music,” he quips on “She Don’t Know” and that’s true for Usher, whose powers are indeed supernatural, framed against percussive handclaps and his familiar one-word recourse. On “OMG,” set off by Will.i.am’s crisp beats, Usher takes it to the floor, and goes hard as the seductive melody comes to a frenzied crescendo. With “Mars vs Venus,” Usher morphs into a mystic over the synth-edged sound of breath as he ruminates on the subject of his desire. “Hey Daddy (Daddy’s Home),” produced by The Runners and Rico Love, finds Usher more playful as a man of experience.

Raymond v. Raymond was made in Atlanta and Las Vegas studios, reflective of the contrasting themes Usher explores. “Conceptually, the recording process mirrored the album. This time I recorded the album in both Las Vegas (for the first time) and Atlanta. In Vegas, it’s no-holds-barred, unlimited access. There are so many different places and experiences. Then I recorded in Atlanta — the city represents to me the reality of emotion and feelings. One city represents perception and the other reality.”

That reality has evolved in the eighteen years since Usher was discovered on “Star Search” and subsequently signed to LaFace Records, as he consistently raised the bar for excellence. From his first hit single, “Think of You,” it was clear an enduring star was born. With the release of his second album My Way in 1997, his celestials powers grew with seven million copies sold, featuring the massive hits “You Make Me Wanna…,” and “Nice & Slow.”

In 1999, he released, Usher Live a compilation of hits and music medleys from his concerts, followed by the four-times-platinum and critically-acclaimed 8701 in 2001, which included “U Remind Me” and “U Don’t Have to Call” (both received Grammys in the “Best Male R&B Vocal Performance” category) and the number-one hit “U Got It Bad.”

However, it was Confessions that propelled Usher into infamy with over one million copies sold in the first week of release in 2004— the highest debut-week numbers ever for a male R&B artist. “Confessions Part II,” “Burn” and “Yeah!” soared to the top of Billboard’s Hot 100 Singles charts, making Usher the first solo artist to have three singles inside the Hot 100 Top 10, simultaneously joining the ranks of the Beatles and the Bee Gees. Confessions was the most successful album of 2004, selling over 10 million copies in the US and almost 20 million copies worldwide. Usher won three Grammys, two MTV Video Music Awards, four World Music Awards, four American Music Awards and eleven Billboard Music Awards. In fact, this year Usher earned the distinction of being the “Top Hot 100 Artist of the Decade” with 13 consecutive top 20 singles (seven reaching No.1 and collectively spending the most weeks atop the Hot 100 Singles chart for any act in the decade).

Usher’s indelible influence on the culture was echoed in the Showtime special “One Night, One Star: Live from Puerto Rico” capping off a flurry of success that spread across the globe. The DVD was declared seven times platinum. He won over fans and critics alike with accolades, which continue to multiply: 5 Grammy Awards, 4 American Music Awards, 8 Soul Train Music Awards, 4 BET Awards, 3 Nickelodeon Kids Choice Award, 6 Teen Choice Awards, a Blockbuster Music Award, 3 R&B Hip Hop Conference Awards, 9 ASCAP Awards, a staggering 17 Billboard Music Awards and countless other international awards from several countries

Neo-soul singer Alicia Keys saw 2008 in by celebrating triple platinum certification for third studio album As I Am, released less than two months previously. Recently she has combined her musical career with acting, with roles in Smokin’ Aces and The Nanny Diaries.

Alicia Keys learned to play the piano as a child and graduated from the Professional Performing Arts School at the top of her class. She chose not to graduate from University, instead signing a demo deal with Columbia, though it foundered fairly quickly. Before the release of her debut album, she co-wrote and recorded the song “Dah Dee Dah (Sexy Thing)” which was used in the film Men in Black, and the songs “Rock wit U” (Shaft) and “Rear View Mirror” (Dr. Doolittle 2).

She eventually signed to J Records and released Songs in A Minor (2001). It was a huge hit from the outset, with the first single “Fallin’” spending six weeks at the top of the Billboard Hot 100. Reviews of the album were positive and five Grammy wins followed. In 2002 Remixed & Unplugged in A Minor was released, a recreation of her debut.

The next studio release was 2003′s The Diary of Alicia Keys which was enjoyed by both the critics and the music-loving public who purchased more than eight million copies worldwide. Four further Grammy awards followed.

Keys took part in the successful MTV Unplugged series and the album of this performance was released in 2005. However fans had to wait until November 2007 for her next studio album, As I Am, which topped the albums chart in its debut week with sales of almost 750,000

Elements of  Freedom is Keys latest release featuring the smash hit, Empire of State, featuring Jay-Z

Although Herbie Hancock continues to perform and record regularly today, he is best remembered for playing with Miles Davis in the 60s, pioneering jazz-funk in the 70s, and contributing to the ascent of hip-hop a decade later.

Herbie Hancock’s “The Imagine Project”, the new CD from multiple Grammy-winning artist and musical pioneer Herbie Hancock, is an unprecedented international recording and film project featuring collaborations between music legend Herbie Hancock and over a dozen superstars from every region of the planet.

In addition to “The Song Goes On,” tracks include “Don’t Give Up,” a duet recorded in London featuring Seal and Pink, “Imagine” with Konono No. l, Jeff Beck, Oumou Sangare and Lionel Louke recorded in Paris and London; “Tamatant Tilay/Exodus” featuring Tinariwen, “Times They Are A Changin’” featuring The Chieftains, Lionel Loueke and Lisa Hannigan recorded in Ireland; , “Space Captain” with Derek Trucks and Susan Tedeschi, “Mi Tierra” recorded with Latin superstar Juanes in Miami, “A Change Is Gonna Come” with James Morrison and a track with Brazilian singer-songwriter Ceu recorded in Sao Paulo.

“Music truly is the universal language,” says Hancock, “The Imagine Project” will explore that concept across the globe, uniting a myriad of cultures through song and positive creative expression. My hope is that the music will serve as a metaphor for the actions taken by the inhabitants of this wonderful planet as a call for world harmony on all levels.”

Herbie Hancock’s — “The Imagine Project” is the next step in Hancock’s extraordinary ground-breaking career, and builds upon his recent successes and recognition. (2007 Grammy for Album of the Year – “River/The Joni Letters”, Time Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People in the World, multiple award-winning album/film, “Possibilities”, Jazz Chair for the Los Angeles Philharmonic, amongst many others).

In 1963, Hancock, a  promising young jazz pianist was hand-picked by Miles Davis to play in his ‘Second Great Quintet’. Hancock continued to release his own solo sessions on Blue Note, including the hugely important albums Empyrean Isles (1964) and Maiden Voyage (1965). Alongside Davis, Hancock began to experiment with fusing rock or funk elements into jazz, before leaving Davis’ ensemble in 1968. He later made notable appearances on influential Davis albums like In a Silent Way and On the Corner. Meanwhile, Hancock’s solo work won more admirers. In the early 70s he introduced synthesizers into jazz with the avant-garde Mwandishi albums. However, they were not very accessible and sold few copies, so Hancock decided that funk could be integrated to jazz in a way that would be more accessible. He formed The Headhunters and released Head Hunters (1973), one of the first and most influential jazz-funk records ever.

After Head Hunters, Hancock continued with less-successful jazz-funk records and made several film and TV soundtracks. In 1983, Hancock won a Grammy for the innovative single “Rockit”. The first hit to feature turntablism, it introduced the wider world to the possibility of deliberately manipulating a vinyl record to produce a ‘scratch’ sound that could be used as if another instrument.

In 2008 Herbie Hancock was the shock winner of the Album of the Year Grammy for his Joni Mitchell covers album River: The Joni Letters (2007).

Leela James has woven the soul tradition soul very much her own – a music inspired by past masters Aretha Franklin, Mavis Staples, Gladys Knight and other iconic divas of generations past,  but galvanized by her own life experience and highly focused artistic vision with the release of her new album, My Soul on the  Stax Records (a division of Concord Music Group).

“I called this album My Soul because the music is a more accurate reflection of who I am than anything else I’ve ever recorded,” says James. “I did more of the writing, and I was involved with more of the creative process in general.

The first single off the album, “Tell Me You Love Me,” is a track that James co-wrote with Andrea Martin and Gordon Williams. Gerrard Baker loops in a sample of James riffing on a line from “Then You Can Tell Me Goodbye,” the classic ballad made popular among soul audiences by the Manhattans in 1978.

Born and raised in Los Angeles, James was surrounded by music from a very early age – much of it from the soul, R&B and gospel traditions that predated her by at least a couple decades. “There was definitely a lot of Al Green played in our house,” she recalls. “And there were other gospel singers too, like James Cleveland, The Mighty Clouds of Joy and Shirley Caesar.” …“There was the soul and R&B and funk from artists like Aretha, Smoky Robinson and Parliament,” she says. “And there was B.B. King and all the other blues artists, and then the hip hop by Run DMC and LL Cool J. There was so much that I was exposed to.”

She made her recording debut with A Change Is Gonna Come, released on the Warner label in 2005.

In 2009, she recorded Let’s Do It Again for the Shanachie label. The album was a series of covers – mostly soul, R&B and funk tunes  prompted readers of soultracks.com – the respected website for all things soul, R&B and gospel – to tap James as Female Vocalist of the Year in the site’s 2009 Readers Choice Poll in December 2009.

Clearly, Leela James’s musical soul embraces an infinite range of emotions and human struggles. “In the past, people tried to put me in a box, based on what they thought soul should sound like,” she says. “But soul is whatever comes out of you when you bring your deepest and most honest emotions to the forefront. All these songs are a representation of my soul.”

Toni’s new album, “Pulse,” is scheduled for release in May, 2010.

Inspired by the likes of Stevie Wonder, Anita Baker, Chaka Khan, and Whitney Houston,, Toni Braxton has built a worldwide base of music lovers since she first burst onto the contemporary music scene in 1991 with “Love Shoulda Brought You Home” (from the soundtrack of the hit movie “Boomerang”). Toni’s creative partnership with Antonio “L.A.” Reid and Kenneth “Babyface” Edmonds yielded a non-stop run of multi-platinum albums: 1993′s “Toni Braxton,” 1996′s “Secrets,” the 2000 set “The Heat,” and 2003′s highly personal and thought-provoking “More than a Woman,” which featured a number of songs written by Toni herself as well as production from the Neptunes and Rodney Jerkins, among others.

Along the way, Toni distinguished herself with unforgettable hit singles such as “Another Sad Love Song,” “Breathe Again,” “Un-Break My Heart,” “You’re Makin’ Me High,” and “He Wasn’t Man Enough,” picking up five Grammy Awards in the process (in 1993 for “Best New Artist” and “Best R&B Vocal Performance, Female”; another “Best R&B Vocal Performance, Female” award in 1994; and in 1997, as winner in both the “Best R&B” and “Best Pop” Female Vocal Performance categories).

Toni headlined her own show at the Flamingo Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas. The show–”Toni Braxton: Revealed”–was originally only scheduled for a three-month run, but its success prompted an extension through April, 2008. In August, 2008, Toni competed on ABC’s “Dancing with Stars” and headlined the “Dancing with the Stars” tour. She recently signed with Atlantic Records and released her new single “Yesterday,” featuring Trey Songz.

The current single, “Window Seat,” has already been heating up airwaves and will be featured as Delta Airlines in-flight boarding music throughout the month of April. It was the No. 1 most-added track at Urban AC Mediabase and Urban AC R&R, and the No. 1 Greatest Gainer on the BDS Urban AC chart. “Window Seat” was co-produced by ERYKAH BADU and James Poyser on keys with Ahmir “?uestlove” Thompson from The Roots on drums. With lyrics like, “Can I get a window seat? / Don’t want nobody next to me / I just wanna take it out of town / A look around / And a safe touch down,” Okayplayer.com hails it as a “mellowed out anthem” for frequent flyers, and Rolling Stone magazine says it’s “a smoothly schizophrenic quiet-stormer.”

ERYKAH BADU has been busy promoting the release of NEW AMERYKAH PART TWO: RETURN OF THE ANKH with recent television performances on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon (March 3), The Wendy Williams Show (March 25), and Good Day New York (March 26). She is currently visible on newsstands on the April cover of EQ and featured in the April issues of Nylon and Playboy. She is also scheduled to appear in upcoming issues of Rolling Stone, BlackBook, Entertainment Weekly, Time Out New York, Upscale, Spin, Vibe, 944, Paste, and People, among many others.

She grew up listening to ’70s soul and ’80s hip-hop, but Erykah Badu drew more comparisons to Billie Holiday upon her breakout in 1997, after the release of her first album, Baduizm. The grooves and production on the album are bass-heavy R&B, but Badu‘s languorous, occasionally tortured vocals and delicate phrasing immediately removed her from the legion of cookie-cutter female R&B singers. A singer/songwriter responsible for all but one of the songs on Baduizm, she found a number 12 hit with her first single, “On & On,” which pushed the album to number two on the charts.

Born Erica Wright in Dallas in 1971, Badu attended a school of the arts and was working as a teacher and part-time singer in her hometown when she opened for D’Angelo at a 1994 show. D’Angelo’s manager, Kedar Massenburg, was impressed with the performance and hooked her up with the singer to record a cover of the Marvin Gaye/Tammi Terrell duet “Precious Love.” He also signed Badu to his recently formed Kedar Entertainment label, and served as producer for Baduizm, which also starred bassist Ron Carter and members of hip-hop avatars the Roots on several tracks. The first single, “On & On,” became a number one R&B hit in early 1997, and Baduizm followed it to the top of the R&B album charts by March. Opening for R&B acts as well as rap’s Wu-Tang Clan, Erykah Badu stopped just short of number one on the pop album charts in April. Her Live album followed later in the year.

In 2000 she returned with her highly anticipated second studio album, Mama’s Gun, which was co-produced by Badu, James Poyser, Bilal, and Jay Dee and contained the hit single “Bag Lady.” Worldwide Underground, a loose affair billed as an EP despite being longer than many full-lengths, was released in 2003. Her next step, 2008′s New Amerykah, Pt. 1: 4th World War, was a heavy and abstract release featuring collaborations with the members of Sa-Ra and Georgia Anne Muldrow; it reached number two on the Billboard 200 and Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Albums charts. New Amerykah, Pt. 2: Return of the Ankh, looser and more playful than Pt. 1, followed in 2010. ~ John Bush, All Music Guide

For Norman Connors music was a matter of destiny, not choice.  It is this kismet that allowed the multi-faceted and dynamic musician at the tender age of 16 to perform alongside legendary jazz saxophonist John Coltrane and travel to NY with nothing but his drum sticks and $20 in his pocket, only to end up landing a full scholarship to the prestigious Juilliard School of Music. Destined to leave his indelible imprint on the music scene, Norman Connors would go on to discover such revered vocalists as Phyllis Hyman, Angela Bofill, Dee Dee Bridgewater and Jean Carne, produce a track for the iconic Stevie Wonder and create one of R&B’s greatest ‘Quiet Storm’ anthems with Michael Henderson’s, “You Are My Starship.” This 1976 chart-topping single, that has been sampled by everyone from LL Cool J to Snoop Dogg, went on to spawn an entire genre of music fusing the worlds of jazz and R&B. Never one to sit still.

Norman Connors is at it again with a new project that is destined to further endear him to critics and fans alike as one of music’s greatest treasures.   Star Power, the multi platinum-selling producer’s Shanachie debut and first recording in seven years is a momentous occasion that joins Connors with some of his dear friends and some new ones including vocalists Peabo Bryson, Howard Hewett and Christopher Williams, bassist (and vocalist) Michael Henderson, saxophonist Marion Meadows, keyboardists Herman Jackson and Bobby Lyle and guitarists Ray Parker Jr., Norman Brown and Paul Jackson, Jr.  among others.

The opening track on Star Power, “Used to Be,” features keyboardist Bobby Lyle and vocalist Christopher Williams, known for the R&B hit “I’m Dreamin’.” “This is the first time Christopher Williams and I have ever collaborated with one another. I had heard about him and I had seen him in the film New Jack City. His singing reminds me of a young Teddy Pendergrass. When I got this song, he came to mind. I felt like Christopher would be the best person to pull it off.” Lyle and Connors have worked together for years and Connors considers him a vital part of any recording he does.

Vocalists Howard Hewett and Antoinette Manganas join forces for Manganas’ sultry ballad “Where Do We Go From Here,” which Connors cites as one of his favorites on the album. Antoinette is also featured on Sade’s classic “The Sweetest Taboo and the Bacharach/David hit “Walk on By.” “Howard and Antoinette sound great together,” says Connors. “I have always wanted to work  with Howard Hewett, who I have loved since his Shalamar days. His voice is magnificent.”

In 1976, Norman Connors and Michael Henderson (long time bassist with Miles Davis) got together to create what is now one of R&B’s most covered and highly sampled ‘Quiet Storm’ classics, “You Are My Starship.” The duo returns to this gem on Star Power and enlists the help of Grammy winning singer Peabo Bryson. Norman Connors says he can’t play a show without someone requesting this song. He said he knew it would be a hit from the very beginning. “Michael had the sound, right concept and flow, and there was something mystical about the song. I was the only one who thought it was a hit!”  Grammy-winning vocalist Peabo Bryson shines on Star Power’s new version of “You are My Starship.”  Norman Connors says, “I have worked with Peabo a number of times in concert and on recordings and he is one of my all-time favorite singers along with Donnie Hathaway and Marvin Gaye.”

Through the years, Connors has had a keen ability to discover and nurture new talent. He has been instrumental in so many musicians’ careers including Phyllis Hyman, Angela Bofill, Michael Henderson, Glenn Jones, Norman Brown and countless others.  “I consider myself not just an artist and musician but I am an ambassador of the music. A lot of people call me up and I give them advice,” shares Connors.  On Star Power, Norman is proud to feature an up-and-coming singer that he says will be the next big thing. His name is Danny Boy. “He has such talent that he is sure to blow in the next year. He is incredible. He is my ace in the hole at my live shows. He has a beautiful spirit and can sing anything. He’s like a young Peabo Bryson and Donnie Hathaway all in one. Has great range and can dance. He is all over the stage and sings his heart out!” declares Connors. Danny Boy is featured on the Stevie Crissette and Max Frank song “You Take My Breath Away.”

Star Power also features several memorable instrumental tracks including a funky version of Michael Jackson’s 1979 hit “Rock With You” featuring guitarist Ray Parker, Jr., who has garnered scores of hits including “Ghostbusters.” “I have known Ray Parker Jr. since he was fresh out of high school. We were label mates on Arista years ago and I always admired his way of singing simple things and being able to take them and make them hits.” Herman Jackson, who is the keyboardist on American Idol and who has served as music director for both Aretha Franklin and Jessica Simpson, penned the cool and breezy “Stormin’ Norman” for Connors who says he does not do a record unless he calls Herman. Jackson also joins guitarist Norman Brown on  “Shades of Brown,” which he also composed.  “I love Norman Brown,” says Connors, who produced Brown’s first single “Things Between Us,” which hit #1 on the charts. “He is one of my favorite guitarists along with George Benson. I call him one of my hero children. I usually don’t do an album without him either.”

Born in the City of Brotherly Love, Norman Connors has the luxury of being immersed in the City’s rich jazz and R&B tradition. When he first started out, his dream was to be John Coltrane’s drummer. As fate would have it he performed with Trane at the famed Peps in Philly one night when Elvin Jones got arrested. Connors ended up playing three nights in a row!  Connors’ early jazz aspirations did not keep him from following many of the great R&B groups of the day. “I have always loved the Delfonics and Stylistics,” says Norman. “Deep down inside I always wanted to be a Delfonic. When we used to play jazz gigs at places like the Sugar Shack in Boston and I had a 25-minute break, I would go check out the Delfonics who might be up the block performing.  I always told myself that if I ever got a record deal I was going to include some of this great R&B tradition in my music. My early albums were more fusion but as I got into my fourth and fifth albums I started bringing in that R&B element.”

Norman Connors illustrious resume includes work with saxophonists Pharoah Sanders, Jackie McLean, Archie Shepp and Sam Rivers and organist Jack McDuff along with a list of other jazz luminaries. He has also produced for everyone from Angela Bofill, Phyllis Hyman, Peabo Byrson and Howard Hewett to Lonnie Liston Smith and Bobby Lyle.  Connors signed with Buddah’s Cobblestone record label in 1972 and recorded a string of critically acclaimed albums that reached multi-platinum selling status.  Among Connors recordings during this period are Dance of Magic, which featured the all-star lineup of Herbie Hancock (who appears on Norman’s first five albums), Stanley Clarke, Ron Carter, Hubert Laws, Gary Bartz, Carlos Garnett and Dee Dee Bridgewater.  Connors also made the recordings Dark of Light, Love from the Sun, Slewfoot and Saturday Night Special, featuring the number 10 soul hit “Valentine Love.” In 1976 Connors struck gold with the hit “You Are My Starship,” from the album of the same title, which also included the chart-topping Thom Bell and Linda Creed classic “Betcha By Golly Wow” featuring Phyllis Hyman. In the late 70s Connors was courted by Clive Davis who signed him to Arista Records. His debut for the label, This Is Your Life made a splash with the title track.

He also enjoyed success with his album Invitation, which featured his celebrated Starship Orchestra that included Bobby Lyle, Onaje Allan Gumbs, Marion Meadows and Jean Carne among others.  He recorded four albums for Aritsta before signing with Capitol in the late 80s and then Motown’s jazz label, Mojazz, in the 90s.

Norman Connors is still shooting for the stars and his musical universe just gets better and better with each passing year. Star Power affirms Norman Connors presence as an incredible musical force who knows how to make music for the heart, mind and soul.

“This record feels so good,” exclaims Norman. “All of these guys who join me on the album are my boys. We have experienced a lot together both personally and musically. It’s like one big fraternity.” It is this brotherhood heard on Star Power that makes for one thoroughly enjoyable recording and cohesive set of music that never lets up from beginning to end.