Our Host: Greg Manning
...is a Berklee College of Music alum and an amalgam of cultures. He was born in Nigeria and raised in Switzerland. Greg moved to Los Angeles in 2002 and has had an incredible career. He is a three-time certified platinum producer for Universal Music Switzerland, and has had several Swiss Chart toppers since 1996.
Greg is the former keyboardist and music director for GRAMMY Award-nominated artist Jonathan Butler… and keyboardist for Mindi Abair, Gerald Albright, Will Downing, Richard Elliot, Brian McKnight, Chante Moore, and Kirk Whalum, just to mention a few. After touring extensively for ten years throughout the U.S., Europe, South Africa, and the U.K., Greg made a conscious decision to come off the road. Not too long thereafter, he started composing music for film and television.
As an artist, his own music is the union of jazz, soul, and funk… and has been described as “Soul-Jazz at its best”… which can be heard on his album “Sugar and Spice,” which was released on Kalimba Records. The title track went on to spend 20 weeks on the charts rising to #5 on Billboard. His chart topping single “Top Down” was celebrated as Billboard’s 2019 Smooth Jazz Song of the Year.
In 2020 Greg teamed up with guitarist Darrell Crooks for a cover version of Earl Klugh’s classic “Twinkle”. It has since reached more than a million streams on the streaming platforms. In 2021 Greg released Sunrise Blvd. which went to #1 on Billboard, followed by “Be Strong” which topped at #2. 2022 saw another collaboration with sax great Kirk Whalum called A Song for Peace.
Greg’s current single is called The One, feat. Julian Vaughn on bass. It debuted at #1 Most Added on Billboard. 2023 will also see the release of Greg’s first studio album in seven years. Stay tuned for more music…!
Greg is the former keyboardist and music director for GRAMMY Award-nominated artist Jonathan Butler… and keyboardist for Mindi Abair, Gerald Albright, Will Downing, Richard Elliot, Brian McKnight, Chante Moore, and Kirk Whalum, just to mention a few. After touring extensively for ten years throughout the U.S., Europe, South Africa, and the U.K., Greg made a conscious decision to come off the road. Not too long thereafter, he started composing music for film and television.
As an artist, his own music is the union of jazz, soul, and funk… and has been described as “Soul-Jazz at its best”… which can be heard on his album “Sugar and Spice,” which was released on Kalimba Records. The title track went on to spend 20 weeks on the charts rising to #5 on Billboard. His chart topping single “Top Down” was celebrated as Billboard’s 2019 Smooth Jazz Song of the Year.
In 2020 Greg teamed up with guitarist Darrell Crooks for a cover version of Earl Klugh’s classic “Twinkle”. It has since reached more than a million streams on the streaming platforms. In 2021 Greg released Sunrise Blvd. which went to #1 on Billboard, followed by “Be Strong” which topped at #2. 2022 saw another collaboration with sax great Kirk Whalum called A Song for Peace.
Greg’s current single is called The One, feat. Julian Vaughn on bass. It debuted at #1 Most Added on Billboard. 2023 will also see the release of Greg’s first studio album in seven years. Stay tuned for more music…!
Guitarist Blake Aaron
...Dubbed "a genius on the guitar" by the Los Angeles Times, he launched his career as an L.A. studio musician and sideman and has recorded and/ or performed with an incredible array of jazz, pop and R&B artists. These include Philip Bailey (Earth Wind and Fire), Sheila E., Frank Stallone, Bobby Womack and Carlos Santana (Womack-Save the Children), The Gap Band, David Pack (Ambrosia), Jimmy Pankow (Chicago), Lakeside, Dynasty, The Drifters, The Coasters, Keiko Matsui, Hiroshima, and David Benoit.
Aaron was an immediate success as a solo artist, with three singles from his debut With Every Touch remaining in the Top 50 on the Gavin/Smoothjazz.com charts for at least eight weeks. He reached even higher ground with his second album, Bringin' It Back , whose single "She's So Fine" remained on the Radio & Records charts for eight straight weeks; two singles from this release reached the Top 100 of the year. After the well received holiday set A Romantic Christmas , Aaron's 15-track third album Desire spawned a variety of hit singles, including "Bumpin' on the Wes Side"; Desire was in the Top 20 on Radio & Records for 15 weeks and #1 on the Indie Charts for 20 weeks. As an artist, Aaron has performed over the years at The Verizon Wireless Ampitheater, Houston, TX , The Taste of Laguna Niguel – Cobilled w/ Peter White, The Catalina Jazz Festival, KWJZ Jazz Festival, Seattle, WA – Cobilled w/ Chris Botti & Boney James, Humphrey's Concerts by the Bay, The Gas Lamp Jazz Festival, San Diego, CA, The Pasadena Jazz Festival, Jazz Alley Jazz Club, Seattle, WA, and many more.
In 2008, Aaron created and began hosting his syndicated Blake Aaron Radio Show (now called Blake Aaron Live w Tina Anderson). It's syndicated on such stations as Smooth Jazz Florida, Smooth Jazz New York, Urban Soul Radio, and Smooth Groove Phoenix, as well as the show's home website, BlakeAaronRadioShow.com
Aaron was an immediate success as a solo artist, with three singles from his debut With Every Touch remaining in the Top 50 on the Gavin/Smoothjazz.com charts for at least eight weeks. He reached even higher ground with his second album, Bringin' It Back , whose single "She's So Fine" remained on the Radio & Records charts for eight straight weeks; two singles from this release reached the Top 100 of the year. After the well received holiday set A Romantic Christmas , Aaron's 15-track third album Desire spawned a variety of hit singles, including "Bumpin' on the Wes Side"; Desire was in the Top 20 on Radio & Records for 15 weeks and #1 on the Indie Charts for 20 weeks. As an artist, Aaron has performed over the years at The Verizon Wireless Ampitheater, Houston, TX , The Taste of Laguna Niguel – Cobilled w/ Peter White, The Catalina Jazz Festival, KWJZ Jazz Festival, Seattle, WA – Cobilled w/ Chris Botti & Boney James, Humphrey's Concerts by the Bay, The Gas Lamp Jazz Festival, San Diego, CA, The Pasadena Jazz Festival, Jazz Alley Jazz Club, Seattle, WA, and many more.
In 2008, Aaron created and began hosting his syndicated Blake Aaron Radio Show (now called Blake Aaron Live w Tina Anderson). It's syndicated on such stations as Smooth Jazz Florida, Smooth Jazz New York, Urban Soul Radio, and Smooth Groove Phoenix, as well as the show's home website, BlakeAaronRadioShow.com
Jeff Ryan
...Born in Walnut Creek, CA and raised there and in Asheville, NC (with one teenage year spent in Atlanta), Ryan was born around so much music that it was begging him to play. His dad is a classical concert pianist, his mom played tracker organ and viola and his grandfather was a music teacher. He started playing piano at age six and took violin lessons upon the urging of his grandfather, but he knew he had found his true musical ho to the sound of the piano, and upon finding the sax it immediately clicked. The saxophone allows me to exactly express how I feel musically,” he says.Ryan was in jazz ensembles throughout junior high and high school, but felt a deep connection to contemporary jazz saxophone greats, from smooth/urban icons like Richard Elliot, Gerald Albright, Dave Koz and Grover Washington to jazz legends Michael Brecker, Cannonball Adderley, Charlie Parker and Dexter Gordon. Some of his other influences include Jeff Lorber, Norman Brown, Rick Braun, Wes Montgomery, Lee Ritenour, Earl Klugh and Jonathan Butler. Studying these musical mentors led to Ryan’s increasing focus on developing a truly emotional and unique style of performing. After starting his college years at Diablo Valley College in Concord, he attended the famed Berklee College of Music as a performance major. He later returned to Northern California, where he studied music production at the Pyramind Sound Institute in San Francisco.
After years of playing in a variety of regional soul, funk and even big band ensembles, the San Francisco Bay Area based saxophone sensation has captivated thousands with his robust, heartfelt vibe at numerous prominent Northern California jazz festivals – including a four year run at the Stockton Jazz Festival, where he has opened and performed along with urban jazz greats Marion Meadows, Eric Darius, Paul Taylor, Nick Colionne and Julian Vaughn. Fans in Southern California have seen him jam with guitarist Nils at Spaghettini. Now, with the release of “Up and Up” and his multi-faceted debut album Embrace, Ryan is in prime position to join their ranks as one of contemporary jazz’s top emerging artists of 2018.
After years of playing in a variety of regional soul, funk and even big band ensembles, the San Francisco Bay Area based saxophone sensation has captivated thousands with his robust, heartfelt vibe at numerous prominent Northern California jazz festivals – including a four year run at the Stockton Jazz Festival, where he has opened and performed along with urban jazz greats Marion Meadows, Eric Darius, Paul Taylor, Nick Colionne and Julian Vaughn. Fans in Southern California have seen him jam with guitarist Nils at Spaghettini. Now, with the release of “Up and Up” and his multi-faceted debut album Embrace, Ryan is in prime position to join their ranks as one of contemporary jazz’s top emerging artists of 2018.
Julian Vaughn
... Born and raised in Kansas City, KS, Julian Vaughn was primarily a drummer when he picked up the bass guitar. Vaughn developed his playing style while growing up in the church where his grandfather pastored until turning over the reins to Vaughn's father. A few years later, he became good enough to start playing at concerts and live gospel recordings.Vaughn launched his solo career in 2010 with his album The Purpose Project, which springboarded him into his jazz career. In 2012 he put out the album Breakthrough (2012), featuring the single "On Your Feet," which peaked at #1 on the Billboard chart. He later would release albums Limitless (2015), Bona Fide (2017), Supreme (2019), and Chapters of Love (2021). Vaughn racked up four Billboard #1 hits between his albums and 8 #1s overall as a feature on various artists' songs. Vaughn has toured across the U.S., playing at some of the largest jazz festivals. In addition, he has performed abroad in places like Dubai, South Africa, Nigeria, Nairobi, Italy, Spain, and Germany. Vaughn takes pride in writing and producing almost all his music, saying, "I want to be known as a great writer and producer just as much as an artist."
In 2020 Vaughn was the #2 Artist of the year and had the #2 and #17 Billboard songs of the year, “Afro Calypso” and “Afternoon Delight.” His latest independent release, titled "SOLO" is slated to be his best work to date. As Vaughn's recording catalog continues to grow, he hopes to continue to redefine the lead bassist role in the smooth jazz genre.
In 2020 Vaughn was the #2 Artist of the year and had the #2 and #17 Billboard songs of the year, “Afro Calypso” and “Afternoon Delight.” His latest independent release, titled "SOLO" is slated to be his best work to date. As Vaughn's recording catalog continues to grow, he hopes to continue to redefine the lead bassist role in the smooth jazz genre.