Lenny Kravitz,
J Balvin
and Burt
Bacharach
at CNSJ 2016
American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer and actor Lenny Kravitz has one leg in rock and the other in soul, but also grew up with jazz. Kravitz found fame with his debut album, 1989’s Let Love Rule. This was followed by many successes and hits like "Always on the Run," "It Is not Over 'til It's Over" and "Are You Gonna Go My Way". He won the Grammy Award for Best Male Rock Vocal Performance four years in a row, breaking the record for most wins in that category as well as setting the record for most consecutive wins in one category by a male. He released his tenth studio album, Strut, in 2014. Last year, he also released a concert film, Just Let Go.
J Balvin, real name José Álvaro Osorio Balvin, is a reggaeton singer from Medellín, Colombia. Having been interested in varied styles such as hip hop, dancehall, champeta and bachata during childhood, he began his career at the young age of 17, when he moved to the US to learn English. Over the next ten years, he worked in both countries, building his career in the urban scene and among DJs. Last year, he was nominated a staggering thirteen times at the Billboard Latin Music Awards. His best-known songs are Yo Te Lo Dije, Tranquila, Ay Vamos, 6 AM, and Ginza.
Virtually everyone in the world knows a song by Burt Bacharach, whether consciously or unconsciously. The master composer, who turns 88 this year, wrote the majority of his classics with lyricist Hal David. Songs like Walk On By, What The World Needs Now Is Love and I Say A Little Prayer are just a small sample from this living legend’s enormous repertoire.
Being the son of a preacher, Al Jarreau (1940) learned his first singing skills in the church choir. His professional singing career Jarreau started in a band with George Duke. He recorded the album We Got By in 1975 and really made his breakthrough with Breakin’ Away in 1981, including the colossal hit Roof Garden. He received seven Grammy Awards and is the only singer who has won Grammy Awards in three categories: Jazz, R & B and Pop.