Najee
Najee | |
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| Website | Official site |
Jerome Najee Rasheed (born November 4, 1957, New York City), known professionally as Najee, is an American jazz-Smooth jazz saxophonist and flautist.[1]
Early life
Najee was born in the lower west side of Manhattan in New York City and lived his teenage years in Queens, New York. His father died at a young age, and Najee and siblings were raised by his mother Mary Richards. His mother was an important figure and supporter throughout his life and musical career.
Najee's musical pursuits began in grade school at age eight, where he began playing the clarinet,
Najee draws his inspiration from saxophonists John Coltrane, Charlie Parker, Yusef Lateef, Joe Henderson, Grover Washington Jr., Ronnie Laws as well as flautists Hubert Laws and James Galway. Najee began his career as a teenager performing in local bands in the New York City area. After high school, Najee's first world tour was with a band from New York City called "Area Code".
The band spent two years performing on military bases in Europe, Iceland, Greenland, Central America, Caribbean, and the United States on behalf of the USO. Upon his return from the USO World Tour, Najee went on the road in the summer of 1978 with
Career
After his studies at the New England Conservatory, Najee returned to New York City in the early 1980s. In 1983, he and his brother Fareed toured with
In 1992, Najee's next album Just an Illusion (EMI/Capitol). This album was produced by several producers, including
Following this collaboration, his next album "Share My World" was released in 1994 and was followed by his tribute to
.In 1998, Najee performed at Nelson Mandela's birthday celebration in South Africa, along with Stevie Wonder and Chaka Khan. Najee was also a special guest of President Bill Clinton to perform at the White House. This event was hosted by President Jerry Rawlings of the Republic of Ghana. Najee spent three years touring (2000–2003) with Prince and appeared on Prince's albums Rainbow Children and One Night Alone.[7]
In 2003, Najee released Embrace which was produced by his brother Fareed, featuring guest artists
Najee's second release with Shanachie in 2013, The Morning After, A Musical Love Journey. The Morning After earned him an
Najee released his third album with Shanachie, entitled: You, Me, and Forever, on June 23, 2015. The album features singer and songwriter Frank McComb, keyboardist James Lloyd from Pieces of a Dream, and pianist Robert Damper. You, Me, and Forever also features musicians from Najee's touring band including Rod Bonner on keys, Daniel Powell on drums, RaShawn Northington on electric bass, and Chuck Johnson on guitar who is also the lead vocalist on the popular Ambrosia song "Biggest Part of Me". "You, Me and Forever" was produced by Najee, Chris "Big Dog" Davis, and British-born bassist Dean Mark.
Najee has performed and recorded with vocalists including: Chaka Khan, Freddie Jackson, Will Downing, Phil Perry, Prince, Patti LaBelle, Toni Braxton, Vesta Williams and Jeffrey Osborne. He has also recorded and performed with instrumentalists: Marcus Miller, Herbie Hancock, Stanley Clarke, Larry Carlton, Billy Cobham, Charles Earland, Paul Jackson Jr. and George Duke.[9]
Discography
Studio albums
| Year | Title | Peak chart positions | Certifications
|
Record label | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US [5] |
US R&B [5] |
US Jazz [5] |
US Ind. [5] | ||||
| 1986 | Najee's Theme | 56 | 12 | 1 | ― | EMI | |
| 1988 | Day by Day | 76 | 23 | 6 | ― | ||
| 1990 | Tokyo Blue | 63 | 17 | 1 | ― | ||
| 1992 | Just an Illusion | 107 | 25 | 5 | ― |
|
EMI/Orpheus |
| 1994 | Share My World | 163 | 23 | 2 | ― | EMI | |
| 1995 | Najee Plays Songs from the Key of Life: A Tribute to Stevie Wonder | — | 67 | 6 | ― | ||
| 1998 | Morning Tenderness | ― | 65 | 2 | ― | Fan/Verve | |
| 2003 | Embrace | ― | 82 | 7 | ― | N-Coded | |
| 2005 | My Point of View | 193 | 27 | 1 | 20 | Heads Up | |
| 2007 | Rising Sun | ― | ― | 1 | 27 | ||
| 2009 | Mind Over Matter | ― | ― | 4 | 36 | ||
| 2012 | The Smooth Side of Soul | ― | ― | 4 | ― | Shanachie | |
| 2013 | The Morning After, A Musical Love Journey | ― | ― | 3 | ― | ||
| 2015 | You, Me and Forever | ― | ― | ― | ― | ||
| 2017 | Poetry in Motion | ― | ― | ― | ― | ||
| 2019 | Center of the Heart | ― | ― | ― | ― | ||
| 2022 | Savoir Faire | ― | ― | ― | ― | ||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart. | |||||||
Live albums
- 1994: Live at the Greek – with Stanley Clarke, Larry Carlton and Billy Cobham (July 1994, Sony)
- 2002: One Nite Alone... Live! – live with Prince
Compilation albums
| Year | Title | US Jazz [5] |
Record label |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | Best of Najee | 15 | Blue Note/Capitol |
| 2000 | Love Songs | 23 | Blue Note |
| 2003 | Classic Masters | ― | Capitol Records/EMI |
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart. | |||
Singles
| Year | Title | Peak chart positions | Album | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US R&B [5] |
US Jazz [5] | |||||
| 1987 | "Sweet Love" | 55 | ― | Najee's Theme | ||
| "Feel So Good to Me" | 72 | ― | ||||
| "Betcha Don't Know" | 45 | ― | ||||
| "Mysterious" | 33 | ― | ||||
| 1988 | "Personality" | 60 | ― | Day By Day | ||
| "So Hard to Let Go" | 55 | ― | ||||
| 1989 | "Najee's Nasty Groove" | 88 | ― | |||
| 1990 | "Tokyo Blue" | 78 | ― | Tokyo Blue | ||
| "I'll Be Good to You" (with Vesta Williams) | 9 | ― | ||||
| "Cruise Control" | 44 | ― | ||||
| 1992 | "I Adore Mi Amor" | 39 | ― | Just an Illusion | ||
| 1993 | "All I Ever Ask" (featuring Freddie Jackson) | 86 | ― | |||
| 2009 | "Sweet Summer Nights" | ― | 1 | Mind Over Matter | ||
| 2010 | "Love Forever and a Day After" | ― | 13 | |||
| 2012 | "Perfect Nites" | ― | 1 | The Smooth Side of Soul | ||
| "One Night in Soho" | ― | 18 | ||||
| 2013 | "Champs Elysees" | ― | 15 | The Morning After, A Musical Love Journey | ||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart. | ||||||
Other appearances
- Prince – "Rainbow Children" from the album The Rainbow Children (2002)
- Will Downing – "Street Life" from the album Black Pearls (2016)
- Will Downing – "Christmas Time Is Here" from the album Christmas, Love, and You (2004)
- Ruben Studdard – "Close the Door" from the album Unconditional Love (2014)
- Brian Simpson – "Out of a Dream" from the album Out of a Dream (2015)
- Paul Brown – "Casablanca" from the album Truth B Told (2014)
- Charles Earland – "If Only for One Night" from the album If Only for One Night (2002)
- Pieces of a Dream – The Best of Pieces of a Dream, Vol. 2 (2014)
- The Weather Channel Presents: The Best of Smooth Jazz (2007)
- Key-Matic – "Breakin' in Space" (1984, Radar Records (US))[10]
- Incognito – "Village Life" from the compilation album The Best (2004–2017) (2017)
- Roberto Tola – "With You All the Clouds Go Away" from the album Bein' Green (2017)
- Nick Colionne – "Buckle Up" from the album The Journey (2016)
- Bob Baldwin – "My Cherie Amour" from the album Newurbanjazz.com (2008)
- Robert Damper – "Wave" and "You, Me and Forever" from the album "D" Tales (2017)
References
- ^ a b c d e Henderson, Alex. "Najee: Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved July 17, 2010.
- ^ Reilly, Debra. "Najee:Saxophanist, flutist". eNotes. Archived from the original on January 22, 2013. Retrieved July 17, 2010.
- ^ a b c "American certifications – Najee". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved November 28, 2023.
- ^ Webber, Brad (January 19, 1995). "Stanley Clarke & Friends Live at the Greek". Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on January 4, 2015. Retrieved November 26, 2023.
- ^ a b c d e f g h "Najee - Awards". AllMusic. Archived from the original on January 12, 2014. Retrieved November 26, 2023.
- ^ Erlewhine, Stephen. "The Best of Najee: Review". AllMusic. Retrieved July 17, 2010.
- ^ "Jazz Musician Najee Talks New Music & The Other Side of Prince". The Burton Wire. January 5, 2014. Archived from the original on January 26, 2014.
- ^ Strecker, Erin (October 13, 2014). "Chris Brown & Beyonce Lead Soul Train Award Nominations". Billboard. Retrieved January 4, 2015.
- ^ "Signed Music Artists: Najee". Artistopia. Archived from the original on June 13, 2011. Retrieved July 17, 2010.
- ^ "Key-Matic – Breakin' in Space – Hip Hop be Bop". Archived from the original on July 23, 2017. Retrieved July 23, 2017.
External links
- Official site
- Najee discography at Discogs
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