Chaka Khan

10-time Grammy winner, Chaka Khan is a songwriter, activist, and philanthropist who has had generations of musical influence.

Let’s hear it: Ain’t Nobody, Stompin' At The Savoy - Track 15 “Always gets us on our feet!”

Rhiannon Giddens

Giddens is a founding member of the country, blues and old-time music band Carolina Chocolate Drops (also in our collection), where she is the lead singer, fiddle player, and banjo player.

"Rhiannon does old time bluesy folksy traditional music of the south."

Kellylee Evans

Evans is a Canadian jazz and soul music vocalist. You can also find her music in our collection.

Measha Brueggergosman

Brueggergosman performs both as an opera singer and concert artist and has performed internationally and won numerous awards. Find her music in our collection too!

The Weeknd

"There's modern day current Canadian artists like the Weeknd and Drake smashing music records like nobody's business!" Find this music in our collection.

Drake

A Toronto native, you might remember Drake from Degrassi: The Next Generation. In 2006, he entered the music scene as a rapper. Drake's success can be seen in his astonishing record of music award nominations and awards ranging from the BET Awards to the Grammy Awards. Find his music in our collection.

Fefe Dobson

Felicia Lily "Fefe" Dobson is a Canadian singer/songwriter and recording artist who began her career when Jive Records attempted to develop her as a popular musician when she was a teenager, which she refused. She went on to sing for Island/Def Jam, releasing her debut album in 2003 which earned her two Juno Award nominations.

Al Green

Al Green is a soul musician best known for his series of hit singles in the early '70s. Ranked number 65 on Rolling Stone's list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time, Green has also been inducted into the Gospel Music Association's Gospel Music Hall of Fame and The Songwriters Hall of Fame. In 2009, the musician received a Lifetime Achievement Award at the BET Awards.

“My Dad was a huge fan and passed his love along.”

Find his music in our collection.

Tina Turner

Arguably one of the most dynamic female soul singers in the history of the music, Tina Turner's performing career began the moment she stepped on-stage as lead singer of the Ike & Tina Turner Revue in the late '50s. Her gritty and growling performances beat down doors everywhere.

Divorced from Ike in the mid-'70s, she resurfaced in the mid-'80s as a solo artist with a series of hit singles and movie appearances. Find her music in our collection.

Aretha Franklin

Known the world over by her first name and as the undisputed, reigning "Queen Of Soul," Aretha Franklin is peerless. Franklin is the 2005 recipient of a Presidential Medal Of Freedom, 17 Grammy Awards (and counting), a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award and a Grammy Living Legend Award. Find her music in our collection. 

Whitney Houston

Whitney Elizabeth Houston was an American singer and actress. Nicknamed "The Voice", she is one of the best-selling recording artists of all time, with sales of over 200 million records worldwide.

Janet Jackson

Performing as a star in each decade of her life so far, Janet Jackson's career has been solid, high energy, and steadfast in tours and album releases. Find her music in our collection.

Beyoncé

Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter is a singer, songwriter, record producer and actress. Born and raised in Houston, Texas, she was active in singing and dancing competitons as a child and rose to fame in the late 1990s as the lead singer of R&B girl-group Destiny's Child. Beyoncé sold over 100 million records and counting as a solo artist, and 60 million with Destiny's Child, making her one of the bestselling artists of all time.

Mariah Carey

With her unique talent and signature vocal abilities, Mariah Carey commanded the world's attention with her musical debut in the early nineties. In less than a decade, Carey emerged as one of the most popular and widely acclaimed talents in music. Find her music in our collection.

Lizzo

Melissa Jefferson, known as Lizzo, is an alternative hip-hop artist and a founding member of indie hip hop groups The Chalice, Grrrl Prty, The Clerb, and Absynthe. Her debut album, Lizzobangers, was released in 2013, and was proceeded two years later by Big Grrrl Small World, and one year later, was followed by her 2016 major label EP, Coconut Oil.

Find her music in our collection.

Ella Fitzgerald

Often referred to as the First Lady of Song, Queen of Jazz, and Lady Ella, Ella Fitzgerald was one of the finest female jazz singers of all time and was noted for her scat singing, and wide vocal range. Find her music in our collection.

Let’s hear it: Lullaby of Birdland; “Ella Fitzgerald singing the Cole Porter songbook. Amazing!” Find it on hoopla or in our collection.

Stevie Wonder

Wonder is credited as a pioneer and influence by musicians across a range of genres that includes rhythm and blues, pop, soul, gospel, funk, and jazz. Find his music in our collection.

Let’s hear it: “Sir Duke!” Songs In The Key Of Life - Track 5; Love's in Need of Love Today, Songs in the Key of Life - Track 1

Freddie Gibbs

Freddie Tipton, better known as Freddie Gibbs, is an American rapper best known for being one of XXL Magazine’s ten Freshmen of 2010. Gibbs cites Houston rap and Pac as his major influences.

Let’s hear it: Freddie Gibbs & The Alchemist – Alfredo (album)

Sun Ra

Jazz composer, bandleader, piano and synthesizer player, poet and philosopher Sun Ra was known for his experimental music, "cosmic philosophy," prolific output, and theatrical performances. He was inducted into the Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame in 1979, and led "The Arkestra" for much of his career.

Let’s hear it: Swirling (album)

JPEGMAFIA

Barrington Hendricks, better known as rapper and producer JPEGMAFIA, was raised in Brooklyn and the American South. He makes confrontational, experimental rap.

Let’s hear it: LP! (album)

Floating Points & Pharoah Sanders with the London Symphony Orchestra

An all-star collaboration between a producer, a saxophonist, and a symphony.

Madlib

Otis Jackson, Jr., known as Madlib, is a DJ, music producer, multi-instrumentalist and rapper. One of the most critically acclaimed hip hop producers of the new millenium, he has collaborated with several different hip hop artists, including MF Doom and the late J Dilla.

Let’s hear it: Sound Ancestors (album)

Sons of Kemet

Sons of Kemet are a U.K.-based jazz supergroup combining four musicians from around the globe.

Let’s hear it: Black to the Future (album)

Nina Simone

Nina Simone was a singer, songwriter, pianist and civil rights activist who attended the Julliard School of Music in New York and would later apply for a scholarship to study at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, whose rejection, Simone was convinced, was due to her race.

She would later change her name to Nina Simone in order to hide her true identity in order to make a living playing cocktail piano at a nightclub in Atlantic City, which her family saw as "the devil's music." When the club informed her that she would have to sing her own accompaniment, this was the launchpad for her career.

Find her music in our collection.

Let's hear it: To Love Somebody (album): “My all time favourite.”; I Wish I Knew How it Would Feel to be Free

Oscar Peterson

Canadian jazz pianist and composer Oscar Peterson was called the "Maharaja of the keyboard" by Duke Ellington and received eight Grammy Awards, among numerous other awards and honors, and was made an Officer of the Order of Canada in 1972 before being promoted to Companion of the order in 1984.

Find his music in our collection.

Let’s hear it: Night Train (album): “One of my favourites. His music made me start to listen to jazz as a teenager.”

Rochelle Jordan

Born in the south of England to British-Jamaican parents before relocating to Toronto, Jordan’s musical heritage plays heavily into her current work.

Let’s hear it: “My favourite from the [Canadian Polaris Music Prize] list is Rochelle Jordan's R&B album Play With The Changes.”

Leon Bridges

Bridges's style is primarily soul, but resembling 1960s rhythm and blues.

Let's hear it: "I suggest River by Leon Bridges."

Michael Kiwanuka

British soul musician Michael Kiwanuka has been compared to Randy Newman, Otis Redding, and Terry Callier, and won the BBC's Sound of 2012 poll.

Let's hear it: "I recommend Cold Little Heart by Michael Kiwanuka." Love & Hate - Track 1

Paul Robeson

Paul Leroy Robeson was an American bass baritone concert artist, stage and film actor, athlete, and activist who became famous both for his cultural accomplishments and for his political stances. Find his music in our collection.

Bob Marley

"One of my favourite feel good artists is Bob Marley, love playing his record (yes I said record) for instant happy vibes." Find his music in our collection.

Jimi Hendrix

"One of the most talented guitarists who ever lived!" Find his music in our collection.

Roberta Flack

Flack's masterful song interpretation and rich emotional resonance make her a legendary musician. Find her music in our collection.

Let's hear it: First Time Ever I saw Your Face, First Take - Track 6

Taj Mahal

Taj Mahal is credited with the revival and resurgence of accoustic and folk blues. At his prime, Mahal's world music approach broadened the picture of what jazz and blues could contain. Find his music in our collection.

Let's hear it: Fishing Blues, Cakewalk Into Town

Bessie Smith

Blues singer Bessie Smith, nicknamed the Empress of the Blues, was the most popular female blues singer of the 1920s and 1930s and is often regarded as one of the greatest singers of her era, having had a major influence on other jazz singers. Find her music in our collection.

Let's hear it: Nobody Knows You When You're Down and Out

Charlie Parker

Charlie Parker, also known as "Yardbird" and "Bird," was a jazz saxophonist and composer, and was a leading figure in the development of bebop. Find his music in our collection.

Charles Mingus

Charles Mingus was a jazz double bassist, composer and bandleader. Find his music in our collection.

Duke Ellington

Called the most important jazz composer in history, Ellington was a bandleader, film scorer, and musician. His place in The Cotton Club in the late '20s made him a national personality. He spend the second half of his life essentially on tour around the world and winning late Grammys. Find his music in our collection.

Let's hear it: Take the A Train (album)

Thelonious Monk

Thelonious Sphere Monk was an American jazz pianist and composer. He had a unique improvisational style and made numerous contributions to the standard jazz repertoire. Find his music in our collection.

Let's hear it: Blue Monk

Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers

Art Blakey was a jazz drummer and bandleader who made a name for himself in the 1940s in the big bands of Fletcher Henderson and Billy Eckstine, and collaborated with bebop musicians Thelonioius Monk, Charlie Parker, and Dizzy Gillespie. During the '50s, Horace Silver and Blakey formed the Jazz Messengers, and Blakey stayed with the group for 35 years as their drummer. Find his music in our collection.

Let's hear it: Moanin'

Billie Holiday

Billie Holiday was born Eleanora Fagan Gough, and came to light in 1933 when producer wrote about her artistic gifts and she was asked to audition for Benny Goodman. Find her music in our collection.

Let's hear it: God Bless the Child, God Bless The Child: Best Of Billie Holiday - Track 13 

Sam Cooke

"Soul singer, a big influence on Elvis Presley and others." Find his music in our collection.

Let's hear it: A Change is Gonna Come

Don Shirley

"Of the film The Green Book—classically trained jazz pianist."

Odetta

Odetta Holmes, known simply as Odetta, was a singer, actress, guitarist, songwriter, and civil and human rights activist, often referred to as The Voice of the Civil Rights Movement. Find her music in our collection.

Gladys Knight

Known as the "Empress of Soul," Gladys Maria Knight is a singer-songwriter and actress. She is best known for the hits she recorded during the 1960s and 1970s with her group Gladys Knight & the Pips. Find this music in our collection.

Wynton Marsalis

Wynton Marsalis' jazz trumpet from the early '80s has inspired new waves of jazz musicians and specifically, brass musicians. Marsalis' duo work with other respected musicians has paired great with great, as with his live albums with Willie Nelson and Norah Jones and most recently, Eric Clapton. Find his music in our collection.

Miles Davis

Miles Dewey Davis III (May 26, 1926 – September 28, 1991) was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th-century music. Find his music in our collection.

Elizabeth Cotten

"Little-known folk guitarist, best known for her version of Freight Train. Self taught and didn’t know she was playing the instrument backwards."

Fats Waller

Thomas Wright "Fats" Waller was a jazz pianist, organist, composer, singer, and comedic entertainer whose innovations to the Harlem stride style laid the groundwork for modern jazz piano. Find his music in our collection.

Little Richard

Richard Wayne Penniman, better known by his stage name, Little Richard, is an pop icon in both a musical and cultural sense. With a career spanning more than six decades, his most notable work was released in the mid-'50s and laid the foundation for rock and roll, soul, and funk. Find his music in our collection.

Chuck Berry

St. Louis native Chuck Berry hit a goldmine immediately with his arsenal of tunes which led to his first album. Some claim he brought rock and roll to rock and roll. Find his music in our collection.

Fats Domino

Fats Domino was an American pianist and singer-songwriter of French Creole descent with a musical style based on traditional rhythm and blues, accompanied by saxophones, bass, piano, electric guitar and drums. Find his music in our collection.

James Brown

A progenitor of funk music and a major figure of 20th century music and dance, he is often referred to as the Godfather of Soul and Soul Brother No. 1. Find his music in our collection.

Mahalia Jackson

Gospel snger Mahalia Jackson possessed a powerful contralto voice and has been referred to as the Queen of Gospel. Heralded internationally as a singer and civil rights activist, she became one of the most influential gospel singers in the world. Jackson recorded about 30 albums during her career, earning a dozen gold albums. Find her music in our collection.

Jessye Norman

Jessye Norman is an opera singer and recitalist associated with the Wagnerian repertoire, and with the roles of Sieglinde, Ariadne, Alceste, and Leonore. She has been inducted into the Georgia Music Hall of Fame and is a Spingarn Medalist. She has also received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, the National Medal of Arts, and is a member of the British Royal Academy of Music. Find her music in our collection. 

Bobby McFerrin

Known for his unique vocal techniques, he is also widely known for performing and recording as an unaccompanied solo vocal artist, and has frequently collaborated with other artists from the jazz and classical scenes. Find his music in our collection.

Son House

Edward James "Son" House Jr. was an American delta blues singer and guitarist, noted for his highly emotional style of singing and slide guitar playing. After years of hostility to secular music, as a preacher and for a few years also working as a church pastor, he turned to blues performance at the age of 25.

Mississippi John Hurt

Blues guitarist Mississippi John Hurt's music was best suited for intimate audiences, which meant that his recorded music became very popular, but in a quiet way, like his voice. He worked as a farm hand, playing music when he could. He took a 35 year hiatus, and was re-discovered at age 70, and invited to the Newport Folk Festival that year. His posthumous albums show his purity and humility.

Leadbelly

Huddie William Ledbetter was a folk and blues musician notable for his vocals, virtuosity on the twelve-string guitar, and the folk standards he introduced. Best known as Leadbelly, he played a twelve-string guitar, piano, mandolin, harmonica, violin, and windjammer, and would occasionally sing while clapping his hands or stomping his foot. Find his music in our catalogue.

Robert Johnson

His landmark recordings in 1936 and 1937 display a combination of singing, guitar skills, and songwriting talent that has influenced later generations of musicians. He is now recognized as a master of the blues, particularly the Delta blues style.

Muddy Waters

Known as the "father of modern Chicago blues," Muddy Waters was one of the most influential artists of the post-war blues era, impacting not just blues, but R&B, rock and roll, hard rock, folk, jazz, and country music. Find his music in our collection.

Sam (Lightnin') Hopkins

Sam John Hopkins, known as Lightnin' Hopkins, was a country blues singer, songwriter, guitarist, and occasional pianist, ranked by Rolling Stone magazine as number 71 on its list of the 100 greatest guitarists of all time. Find his music in our collection.

Big Bill Broonzy

Big Bill Broonzy is William Lee Conley Broonzy, son of sharecroppers in Mississippi and cigar-box fiddle player. He was a WWI vet who ended up in Chicago in the 20's. His recording career lasted into the '50s, and he found his biggest fan base in Europe. Find his music in our collection.