Najee

Jerome Najee Rasheed, who goes by just his middle name, is a polished performer of smooth jazz on the soprano saxophone and flute with a substantial number of hit singles and albums that made him one of the best-selling instrumental acts of the last 30 years. He has collaborated with artists such as Prince, Stevie Wonder, Chaka Khan and Herbie Hancock and notched up two platinum and four gold albums.

Born in New York's Greenwich Village, he grew up in the borough of Queens and began to play music as a child, studying at the Manhattan School of Music Preparatory Division. He performed with local bands in New York and then spent two years on tour with a group named Area Code for the American military's United Service Organizations (USO). Back in the States, he toured with B.B. King and for further study attended Boston's New England Conservatory of Music.

He released his first album, 'Najee's Theme', in 1986 followed soon after by 'Day By Day' and in 1991 by 'Tokyo Blue'. Albums that have made the top ten on the Billboard Jazz Albums Chart include 'My Point of View' (2005), 'Rising Sun' (2007), 'Mind Over Matter' (2009), 'The Smooth Side of Soul' (2012), 'The Morning After' (2013) and 'You Me and Forever' (2015). He's also had three singles that reached number one on the Smooth Jazz Songs Chart: 'Sweet Summer Nights' (2010), 'Perfect Nites' (2012) and 'Fly With the Wind' (2015).

Other highlights of Najee's career include performances at Nelson Mandela's birthday celebration in South Africa and an event at the White House to honour Republic of Ghana President Jerry Rawlings hosted by US President Bill Clinton. Najee also went on tour for two years with Prince and appears on Prince's albums 'Rainbow Children' and 'One Night Alone'. A new album titled 'Poetry in Motion' was released in 2017.