Kashif (musician)
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Kashif (born Michael Jones in 1959) is an American multi-instrumentalist, singer, songwriter and record producer.
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[edit] Biography
[edit] Early career
Kashif, then as Michael Jones, became well-known from playing keyboards in the renowned funk band B.T. Express. He played synthesizer bass using the miniMoog while touring with the group. After leaving the band in the early 1980s, Kashif recorded demos with the band Stepping Stone, which led to his eventual solo signing with Arista Records.
[edit] Solo career
Introduced to Arista by Gerry Griffith it's A&R Director in 1983, his self-tilted debut Kashif (1983) spawned the hits "I Just Gotta Have You (Lover Turn Me On)," "Stone Love," "Help Yourself to My Love," and "Say Something Love." With this release, Kashif was well received as an innovator in music, as R&B artists were only beginning to experiment with synthesizers and other electronic instruments.
His other albums include Send Me Your Love and Condition of the Heart. On the album Love Changes, Expose provided background vocals. 1989's Kashif, with the cover of the Four Tops' hit "Ain't No Woman Like the One I Got," "Baby Don't Break Your Baby's Heart," and "Are You the Woman."
As an in-demand writer/producer, Kashif can be heard on releases by Kenny G, George Benson, Evelyn "Champagne" King, Johnny Kemp, Melba Moore, Dionne Warwick, Giorge Pettus, Stacy Lattisaw, Expose, The Wootens, Freda Payne, Whitney Houston, and others. His Grammy nominations are for the instrumentals "The Mood," "Call Me Tonight," "Edgartown Groove" featuring Al Jarreau, and "The Movie Song."
In 1994, Kashif received an invitation from the U.C.L.A. Extension program and created a course called Contemporary Record Production with Kashif. In August 1995, Kashif authored a book entitled Everything You'd Better Know About the Record Industry, as CEO of his Los Angeles-based Brooklyn Boy Books, Entertainment, and Information. In 1998, Kashif signed with U.K. label Expansion Records and his album Who Loves You was released that same year.
[edit] Discography
[edit] Albums
- Kashif (1983), Arista
- Send Me Your Love (1984), Arista
- Condition of the Heart (1985), Arista
- Love Changes (1987), Arista
- Kashif (1989), Arista
- Best (1994), BMG International
- Definitive Collection (1998), Arista
- Who Loves You? (1998), Expansion
- Best of Kashif (2002), BMG Special Products
- Music from My Mind (2004), Brooklyn Boy
- After You, Arista
