1. Najee was born in the lower west side of Manhattan in New York City and lived his teenage years in Queens, New York.
20 Facts About Najee
1. 2.
Najee's father died at a young age, and Najee and siblings were raised by his mother Mary Richards.
3.
Najee's mother was an important figure and supporter throughout his life and musical career.
4.
Najee was influenced at this age by listening to his mother's recordings of Miles Davis and other American jazz artists.
5.
In high school, Najee began to study jazz as a student at the Jazzmobile program where he honed his skills on tenor saxophone and flute under the direction of Jimmy Heath, Frank Foster and Ernie Wilkins.
6.
At age 16, Najee studied flute at the Manhattan School of Music Preparatory Division, where he took lessons with Harold Jones, flautist from the New York Philharmonic Orchestra.
7.
Najee began his career as a teenager performing in local bands in the New York City area.
8.
At the Conservatory Najee studied and performed with George Russell and Jaki Byard big bands.
9.
Tokyo Blue and Day by Day led to Najee winning two Soul Train Awards for Best Jazz Artist in 1991 and 1993.
10.
In 1994, Najee toured and was featured on the live recording Live at the Greek.
11.
Also within the same year The Best of Najee was released, and he toured on behalf of the USO for the troops in the Mediterranean: Spain and Turkey.
12.
In 1998, Najee performed at Nelson Mandela's birthday celebration in South Africa, along with Stevie Wonder and Chaka Khan.
13.
Najee was a special guest of President Bill Clinton to perform at the White House.
14.
Najee spent three years touring with Prince and appeared on Prince's albums Rainbow Children and One Night Alone.
15.
In 2003, Najee released Embrace which was produced by his brother Fareed, featuring guest artists Roy Ayers and BeBe Winans.
16.
In 2006, Najee won an NAACP Image Award for "Best Jazz Artist".
17.
Najee released his third album with Shanachie, entitled: You, Me, and Forever, on June 23,2015.
18.
You, Me, and Forever 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 the lead vocalist on the popular Ambrosia song "Biggest Part of Me".
19.
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.
20.
Najee has recorded and performed with instrumentalists: Marcus Miller, Herbie Hancock, Stanley Clarke, Larry Carlton, Billy Cobham, Charles Earland, Paul Jackson Jr.