Artist description McKenzie and Burns, one of R&B's newest songwriter-producer teams, have assembled a cast of incredibly talented artists, a la Quincy Jones, and produced a brilliant CD that masterfully blends R&B with tasteful touches of Contemporary Jazz, Hip Hop, Latin, and Dance genres...

Music Style Neo Soul with a touch of jazz, latin, and hip hop

Musical Influences Stevie Wonder, Michael Jackson, Earth, Wind, & Fire, Marvin Gaye, Babyface, Jam & Lewis

Similar Artists Babyface, Tony Toni Tone, Usher, Maxwell, Michael Jackson, Janet Jackson, Jennifer Lopez

Artist History Producers Stewart McKenzie and David Burns met through a mutual friend three years ago in Washington, D.C. At the time Burns was in the process of releasing his own recording titled "The David Burns Project" He invited McKenzie to Chicago to lay down some bass and guitar tracks for the recording. What started out as a small studio favor turned into a full-fledged collaborative effort. As the two finished composing songs for what quickly became the McKenzie Burns Project, they gathered some talented singers and musicians along the way and created a monumental debut recording. What makes this effort so unique is that there are four distinct vocalists featured throughout, each bringing their own spices to the table. Gary, Indiana native Chester Gregory is already well known in the Chicago area for his award winning performance as legendary crooner Jackie Wilson. Gregory is a triple threat as a writer, dancer and singer. He has made quite a name for himself on his own release titled, My Name Is C.G. Zyanya (pronounced Zon-yuh), is another Gary, Indiana singer, dancer and songwriter. She can be seen throughout Chicago performing with the city's hottest salsa-merengue outfit, Banda Rika. She has been compared to everyone from Jennifer Lopez and Gloria Estefan to Sade, yet, possesses a sound and style that can only be summed up in one word - Zyanya! New York singer Derrick Holland grew up in a home filled with music. His father, Stan Holland, signed with Buddah records in the 70's and worked with such artists as Gladys Knight, James Brown, Stevie Wonder, and was regarded as one of the most successful lounge acts on the east coast. One would think this singer would have started singing as soon as he was able to hold a microphone. Yet, it turns out he really didn't get started until he went to college. Holland represents today's smooth R&B sound, opting for a soft yet demanding approach to singing. Hailing from Youngstown, Ohio, Joel Johnson-Friendly grew up on a steady diet of great soul music and spent the past few years singing for the East Coast ambassadors of funk, The Soul Affair. Friendly brings the Old School flavor to the McKenzie Burns Project and burns up the studio and the stage with a voice that touches the lows of Larry Graham and the highs of Philip Bailey.

Group Members Stewart McKenzie David Burns

Instruments Keyboards, Electric Bass, Electric Guitar, Acoustic Guitar, Classical Guitar, Percussion

Albums The McKenzie Burns Project

Location Chicago, IL - USA

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