Najee

An acclaimed saxophonist and flute player, Najee ranks among the most successful and recognizable crossover jazz and R&B performers of his generation. His warm, lyrical sound extended the lineage established by Grover Washington, Jr., Ronnie Laws, and Stanley Turrentine. After his initial breakthrough on the 1986 Grammy-nominated Najee's Theme, he attained broad prominence through a string of Top Five contemporary jazz albums such as Tokyo Blue in 1990, Share My World in 1994, and My Point of View in 2005. Over the years he has collaborated with luminaries including Prince, Chaka Khan, and Stanley Clarke. The recipient of two NAACP Awards, one of them for the 2013 release The Morning After: A Musical Journey, Najee marked his 30th year as a recording artist with Poetry in Motion in 2017 and returned to number one on the contemporary jazz chart via Center of the Heart in 2019.

Born Jerome Najee Rasheed in 1957 in New York’s Greenwich Village, he grew up in Jamaica, Queens and began on clarinet at age eight. During his teens he turned to the saxophone, drawing inspiration from John Coltrane, Joe Henderson, Grover Washington, Jr., and Ronnie and Hubert Laws. While participating in school ensembles, he joined Dr. Billy Taylor’s Jazzmobile program and studied under Frank Foster, Jimmy Heath, and Ernie Wilkins. He further refined his flute technique through private instruction with New York Philharmonic flautist Harold Jones at the Manhattan School of Music’s Preparatory Division. Following high school, he spent two years on the road with the band Area Code, entertaining U.S. military bases through USO engagements, then spent the summer of 1978 performing with vocalist Ben E. King’s backing group. Upon returning, he briefly attended Bronx Community College before entering the New England Conservatory of Music as a performance and composition major alongside his brother, guitarist and producer Fareed Rasheed; however, the siblings soon departed to tour with singer Chaka Khan.

Najee began his solo career with the 1986 album Najee’s Theme, which reached number one on Billboard’s Contemporary Jazz Albums chart. Embracing the soprano sax, he forged a distinctive blend of soulful jazz and R&B that resonated widely and earned a Grammy nomination for Best Instrumental R&B Performance. That same year he toured with Freddie Jackson and followed with Day by Day in 1988. His brother Fareed produced the 1990 album Tokyo Blue, which topped the contemporary jazz charts, achieved gold certification, and received a Soul Train Award for Best Jazz Album.

His fourth release, Just an Illusion, arrived in 1992 and peaked at number five on the contemporary jazz chart. Two years later he delivered the number-two-charting Share My World. Also in 1994, Najee appeared on Stanley Clarke’s all-star concert album Live at the Greek alongside Billy Cobham, Deron Johnson, and Larry Carlton. The following year he honored longtime idol Stevie Wonder with the George Duke-produced Songs from the Key of Life, featuring guest contributions from Sheila E., Herbie Hancock, and others. Morning Tenderness surfaced in 1998, ascended to number one on the contemporary jazz chart, and led to his first best-of collection. Throughout the late ’90s he continued USO tours and performed at Nelson Mandela’s birthday celebration in South Africa.

Between 2001 and 2003 Najee toured extensively with Prince and appeared on several of the pop icon’s albums. In 2003 he issued his eighth studio album, Embrace, which included guest spots by Roy Ayers and BeBe Winans. My Point of View followed in 2005 and debuted at number one on Billboard’s Contemporary Jazz Albums chart. The next year the saxophonist received an NAACP Image Award for Best Jazz Artist. On 2007’s Rising Sun he featured singer Phil Perry, and in 2009 he released Mind Over Matter, which contained a track with Eric Benét.

Signing with Shanachie in 2012, Najee issued The Smooth Side of Soul, again collaborating with Phil Perry and keyboardist Jeff Lorber. He remained with the label for subsequent projects, among them the number-one-charting The Morning After: A Musical Journey, which also garnered an NAACP Image Award nomination for Outstanding Jazz Album, and 2015’s You, Me and Forever.

With Poetry in Motion in 2017, Najee commemorated three decades as a recording artist. Dedicated to the memory of Prince and Al Jarreau, the album showcased appearances by Maysa, Will Downing, and Incognito. His sixteenth studio album, Center of the Heart, arrived in 2019 and featured collaborations with Kenny Lattimore, Greg Manning, Darren Rahn, and Demonte Posey, ultimately topping the Billboard Contemporary Jazz Chart.