Artistry Music

Artistry Music is an American record label focused primarily on smooth jazz and related contemporary jazz recordings. The label was originally known as ARTizen Music Group and was established by musician Brian Bromberg, Lucille Hunt, singer Rahsaan Patterson, and music executive Denny Stilwell. Its founding group combined performance, artist, and label-management experience, giving the imprint a basis in both creative development and recorded-music production. The label’s catalog and public identity were closely associated with the smooth-jazz marketplace, a commercially oriented segment of contemporary jazz that often connects instrumental jazz, adult contemporary radio, and crossover vocal music. Artistry’s roster and projects reflected that positioning through collaborations involving established jazz, soul, and adult-contemporary performers. Rather than operating as a broad, general-purpose major label, it functioned as a specialist imprint whose value centered on genre expertise, artist relationships, and releases aimed at the contemporary jazz audience. One of the label’s documented releases was To Grover, With Love, issued in July 2006 as a tribute to saxophonist Grover Washington Jr. The album brought together a substantial group of contributors, including Regina Belle, Dave Koz, Russ Freeman, Gerald Albright, Peter White, Chuck Loeb, Joe Sample, George Duke, and Steve Cole. Its most successful track, “Just the Two of Us,” featured Regina Belle, George Duke, and Steve Cole and reached number four on Billboard’s Top Contemporary Jazz chart. The project illustrates Artistry Music’s emphasis on recognizable genre artists, collaborative performances, and tribute-based programming. In 2008, Mack Avenue Records acquired Artistry Music. The transaction placed the imprint within the Mack Avenue label structure and connected its catalog and genre specialization with a larger jazz-focused music company. Available reference material does not establish whether Artistry continued as an independently active label, was fully integrated into Mack Avenue, or retained a separate release program after the acquisition. Its present operating status, current management, headquarters, website, and broader catalog details are therefore not confirmed here. Artistry Music’s documented significance lies in its role as a specialist smooth-jazz label and in the visibility of its collaborative tribute releases. The available sources provide limited information about later releases, artist signings, commercial performance beyond the cited chart result, and post-acquisition operations. Those areas require additional verification before a fuller corporate or discographic profile can be supplied.

Artistry Music was a United States record label specializing in smooth jazz and contemporary jazz. Before adopting the Artistry Music name, it operated as ARTizen Music Group. The label was founded by Brian Bromberg, Lucille Hunt, Rahsaan Patterson, and Denny Stilwell. The available reference does not provide a definitive founding year, but identifies the four founders and establishes the label’s focus on the smooth-jazz field. The imprint’s activities were oriented toward a commercially accessible form of jazz that often overlaps with adult-contemporary radio and crossover vocal music. Its best-documented project is To Grover, With Love, released in July 2006 as a tribute to saxophonist Grover Washington Jr. The album assembled a broad group of performers associated with jazz, soul, and contemporary instrumental music, including Regina Belle, Dave Koz, Russ Freeman, Gerald Albright, Peter White, Chuck Loeb, Joe Sample, George Duke, and Steve Cole. The record’s most successful track was “Just the Two of Us,” featuring Belle, Duke, and Cole; it reached number four on Billboard’s Top Contemporary Jazz chart. In 2008, Mack Avenue Records acquired Artistry Music. This was the label’s major documented corporate turning point and placed its catalog and genre expertise within a larger jazz-oriented label organization. The available material does not clarify the terms of the acquisition, the subsequent treatment of the Artistry name, or whether the imprint continued to issue new recordings independently. No verified information is supplied about current executives, offices, a dedicated website, later releases, or a formal closure date. Accordingly, the label’s present status is recorded as unknown rather than assumed to be active or defunct.

• 2008

  Acquisition by Mack Avenue Records

  [1]Artistry Musicen.wikipedia.org

  Mack Avenue Records acquired Artistry Music, integrating the imprint into its broader label organization.

• 2006

  Release of To Grover, With Love

  [1]Artistry Musicen.wikipedia.org

  Artistry Music released a multi-artist tribute album honoring Grover Washington Jr. in July 2006.

• 2006

  Tribute single reaches number four

  [1]Artistry Musicen.wikipedia.org

  “Just the Two of Us,” performed by Regina Belle, George Duke, and Steve Cole, reached number four on Billboard’s Top Contemporary Jazz chart.

• Artistry Music originates as ARTizen Music Group

  [1]Artistry Musicen.wikipedia.org

  The label was formerly known as ARTizen Music Group before operating under the Artistry Music name.

A specialist contemporary-jazz and smooth-jazz record-label imprint built around genre-focused artists, collaborations, and commercially accessible jazz releases.

• Tribute album · 2006

  To Grover, With Love

  A July 2006 Artistry Music tribute album dedicated to saxophonist Grover Washington Jr. The project brought together prominent contemporary-jazz and crossover performers, including Regina Belle, Dave Koz, Russ Freeman, Gerald Albright, Peter White, Chuck Loeb, Joe Sample, George Duke, and Steve Cole. Its highlighted track, “Just the Two of Us,” featured Belle, Duke, and Cole and achieved a number-four position on Billboard’s Top Contemporary Jazz chart.

• 2008

  Sale to Mack Avenue RecordsM&A

  Background

  Artistry Music operated as a specialist smooth-jazz and contemporary-jazz label before being acquired by Mack Avenue Records.

  Action taken

  Mack Avenue Records bought Artistry Music and brought the label into its organization.

  Aftermath

  The acquisition connected Artistry Music with Mack Avenue Records, but the available source does not establish whether the Artistry name or independent release operations continued afterward.

  Source

• 2008

  Mack Avenue Records acquires Artistry Music[1]Artistry Musicen.wikipedia.org

  M&A

  Mack Avenue Records bought Artistry Music, bringing the specialist smooth-jazz label into the Mack Avenue label structure.

• 2006

  Artistry Music releases Grover Washington Jr. tribute album[1]Artistry Musicen.wikipedia.org

  Product launch

  Artistry Music issued To Grover, With Love, a collaborative tribute to saxophonist Grover Washington Jr. The album included contributions from Regina Belle, Dave Koz, Russ Freeman, Gerald Albright, Peter White, Chuck Loeb, Joe Sample, George Duke, and Steve Cole.

• 2006

  “Just the Two of Us” reaches the Top Contemporary Jazz chart[1]Artistry Musicen.wikipedia.org

  Other

  The version of “Just the Two of Us” associated with To Grover, With Love and featuring Regina Belle, George Duke, and Steve Cole reached number four on Billboard’s Top Contemporary Jazz chart.

1. 1Artistry Musicen.wikipedia.org