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B i o g r a p h y

Wayne Linsey! Musician, producer, arranger, songwriter and TV personality. Wayne has worked on stage and in the studio with legendary artists such as Whitney Houston, Stevie Wonder, Aretha Franklin, Earth Wind and Fire, Babyface, Diana Ross, Chaka Khan, Beyoncé, Jennifer Hudson, Yolanda Adams, The Jackson's  and many more! As a multi-talented instrumentalist, Wayne is best known for keyboards, but plays guitar, bass and drums as well.  Wayne is no stranger to the jazz genre.  He was a pioneer in what is now known as "smooth jazz", having written & produced for saxophonist George Howard in the mid 80's, including George's biggest hit "No No" & the title cut "A Nice Place to Be". Wayne has also written & produced for guitarist Paul Jackson Jr..  He wrote for & recorded with the legendary Miles Davis, and recorded with jazz greats , Stanley Clarke, Gerald Albright, Nancy Wilson, Norman Brown, Jonathan Butler, & Marcus Miller to name a few.  He's performed with fellow keyboardists Billy Preston, Ray Charles & Herbie Hancock & is also the man who gave his friend the name, "Boney James".  Wayne has spent much of his career on TV, having performed on all the major awards shows from "BET Gospel" to "The Oscars".  Wayne was also a member of Wayne Brady's variety & talk show house bands.

 

Most recently Wayne was a member of the very last "Tonight Show Band with Jay Leno" where his comedic skills were recognized by Jay, leading to an opportunity to be featured in numerous skits on the show.  Currently, Wayne is producing other artist, doing TV shows and is an original member of "The Rickey Minor band".  Some of you might know Wayne as "Ziggy", the name that was popularized when Wayne joined "Maze featuring Frankie Beverly" in 1984. Wayne has appeared on every Maze record since "Can't Stop the Love", including his signature flute intro & solo on "Can't Get Over You".

 

As an artist, Wayne's debut album "Perfect Love", was released in 1991 on Virgin Records under the group name "Linsey" with, then wife, Lynne Fiddmont.

His solo album, “A Song Without Words”, on Headrok Records, his own label, was released in 2009 & his CD, “Wayne Linsey presents….. A Swingin’ Christmas” is available now. He wrote “No Justice No Peace” as a response to the George Floyd murder. It will be released on all digital platforms soon.

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