Jephte Guillaume

The burgeoning organic direction of deep house during the late '90s -- which gathered influences from disco to jazz-funk to Brazilian jazz -- was pushed along by Jephté Guillaume, not just a producer and vocalist but an in-demand bassist around New York's hip-hop and acid jazz scene since the early '90s. Born in Haiti, Guillaume moved to New York as a child, fleeing the Duvalier regime along with his family. Once settled, he began playing at an early age, taking bass while his brother Donald worked on drums. By the beginning of the '90s, the two began recording with the Haitia...