Performances: Jan 23 & 24

During a decades-spanning career that began during the tail end of the new jack swing era, sophisticated vocalist Chanté Moore has placed over a dozen songs on Billboard’s R&B chart. The daughter of a minister, Moore grew up on gospel music and albums by George Duke and Lee Ritenour, and sometimes applied her lyrics to their music. Moore decided as a teenager that she wanted to become a singer after an inspirational performance in a high-school rendition of The Wiz. At the age of 22, she was discovered by producer and executive Louil Silas, who signed her to Silas Records, his MCA subsidiary. In 1992, Moore was featured on El DeBarge’s Top 15 R&B single “You Know What I Like,” and she released Precious, her debut album. Propelled by the singles “Love’s Taken Over” and “It’s Alright,” it went gold. Three more albums for Silas/MCA, all of which either dented or flirted with the Top Ten of the R&B Albums chart, followed through 2000.

Though Moore didn’t release any solo material for several years, she continued to have success with collaborative work.