Wakana, a Smooth Jazz Japanese musician, is a genius saxophonist. Her style and sound transcend languages, countries and genres because of her emotional delivery. She puts so much expression into her style. I was so impressed when I heard her for the first time. That's when I reached out for an interview.

Born in 1984, Wakana is a member of Japanese band called The Jazz Avengers. They performed in 2023 at the Billboard Live Yokohoma event as a ground-breaking band. The band consists of Wakana on alto sax; Miho Terachi on alto sax; Ami Nakaono on soprano sax; Miku Yonezawa on tenor sax; Marie Takeda on keyboards; Chizuru Segawa on guitar; Juna Serita on bass, and Senri Kawaguchi, the leader of the band, on drums.

I asked Greg Manning, who himself is a 2-time Grammy Award nominated Jazz keyboardist, what he thought of Wakana the first time he heard her play the sax and he said, "I said, ‘Wow! There's something there. It intrigued me."

"We actually go way back," the Switzerland native continued about his connection to Wakana. "My former manager introduced me to her 10 years ago at the Long Beach Jazz Festival. She had flown in from Japan. I started producing for her."

I was told her English was not too good which is why I was interviewing Greg, the owner of her new record label, and the Las Vegas resident said, "Her English is ok. She is just shy. She speaks...very slowly. My ex-wife is Japanese, so I began hiring my son, he is bilingual, to translate for me."

The "After Hours" single is also accompanied by a music video which, in four months, has collected over 20,000 views. The single is produced and mixed by Greg and co-written by Wakana and Manning. Wakana's YouTube page has almost 7,000 subscribers. You can hear Greg on the keyboard, drums and bass and Morris O'Connor (Earth, Wind & Fire) is on guitar on "After Hours."

"I just wanted to do good music," Manning said about Wakana's single "After Hours." "We settled on ‘After Hours.' Recorded it last summer...when my son graduated in Japan with a bachelors in New Media...I played it. He is teaching at two schools (in Japan) - math and English."

I asked Greg Manning, who has garnered 15 Billboard #1 hits as a solo musician, what type of artists/musicians is he looking to sign to his record label EQuity and he said, "I don't judge musicians...I listen for emotion."

Aside from 15 of his own #1 Billboard hits (via Kalima Music) in the Jazz genre, Greg is a fluent musician in R&B, Soul, Funk and Hip-Hip. The same week Wakana's "After Hours" reached #1 on Billboard, another project Manning produced reached #1 too - saxophonist Jeff Ryan's "Speakeasy" reached #1 on Billboard and Mediabase Charts. Other musicians signed on Manning's Equity Records label include New Orleans trumpeter Patches Stewart (Quincy Jones, Anita Baker) and harmonist and bass player Patrick Bettison. Greg is a featured musician on the works of 8-time Grammy Award/Tony Award winning Herb Alpert and #1 Billboard Chart-topper Blake Aaron and he produced projects for Alpert and Choice Award winning Will Downing.

Wakana and Greg Manning are currently working on another single. He is also producing a new single in honor of his mother with trumpeter Patches Stewart and saxophonist Jimmy Reid titled "Jolanda."  www.EQuityRecordsMusic.com www.WakanaSax.com www.GregManningMusic.com

"We are auctioning off her fashions," she continued. "Some industry people are excited that she saved her many gowns from 70's to present day."

"We went through her things with a representative at Julien's Auction. All her possessions are to be sold, and proceeds go to the Foundation...(things) that are most of value to the public," Joan pointed out when I asked what items were being auctioned off.

The Roberta Flack Foundation financially supports the education of young musicians and artists like she was when she started out in 1969. People in her community saw her talent and helped her nurture it and through her ventures she was doing the same before she passed away.

"(The auction) is a big gift...the Foundation can do some things to help people like her," Joan said. "Roberta, as a young person...showed her talent early. She was playing for the church (under 10 years-old), but she needed more education. Her community sponsored her (education)."

"The main item is her piano," Martin said when I mentioned how I want to see who buys her piano. I stated that my image of Roberta Flack is always at the piano.

"She was classically trained at Howard," Joan added.

"We are looking for musically inclined youth...young girls...get them the lessons they need and can't afford but have the talent. Art was the first thing to go in schools," she added.

Roberta Flack, the legend, went on to become a 5-time Grammy Awards winning artist/musician and the songs she recorded are still played as if they came out this year. She gave us hits like "Back Together Again", "Feel Like Making Love to You", "First Time Ever I Saw Your Face," "Killing Me Softly with His Song", "Tonight I Celebrate My Love" featuring Peabo Bryson, and "The Closer I Get to You" featuring Donnie Hathaway. She helped Luther Vandross become a legend too because he was one of her backup singers. Her duets with Donnie Hathway and Peabo Bryson set the tone for duets.

She started as an artist/musician at Atlantic Records and was still recording music and performing in her 80s. She also garnered nine Grammy nominations, was honored with an American Music Award and nominated for five AMAs. Roberta Flack was also the first solo artist that was a recipient of the Grammy Awards' "Record of the Year". Flack founded the Roberta Flack School of Music at the Hyde Leadership Charter School in the Bronx to educate and inspire young artists/musicians as she was educated and inspired at a young age.

The Julien's Auction "Roberta Flack: Style, Art and Music No-Reserve Benefit Auction' was a success. The big sellers were her grand piano (Bosendorfer Imperial), that I asked about, that was given to her by her record label Atlantic Records at $48,000 and an 18K gold collar-necklace with diamonds, tourmaline and peridot at $70,400 which is 5-times its worth. There was a long list of other items such as an autograph to her from John Lennon sold for $8,960 and an autograph poster from Miles Davis at $5,760! A gown she wore during a televised performance sold for $5,120. In addition, an autographed poem from Maya Angelou sold for almost $2000 and her 1973 American Music Award for "Favorite Soul Female Artist" sold for $2,880. The total of the Julien's Auction "Roberta Flack: Style, Art and Music No-Reserve Benefit Auction' garnered for the Roberta Flack Foundation $218,880.  www.RobertaFlack.com www.RobertaFlackFoundation.com

SYNDICATED COLUMNIST: Dr. Eunice Moseley has an estimated weekly readership of over one million for her column The Pulse of Entertainment. She is the publisher of the digital magazine www.ThePulseofEntertainment.com, which has an estimated 160,000 visitors a month. An entrepreneur, Dr. Moseley’s company, Freelance Associates, is a business management/public relations strategic planning and consulting firm that is celebrating 32 years in 2025. Dr. Eunice also serves as professor for the School of Business at Stanton University in Anaheim, California and serves as promotions director (at-large)/journalist and business consultant for The Baltimore Times. Dr. Moseley founded the Uplifting Minds II Foundation (www.UpliftingMinds.com) in 2023, a 501 C3 with a mission to empower the underserved through three major programs – One Stop Business Shop, the ULMII Professional Conference and the ULMII Academy (business management and public relations). EVENTS: "Uplifting Minds II" Entertainment Conference (ULMII), was launched by Dr. Eunice in 1999, to educate aspiring artists/musicians about the business of entertainment – www.UpliftingMinds2.com. Next ULMII Entertainment Conferences for Baltimore on Saturday April 18, 2026, presented by Security Square Mall and The Baltimore Times, and for Los Angeles on Saturday, November 7, 2026, presented by The Pulse of Entertainment and the ULMII Foundation. The ULMII conferences are free with virtual access via Zoom. ULMII entertainment conference offers a Professional Panel Q&A Session, a Professional Talent Showcase and International Talent Competition where the top three scored acts receive the ULMII Best Act Award and over $20,000 valued in prizes/product/services and cash!