Lenny Kravitz

Lenny was raised around music. He was influenced by jazz and R&B in NYC. After moving to LA, he sang with the California Boys Choir and recorded with Zubin Mehta.

In 1987, Lenny married actress Lisa Bonet. Lisa's impetuous free spirit and bi-racial upbringing uncannily paralleled Lenny's own background. The couple had baby girl, which they named Zoë. Bute, by 1993, their marriage had reached it's limit, and fell apart.

In 1989 Lenny put forth a funky album called "Let Love Rule". He followed up with the tougher "Mama Said" in 1991, then he rocked his fans with "Are You Gonna Go My Way" in 1993. His fourth album "Circus" (1995), demonstrated his breadth of influences (Hendrix to Lennon, gospel to funk). Lenny’s audiences responded to his provocative live performances and demanded more.

"5" (his fifth album) honors that legacy. This album reflects a matured Lenny Kravitz. This Lenny has experienced loss in recent years, with the death of his mother. That loss has influenced his music. "Thinking Of You" is one of his most beautiful efforts; fittingly, it’s a tribute to his mother. He thrives on his own experiences as a parent, and incorporates these emotions into creating music with renewed energy and customary fire. "I love being in ‘Daddy mode,’" says Kravitz. "Little Girl’s Eyes" exhibits grace and tenderness. "That song was my daughter’s ninth birthday present."

Lenny has never been comfortable with limitations. "5" is a fascinating mix of old and new, of vintage Lenny and Lenny-right-now, and he’s reinventing himself agian. "The album took eight months, because I had to learn a whole new style of recording," Kravitz says.

Lenny produced himself – and enlisted the legendary Terry Manning as engineer (Al Green, ZZ Top, Led Zeppelin, Staple Singers). "No tape, this time," Lenny says, "And ‘digital’ used to be a dirty word for me. But by working instrument by instrument, building up the sound, I was able to construct the record like a puzzle. I was listening to a lot of New York hip-hop. I like that technique – the sparseness, the groove, the rhythm."

As always, the multi-instrumentalist plunged into marathon studio sessions, 16-hour days in New York and the Bahamas crafting sounds. The result? Lenny’s fiercest, fullest music project.

The vocals are crisp and immediate, the instrumentation surprising (everything from wah-wah guitar to mellotron and mini-moog to "green Heineken bottles" as percussion).

Female back-up vocals (an unusual twist for Kravitz) add elegance and heart. And Lenny’s own work – playing all the instruments – is more fluid than ever.

"Even before "Let Love Rule", I was playing funk. I’ve gone in different directions, too – and I’ll continue doing so, but it was great to get back. It’s been two years since I was on stage with the HORDE tour. And I haven’t made a record since “Circus”. So, even though I’ve been making records professionally for nine years, this time I’m making music again as if it’s my first album. No preconceptions. No expectations. I’m just flowing. And it’s a blessing."