HIPPIE-POP FUNKATEER

“I have about 500 styles,” laughs Kim Manning. While her sound is actually a heady combination of jazz, funk, rock and reggae she once called “junk-jog”—or as one friend deemed it, hippiepop— Manning’s talents are also multifaceted. Starting with violin at age six, Manning soon began honing her 4.5-octave vocal range which she’s now paired with her skills on Rhodes and guitar.

Though she got a degree in musical theater and is a strong enough actress to land parts on television shows like N.Y.P.D. Blue and Boston Public, Manning’s big break came when George Clinton tapped her as a featured singer for Parliament-Funkadelic. It was on tour that she began recording her debut, The Love & Light Activation, which has appearances by Clinton, The Duo and features Eric McFadden, Wally Ingram and Norwood Fischer. “You get in where you fit in,” she says of her six-year tenure with P-Funk. Whether it’s that, her collaborations with Particle, Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey or Snoop Dog, Manning’s foot seems to always be the one that fits the glass slipper. www.kimmanning.com  Josh Baron

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