Sacha Walters, Staff Reporter

Anita Baker - Winston Sill/Freelance Photographer

'Rapture' earned her her first of three Grammys in 1986

Anita Baker will hit the stage of the Air Jamaica Jazz and Blues Festival two nights before her 50th birthday. And, with her history, much will be expected.

A singer of soulful, 'grown people' music, as her fellow performer Jill Scott calls the soul genre, Baker has been chronicling love in one of the most identifiable voices since 1979. Baker found success in the 1980s. However, it was not until 1986 that she found Grammy success in the platinum album, Rapture, which produced the hits Caught up in the Rapture and Sweet Love.

She scored three additional Grammys over the years.

With influences like Ella Fitzgerald, Nancy Wilson and Sarah Vaughan, it's no doubt why she is one of headliners of the jazz festival.

Information: www.music.msn.com