Benutzer:Mecki fingerchen/James Taylor Quartet

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James Taylor Quartet

Allgemeine Informationen
Genre(s) Acid Jazz, Jazz Funk
Gründung 1985
Website http://www.jtq.co.uk
Aktuelle Besetzung
Hammond-Orgel, Gesang
 James Taylor
Gitarre
 Nigel Price
Bass
 Andy McKinney
Schlagzeug
 Adam Betts
Trompete
 Nick Smart
Gesang
 Yvonne Yanney
Ehemalige Mitglieder
Graham Flowers (trumpet)
David Taylor (guitar)
Dominic Glover (trumpet)
Noel McKoy (vocals)
Andrew McGuinness (drums)
Wolf Howard (drums)
Allan Crockford (bass)

Das James Taylor Quartet, auch JTQ genannt, ist eine vierköpfige britische Acid Jazz Band. Die Band nahm auch unter dem Namen New Jersey Kings Platten auf. Diese Aufnahmen haben ebenfalls den funkigen Hammond Sound des JTQ, klingen aber durch eine Art Studio-Liveaufnahme natürlicher und rauher.

Die Grundbesetzung besteht aus James Taylor, Nigel Price, Gary Crockett und Neil Robinson. Bei Plattenaufnahmen und Liveauftritten werden sie regelmässig durch einen Bläserssatz mit John Willmott (Tenorsaxophon/Flöte) und Nick Smart (Trompete) sowie die Sängerin Yvonne Yanney verstärkt.

Das James Taylor Quartet hat keine Verbindungen zum US-Amerikanischen Folk/Pop-Künstler James Taylor.

Anfänge mit Filmmusik[Bearbeiten | Quelltext bearbeiten]

Die erste Singelaufnahme des James Taylor Quartet, "Blow-Up" (a funked up version of Herbie Hancock's main theme from the seminal 60s film of the same name), wurde 1985 bei dem Plattenlabel "Re Elect The President label", dem späteren Acid Jazzlabel aufgenommen. The track was championed by the NME and John Peel, appearing three years running on Peel's seminal Festive 50 Chart. The band's debut album, Mission Impossible was released the following year and predominantly consisted of covers of Sixties film themes such as "Alfie", "Mrs. Robinson" and "Goldfinger" in a rough, up-tempo, almost punk-like style that was primarily focussed on Taylor's Hammond organ playing. Their second album, The Money Spyder, was the soundtrack to an imaginary spy film, applying the band's distinctive style to Taylor's own compositions.

Während der Werbetour??? für diese Alben wurde das James Taylor Quartet als LIveband bekannt. promoting these albums The James Taylor Quartet developed a strong reputation as a live band that remains to this day. The live set focuses on accessible rhythm driven music that some classify as having elements of modern dance music, despite including a lot of improvised solos. During this period a contract with a major record led to them playing to ever increasing audiences. The band also recorded their signature tune "The Theme from Starsky and Hutch" during this period. This led to the release of the live album Absolute in 1991, which attempted to capture the experience of the band in concert (even though it was recorded 'live' in the studio, the audience cheering being overdubbed later).

The Emergence of Acid Jazz[Bearbeiten | Quelltext bearbeiten]

In the early 1990s the band changed direction and released a string of song-based albums to appeal to the then fashionable Soul and Acid Jazz scene in the UK. They featuring vocalists such as Rose Windross of Soul II Soul, Alison Limerick and Noel McKoy. McKoy became a permanent member of the band for part of this period. The single "Love The Life" reached the Top 40 and the accompanying album Supernatural Feeling reached the top 30 in the UK charts. The next album In The Hand of The Inevitable saw a return to the Acid Jazz label where it remains the label's biggest selling album.

The Return to Funk Roots[Bearbeiten | Quelltext bearbeiten]

Since then the James Taylor Quartet have returned to their original style of instrumental Hammond-led jazz funk workouts on albums that have showcased the band's instrumental talents. Cover versions such as "Whole Lotta Love", "Dirty Harry" and "Jesus Christ Superstar"' are still recorded in the same spirit as the band's debut "Blow-Up" single, but the albums are mainly original compositions. Live gigs regularly feature a vocalist and showcase songs from the soul period of the band. They received a Music of Black Origin nomination for their second live album Whole Lotta Live.

Collaborations & Guest Spots[Bearbeiten | Quelltext bearbeiten]

The James Taylor Quartet produced a bona-fide film theme of their own when they contributed to the soundtrack of the first Austin Powers film. As well as their own recordings, James Taylor and members of the quartet have collaborated with Tom Jones on the duets album Reload and featured on records by The Wonder Stuff, Manic Street Preachers, The Pogues, Kingmaker and U2. They were also the house band on Gaby Roslin's short-lived Channel 4 chat show.

In the late 1990s, James Taylor began composing and recording library music for the Bruton Music company. A series of releases were made available for use by the media industry in TV advertisements, programmes, films etc. As this material is not available for sale to the general public they are sought after by completist, die hard fans.

Recent News[Bearbeiten | Quelltext bearbeiten]

Some performances during 2005 included an augmented horn section and have been promoted as the James Taylor Funk Orchestra.

During 2005 Nigel Price (guitar) replaced David Taylor.

A new JTQ album A Taste of Cherry will be on sale in September 2006.

Discography[Bearbeiten | Quelltext bearbeiten]

JTQ releases:

  • Mission Impossible (1986)
  • The Money Spyder (1987)
  • The First Sixty Four Minutes (1988) Repackage of Mission Impossible and The Money Spider
  • Wait a Minute (1988)
  • Get Organized (1989)
  • Do Your Own Thing (1990)
  • Supernatural Feeling (1991)
  • Absolute (live) (1993)
  • Extended Play (1994)
  • BBC Sessions (1995)
  • In the Hand of the Inevitable (1995)
  • A Few Useful Tips about Living Underground (1996)
  • Creation (1997)
  • Whole Lotta Live (1998)
  • JTQ, A Collection - the Best of the Acid Jazz Years (1999)
  • Penthouse Suite (1999)
  • A Bigger Picture (1999)
  • Swinging London (2000)
  • Message From The Godfather (2001)
  • Room at the Top (2002)
  • The Oscillator (2003)
  • A Taste of Cherry (2006)

Bruton library releases:

  • Swinging London (tbc)
  • Retro Acid Jazz (1995)
  • The Hustle (2004)

New Jersey Kings:

  • Party to the Bus Stop (1992)
  • Stratosphere Breakdown (1995)
  • Uzi Lover (2002)

External links[Bearbeiten | Quelltext bearbeiten]

[[Category:Jazz ensembles]] [[Category:Jazz fusion groups]] [[Category:Quartets]]

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