Groove Collective is an American band. In 2007 they were nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Jazz Album of the Year for the release People People Music Music on the Savoy Jazz label.
Style Groove Collective was formed in 1990. The original members were percussionist/MC Gordon "Nappy G" Clay, keyboardist Itaal Shur, Vibraphonist Bill Ware, drummer Genji Siraisi, bassist Jonathan Maron, percussionist Chris Theberge, flutist Richard Worth, saxophonist Jay Rodriguez, trumpeter Fabio Morgera, trombonist Josh Roseman.
After witnessing an early show, producer Gary Katz negotiated the band's signing to Reprise Records, and produced their eponymous debut album in 1993.
In 1994, they appeared on the Red Hot Organization's compilation album, Stolen Moments: Red Hot + Cool, alongside other prominent jazz artists, Herbie Hancock and Roy Ayers. The album, meant to raise awareness and funds in support of the AIDS epidemic in relation to the African American community, was heralded as "Album of the Year" by Time magazine.
They scored two instrumental and adult contemporary hits in 1996 with a cover of the Beatles' "I Want You (She's So Heavy)" (US Dance/Club Play #45, US Dance Maxi Singles #23) and "Lift Off" (US R&B/Hip-Hop #73).[ Billboard Singles], Allmusic.com
Groove Collective's musical style reflects the wide-ranging backgrounds and interests of its individual members. Commenting on the group's 1996 release, We the People, critic Michael Casey referred to the numerous influences at work in Groove Collective's sound, specifically the presence of Afro-pop, Latin jazz, hip-hop, and traditional jazz stylings. This mix is born of the members' varying influences, including bebop, funk, old-school hip-hop and classic soul.Michael Casey, "The Range Finders: Groove Collective Defies Labels", Bergen Record May 23, 1997, ProQuest Platinum, Online (November 13, 2007). Bassist and co-founder Jonathan Maron has acknowledged the importance of a DJ aesthetic in the music, stating that "(Groove Collective's) goal has always been to emulate the range of music a DJ plays during the course of the night at a packed club. ... A great DJ knows the songs that can ignite the room and fill the dance floor. Some of my favorite musical experiences have been in clubs, where you listen and realize how well all of these styles blend together into one big idiom of its own."Chris Jisi, "King of Clubs: Jonathan Maron & Groove Collective Create Dance Floor Delirium", Bass Player April 2001: p. 39, ProQuest Platinum, Online (November 13, 2007).
Discography Groove Collective (Reprise/Giant Step, 1994) U.S. Jazz No. 20[ Billboard], Allmusic.com We the People (Giant Step, 1996) U.S. Jazz No. 20 Dance of the Drunken Master (Shanachie, 1998) U.S. Jazz No. 22 Declassified (Shanachie, 1999) It's All in Your Mind (Shanachie, 2001) Live: Brooklyn, NY 04.20.02 (Kufala, 2002) Live...and Hard to Find (Kufala, 2002) New York, NY 20.12.02 (Kufala, 2002) People People Music Music (Savoy, 2005) PS1 Warm Up: Brooklyn, NY, 7/2/2005 (Kufala, 2007)
Band members Current lineup Jay Rodriguez – saxophone, flute, vocals Jonathan Maron – bass Genji Siraisi – drums Chris Ifatoye Theberge – Conga, Bata with Josh Roseman – trombone Marcio Garcia - keyboards Bryan Vargas - guitar Nina Creese - percussion and vocals
Former members Richard Worth – flute, kalimba, compositions, vocals Itaal Shur – keyboards, synthesizers, compositions, vocals Bill Ware – vibraphone, compositions, vocals Nappy G/Gordon Clay – percussion, talking drum, compositions, vocals Barney McAll - Keyboards, toys, samples, compositions Fabio Morgera- trumpet and flugelhorn, compositions David Jensen – tenor saxophone Mike Dillon (musician) - vibraphone
Collaborators Adam Rogers - guitar Mark Anthony Jones - guitar Bryan Vargas - guitar Simone Giuliani - keyboards Uli Geissendorfer - keyboards Jonathan Crayford - keyboards Etienne "ATN" Stadjwyck - keyboards Bernie Worrell - keyboards Victor Axlerod - keyboards Eric Lane - keyboards Ben Stivers - keyboards Pablo Vergara - keyboards Cucho Valdez David Fiuczynski Curtis Fowlkes - trombone Fred Wesley - trombone Reut Regev - trombone Peter Apfelbaum - saxophones Troy Simms - saxophones Clark Gayton - trombone Jack Walrath - trumpet DJ Jazzy Nice - DJ Wayne "Smash" Hunter - DJ DJ Nicodemus Eric Kupper Salam Remi Diosa Gary - vocals MC Babee Power - vocals Vinia Mojica - vocals Alien Nation - vocals Lucy Woodward - vocals Malik Work - vocals Hiroyuki Sanada - production and mixology Uncle Fester - live production
References