Afrodizz is an eight-member

afrobeat Afrobeat is a Nigerian music genre that involves the combination of West African musical styles (such as traditional Yoruba music and highlife) and American funk, jazz, and soul influences, with a focus on chanted vocals, complex intersecting ...

afrofunk Afrobeat is a Nigerian music genre that involves the combination of West African musical styles (such as traditional Yoruba music and highlife) and American funk, jazz, and soul influences, with a focus on chanted vocals, complex intersecting ...

band from

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

. Their music is a modern mix of afrobeat,

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

and

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African Americans in the m ...

, that has been described as having nuances of

The Herbaliser The Herbaliser is an English jazz hip hop group formed by Jake Wherry and Ollie Teeba in London, England during the early 1990s. Although currently releasing on their own label and having previously been signed to !K7 Records, they were one o ...

and Tony Allen.Robillard Laveaux, Olivier, "Prise deux", ''Voir'', Jun 22, 2006
(French text) Last accessed Nov 8, 2008

The band

The band was formed in 2002 by Montreal

jazz guitarist Jazz guitarists are guitarists who play jazz using an approach to chords, melodies, and improvised solo lines which is called jazz guitar playing. The guitar has fulfilled the roles of accompanist ( rhythm guitar) and soloist in small and large ...

, Gabriel Aldama—who also serves as the band's chief songwriter.CBC Radio 3 - Afrodizz bio
Last accessed Nov 9, 2008 Aldama was first introduced to afrobeat as a university student, when a friend played him some vinyl recordings by the genre's pioneer,

Fela Kuti Fela Aníkúlápó Kuti (born Olufela Olusegun Oludotun Ransome-Kuti; 15 October 1938 – 2 August 1997), also known as Abami Eda, was a Nigerian musician, bandleader, composer, political activist, and Pan-Africanist. He is regarded as the p ...

.Lafrance, Richard, "Afrobeat: Beat international", ''Voir'', Jun 21, 2007
(French text) Last accessed Nov 9, 2008 Aldama has also credited the

Beastie Boys Beastie Boys were an American rap rock group from New York City, formed in 1978. The group was composed of Mike D, Michael "Mike D" Diamond (vocals, drums), Adam Yauch, Adam "MCA" Yauch (vocals, bass), and Ad-Rock, Adam "Ad-Rock" Horovitz (voca ...

' 1996

jazz-funk Jazz-funk is a subgenre of jazz music characterized by a strong back beat (groove), electrified sounds, and an early prevalence of analog synthesizers. The integration of funk, soul, and R&B music and styles into jazz resulted in the creatio ...

instrumental compilation '' The In Sound from Way Out!'' as an album that greatly influenced him.Robillard Laveaux, Olivier, "Je vais à Londres", ''Voir'', May 6, 2004
(French text) Last accessed Nov 8, 2008 The other members of Afrodizz include

vocalist Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

Vance Payne—who performs songs in English, Yorùbá and other

languages of Nigeria There are over 525 native languages spoken in Nigeria. The Nigerian official language is English, the language of former colonial British Nigeria. As reported in 2003, Nigerian Pidgin was spoken as a second language by 60 million people in Nige ...

> The Mirror’s calls on the free, outdoor Jazz Fest shows to catch", ''Montreal Mirror'', Jun 26-Jul 2, 2003, Vol. 19 No. 2">C., Scott, "Fresh air, pas cher >> The Mirror’s calls on the free, outdoor Jazz Fest shows to catch", ''Montreal Mirror'', Jun 26-Jul 2, 2003, Vol. 19 No. 2
Last accessed Nov 10, 2008—as well as François Plante ( bass),

Jean-Philippe Goncalves Jean-Philippe "Jean-Phi" Goncalves (born c. 1978)Charpentier, Lorraine. “Bêtes de scène >> Montreal’s Beast pairs a famous singer with a beatsmith to the stars”, ''Montreal Mirror'', Mar 13 - Mar 19, 2008, Vol. 23 No. 38 Retrieved Nov 5, ...

(

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

), François Vincent (

percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Exc ...

), David Carbonneau (

trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitched one octave below the standard ...

), Frèdé Simard (

tenor sax The tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor and the alto are the two most commonly used saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B (while th ...

), and François Glidden (

baritone sax The baritone saxophone is a member of the saxophone family of instruments, larger (and lower-pitched) than the tenor saxophone, but smaller (and higher-pitched) than the bass. It is the lowest-pitched saxophone in common use - the bass, contra ...

). Goncalves and Plante are also part of the electro-jazz trio,

Plaster Plaster is a building material used for the protective or decorative coating of walls and ceilings and for Molding (decorative), moulding and casting decorative elements. In English, "plaster" usually means a material used for the interiors of ...

and Goncalves is also one half of the

electronic music Electronic music is a genre of music that employs electronic musical instruments, digital instruments, or circuitry-based music technology in its creation. It includes both music made using electronic and electromechanical means ( electroac ...

duo Beast.

Albums and awards

The band played the

Montreal International Jazz Festival The Festival International de Jazz de Montréal ( en, Montreal International Jazz Festival) is an annual jazz festival held in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The Montreal Jazz Fest holds the 2004 Guinness World Record as the world's largest jazz fest ...

in 2003 and was named "Revelation of the Year" in the Tropiques series. Andy Williams, an English-born Montreal DJ and jazz specialist,> Montrealer Andy Williams aims to educate with his debut jazz compilation", ''Montreal Mirror'', Apr 24 - Apr 30, 2008, Vol. 23 No. 44">McLeod, Erin, "Reach to teach >> Montrealer Andy Williams aims to educate with his debut jazz compilation", ''Montreal Mirror'', Apr 24 - Apr 30, 2008, Vol. 23 No. 44
Last accessed Nov 10, 2008 brought the EP to the attention of Adrian Gibson, the programmer for the

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

Jazz Café The Jazz Cafe is a music venue in Camden Town, London. It opened in 1990 on the former premises of a branch of Barclays Bank and has had several owners throughout its history as a music venue. In 2020 the Jazz Cafe celebrates its 30th year, h ...

who had just founded the UK label Freestyle Records. Gibson signed the band to record their first album. After the release of their first album, ''Kif Kif'', in 2004, Afrodizz toured Europe. At the height of their popularity, they were able to sell out shows at Gibson's prestigious Jazz Café. In 2006 the band released their second album ''Froots'' on Montreal's C4 label. Montreal rock artist

Deweare Franck Deweare (pronounced "de-vair"), also known by his stage name Deweare, and previously as Franck Marx, is a musician native to Verdun, France, who has been based out of Montreal, Quebec since 2004. Deweare's style, both lyrically and vocall ...

appeared as a guest vocalist on the song "Fashion Terroriste" in a Gainsbourg-esque performance. The album went on the win Best

Worldbeat Worldbeat is a music genre that blends pop music or rock music with world music or traditional music. Worldbeat is similar to other cross-pollination labels of contemporary and roots genres, and which suggest a rhythmic, harmonic or textural con ...

Traditional A tradition is a belief or behavior (folk custom) passed down within a group or society with symbolic meaning or special significance with origins in the past. A component of cultural expressions and folklore, common examples include holidays or ...

Album at the 2006

GAMIQ The Alternative Independent Music Gala of Quebec (french: Gala alternatif de la musique indépendante du Québec; GAMIQ) is an award-giving event created in 2006. It rewards emerging artists from the Quebec music scene. The awards are granted aft ...

Awards (Quebec Independent Music Awards),Renault, Philippe, "Un doublé pour Malajube", ''Le Journal de Montréal'', Sep 18, 2006
(French text) Last accessed Nov 11, 2008 and won Best Artist in the Cosmopolitan category of the Montreal International Music Initiative Awards (MIMIs), an honour which is given to the best "roots, intercultural and new musical language" artist. Afrodizz performed the song "Africa Music" on the

tribute album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century as individual 78 rpm records coll ...

''Les machines à danser'' (dancing machines) released in June 2010; the album is a compilation of songs originally performed by

French West Indies The French West Indies or French Antilles (french: Antilles françaises, ; gcf, label=Antillean Creole, Antiy fwansez) are the parts of France located in the Antilles islands of the Caribbean: * The two overseas departments of: ** Guadeloupe, ...

French Guianese French Guiana ( or ; french: link=no, Guyane ; gcr, label=French Guianese Creole, Lagwiyann ) is an overseas department/region and single territorial collectivity of France on the northern Atlantic coast of South America in the Guianas. It ...

pop band

La Compagnie Créole La Compagnie Créole is a popular French pop band from French Guiana and the French West Indies, founded in the 1970's. They originally started singing in Creole but quickly adopted French as their main language. They are known mostly for the f ...

and includes covers by artists such as

Ariane Moffatt Ariane Moffatt (born 26 April 1979) is a Canadian singer-songwriter. Known for working across multiple musical genres, Moffatt's music combines elements of electronica, jazz, folk, and pop. A francophone, she is bilingual and has recorded track ...

and

Dubmatique Dubmatique is a French Canadian hip hop group formed in the 1990s in Montreal, Quebec. Groupmates Dj Choice, OTMC, and Jérôme-Philippe are the first French-language hip-hop group from Canada to have a number one hit single on the francophone po ...

.ref> At the 2011

, Afrodizz launched its third album, "Sounds from Outer Space". It last played the festival in 2016, but, as of 2021, continues to perform at the Festival International Nuits d'Afrique de Montreal.

References

{{Authority control Musical groups established in 2002 Musical groups from Montreal Canadian world music groups Afro-beat musical groups 2002 establishments in Quebec Black Canadian culture in Montreal