Groove Collective is an American band. In 2007 they were nominated for a

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pr ...

for Best Contemporary Jazz Album of the Year for the release ''People People Music Music'' on the

Savoy Jazz Savoy Records is an American record company and label established by Herman Lubinsky in 1942 in Newark, New Jersey. Savoy specialized in jazz, rhythm and blues, and gospel music. In September 2017, Savoy was acquired by Concord Bicycle Music. ...

label.

Style

Groove Collective was formed in 1990. The original members were percussionist/MC Gordon "Nappy G" Clay, keyboardist

Itaal Shur Itaal Shur is an American composer, producer and musician. He has written songs for a number of musicians, including Maxwell, Jewel and Enrique Iglesias, and has produced records for various artists, including Kronos Quartet, The Scumfrog and L ...

, Vibraphonist

Bill Ware Bill Ware III born William Anthony Ware III (b. January 28, 1959, East Orange, New Jersey) is an American jazz vibraphonist. Musical career Ware played bass and piano early in his career, playing at the Harlem Jazzmobile. After spending several ...

, drummer Genji Siraisi, bassist Jonathan Maron, percussionist Chris Theberge, flutist Richard Worth, saxophonist Jay Rodriguez, trumpeter Fabio Morgera, trombonist

Josh Roseman Josh Roseman (born 5 June 1967) is an American jazz trombonist. His nickname is "Mr. Bone". He studied in Newton North High School. Roseman was born in Boston, and studied at the New England Conservatory of Music. Roseman toured Jamaica with The ...

. After witnessing an early show, producer

Gary Katz Gary Katz is an American record producer, best known for his work on albums by Steely Dan. Katz has also produced numerous other recording artists and assisted in the discovery and signing of a number of subsequently successful acts. Career ...

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 Roy Ayers (born September 10, 1940) is an American funk, soul, and jazz composer, vibraphone player, and music producer. Ayers began his career as a post-bop jazz artist, releasing several albums with Atlantic Records, before his tenure at Po ...

. 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 Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, ...

'' magazine. They scored two instrumental and adult contemporary hits in 1996 with a cover of

the Beatles The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developmen ...

' "

I Want You (She's So Heavy) "I Want You (She's So Heavy)" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles, written by John Lennon (credited to Lennon–McCartney). The song closes side one of their 1969 album '' Abbey Road'' and features Billy Preston playing the organ. It ...

" (US Dance/Club Play #45, US Dance Maxi Singles #23) and "Lift Off" (US R&B/Hip-Hop #73). 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 African popular music (also styled Afropop, Afro-pop or Afro pop), like Music of Africa, African traditional music, is vast and varied. Most contemporary genres of African popular music build on cross-pollination with western popular music. M ...

Latin jazz Latin jazz is a genre of jazz with Latin American rhythms. The two main categories are Afro-Cuban jazz, rhythmically based on Cuban popular dance music, with a rhythm section employing ostinato patterns or a clave, and Afro-Brazilian jazz, which ...

, hip-hop, and traditional jazz stylings. This mix is born of the members' varying influences, including

bebop Bebop or bop is a style of jazz developed in the early-to-mid-1940s in the United States. The style features compositions characterized by a fast tempo, complex chord progressions with rapid chord changes and numerous changes of key, instrumen ...

, funk,

old-school hip-hop Old-school hip hop (also spelled old skool) is the earliest commercially recorded hip hop music and original style of the genre. It typically refers to the music created around 1979 to 1983, as well as any hip hop that does not adhere to contem ...

and

classic soul Classic soul is a radio format that focuses on the more raw types of soul music from the 1950s-1970s that draw from certain rhythm and blues and soul music influences, after 1980 is generally considered “contemporary R&B” with the smoother ...

. 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." Central to the group's ethic is its insistence on live instrumentation and its ability to create and sustain grooves for a dance floor audience. Groove Collective is one of three known live bands to have played at

David Mancuso David Paul Mancuso (October 20, 1944 – November 14, 2016) was an American disc jockey who created the popular "by invitation only" parties in New York City, which later became known as "The Loft". The first party, called "Love Saves The Day", was ...

's famed Loft parties. Members of Groove Collective have worked with Prince,

Tupac Shakur Tupac Amaru Shakur ( ; born Lesane Parish Crooks, June 16, 1971 – September 13, 1996), also known as 2Pac and Makaveli, was an American rapper. He is widely considered one of the most influential rappers of all time. Shakur is among the b ...

, the Sugar Hill Gang,

D’Angelo Michael Eugene Archer (born February 11, 1974), better known by his stage name D'Angelo (), is an American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and record producer. He first garnered attention after co-producing the single "U Will Know" ...

The Jazz Passengers The Jazz Passengers are an American jazz group founded in 1987 by saxophonist Roy Nathanson and trombonist Curtis Fowlkes. The band grew out of a partnership between Nathanson and Fowlkes in 1987, after the two had played with John Lurie's band ...

, Dave Holland, Steely Dan,

Curtis Mayfield Curtis Lee Mayfield (June 3, 1942 – December 26, 1999) was an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer, and one of the most influential musicians behind soul and politically conscious African-American music.

, John Zorn,

The Skatalites The Skatalites are a ska band from Jamaica. They played initially between 1963 and 1965, and recorded many of their best known songs in the period, including " Guns of Navarone." They also played on records by Prince Buster and backed many othe ...

, Pharoah Sanders, Celia Cruz,

Meshell Ndegeocello Michelle Lynn Johnson, better known as Meshell Ndegeocello (; born August 29, 1968), is a German-born American singer-songwriter, rapper, and bassist. She has gone by the name Meshell Suhaila Bashir-Shakur which is used as a writing credit on so ...

among others.

Discography

* ''Groove Collective'' (

Reprise In music, a reprise ( , ; from the verb 'to resume') is the repetition or reiteration of the opening material later in a composition as occurs in the recapitulation of sonata form, though—originally in the 18th century—was simply any repe ...

/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 Declassification is the process of ceasing a protective classification, often under the principle of freedom of information. Procedures for declassification vary by country. Papers may be withheld without being classified as secret, and event ...

'' (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)

Current lineup

* Jay Rodriguez – saxophone, flute, vocals * Jonathan Maron – bass * Genji Siraisi – drums * Chris Ifatoye Theberge – Conga, Bata with *

– trombone * Marcio Garcia - keyboards * Bryan Vargas - guitar * Nina Creese - percussion and vocals

Past members

* Richard Worth – flute, kalimba, compositions, vocals *

– keyboards, synthesizers, compositions, vocals *

– vibraphone, compositions, vocals * Nappy G/Gordon Clay – percussion, talking drum, compositions, vocals *

Barney McAll Barney McAll (born Melbourne, Australia, 1966) is a jazz pianist and composer who lives in Melbourne, Australia. McAll joined Gary Bartz's band in 1997, and has also played with the Josh Roseman Unit, Fred Wesley and the JB's, Groove Collective ...

- Keyboards, toys, samples, compositions * Fabio Morgera- trumpet and flugelhorn, compositions * David Jensen – tenor saxophone *

Mike Dillon (musician) Mike Dillon (a.k.a. Mike D) is an American percussionist, vibraphonist, bandleader, and vocalist born in San Antonio, Texas. He is a member of Critters Buggin, Les Claypool's Fancy Band and Garage A Trois. He has performed with many musicians ...

- vibraphone

Collaborators

* Adam Rogers - guitar * Mark Anthony Jones - guitar *Bryan Vargas - guitar - * Uli Geissendorfer - keyboards * Jonathan Crayford - keyboards * Etienne "ATN" Stadjwyck - keyboards *

Bernie Worrell George Bernard Worrell, Jr. (April 19, 1944 – June 24, 2016) was an American keyboardist and record producer best known as a founding member of Parliament-Funkadelic and for his work with Talking Heads. He is a member of the Rock and Rol ...

- keyboards *Victor Axlerod - keyboards *Eric Lane - keyboards *Ben Stivers - keyboards *Pablo Vegera - keyboards * Cucho Valdez - *

Curtis Fowlkes Curtis Fowlkes (born March 19, 1950) is an American jazz trombonist and singer. He is a founding member of The Jazz Passengers. Career In 1987, Fowlkes started The Jazz Passengers with saxophonist Roy Nathanson. He has also been a member of ...

- trombone *

Fred Wesley Fred Wesley (born July 4, 1943) is an American trombonist who worked with James Brown in the 1960s and 1970s and Parliament-Funkadelic in the second half of the 1970s. Biography Wesley was born the son of a high school teacher and big band lead ...

- trombone * Reut Regev - trombone * Peter Apfelbaum - saxophones *Troy Simms - saxophones *Clark Gayton - trombone *

Jack Walrath Jack Arthur Walrath (born May 5, 1946) is an American post-bop jazz trumpeter and musical arranger known for his work with Ray Charles, Gary Peacock, Charles Mingus, and Glenn Ferris, among others. Biography Walrath was born in Stuart, Florida. ...

- trumpet - * DJ Jazzy Nice - DJ * Wayne "Smash" Hunter - DJ *DJ Nicodemus *Eric Kupper * Salam Remi - * Diosa Gary - vocals * MC Babee Power - vocals *

Vinia Mojica Vinia A. Mojica (born March 14, 1970) is a singer-songwriter from Queens, New York City, United States of America. She is best known for her collaborations with the Native Tongues collective and other hip hop artists. Life and career Her recor ...

- vocals * Alien Nation - vocals * Lucy Woodward - vocals *Malik Work - vocals - * Hiroyuki Sanada - production and mixology * Uncle Fester - live production

References

{{Authority control American funk musical groups Musical groups from New York City American jazz ensembles from New York City