BBC JAZZ AWARDS: BEST BAND 2002
PARLIAMENTARY JAZZ AWARDS: ENSEMBLE OF THE YEAR 2006
In 1991, inspired by the rhythms of traditional Jamaican music and largely improvisational nature of jazz, original Jazz Warrior, and veteran jazz double bassist, Gary Crosby turned a musical concept into a joyful reality. Crosbys concept was to create a quintessential fusion of mento, ska, reggae and jazz, playing classic and modern jazz standards alongside Jamaican folksongs. The result was Jazz Jamaica.
Since its realization, Crosby has developed the Jazz Jamaica concept by introducing a stream of talented young jazz musicians, so increasing the size of the pool of Jazz Jamaicans, and enabling him to push the boundaries of the music played. Collectively, Crosby and his musicians represent the finest exponents of this unique musical fusion known as skazz, a fusion loved and appreciated by everyone, of all ages and colours around the globe. In 2002, Jazz Jamaica All Stars were winners of the BBC Radio Jazz Award for Best Band.
Motorcity Roots is the brand new album from this award-winning and forever popular band. The new 12-piece combo hits the international touring circuit with a rejuvenated, multicultural, world class line-up embracing the legacy of the Motown label and its enormous contribution to the world of great music. Led by Gary Crosby, Jazz Jamaica boasts an all-star lineup including leading hornsmen Denys Baptiste (tenor sax), Soweto Kinch (alto sax), Abram Wilson (trumpet/vocals), Harry Brown (trombone); the rocking rhythm section of Gary Crosby (double bass), Alex Wilson (piano/keys), Robin Banerjee (guitar), Oreste Noda (percussion), Rod Youngs (drums); and featuring the powerful, soulful vocals of Juliet Roberts, and rising star vocalists Zara Macfarlane and Wesley Lucas.
On the album are other featured guests including nu-soul pioneer vocalist, Omar; powerhouse vocalist Mary Pearce, and distinguished Jamaican, Sir Bill Morris (yes, the first black person to lead a trade union in Britain as General Secretary of the Transport & General Workers Union, Britain's largest union). A truly fine production, Motorcity Roots runs the gamut of Jamaican music, from reggae to rockers, from nyabinghi to ska, from lovers rock to mento, all underpinned by some great jazz.
The Motorcity Roots album and show appeal to all ages (especially those who grew up on a staple diet of Motown music), to serious listeners, and to those who simply want to party! With their big, bold, brassy horns and skanking rhythm section, the Motorcity Roots show guarantees to get you Dancing In The Street and carries a Dune Health Warning: Jazz Jamaica can seriously wear out your shoes!
Much-awaited follow up to the aisle stomping Motorcity Roots tour is finally upon us. Taking the line up in yet another swing of tempo, Gary Crosby’s new project Tighten Up! features a concise 9-piece collective using the cream of the Dune artist roster and guest vocals from the legendary Jamaican singer Myrna Hague. Taking the London-based reggae institution Trojan Records as its point of inspiration, Tighten Up! explores the sounds of the motherland Jamaica and the music which brought Caribbean culture home to the numbers of immigrants working in Britain in the ‘50s.
Tunes such Harry J All Stars ‘Liquidator’, Skatalites’ classics ‘Phoenix City’ and ‘Guns of Navarone’, Prince Buster’s ‘Al Capone’ and Myrna Hague’s classic ‘What About Me’ to name but a few.
The tour coincides with the bicentenary of the Abolition of the Slave Trade Act in 1807 and thus draws a powerful link with the estrangement of Caribbean culture in Britain before the arrival of Trojan, which triggered the spread of reggae music worldwide.
In 2006, Jazz Jamaica were awarded with the UK Parliamentary Jazz Award for Ensemble Of The Year.
Jazz Jamaica...well known for blowing the roof off live shows. A joyful, cosmopolitan tribute. JAZZWISE
They should be permanent ambassadors to the United Nations of Good Times. I have yet to find an audience remain unmoved in either sense. CHELTENHAM INTL JAZZ FESTIVAL
Appeals as much to the ears as to the feet. THE TIMES
Britain now has its own rival to the Buena Vista Social Club. See them now before the rest of the world grabs them. THE GUARDIAN
