Jazz Warriors | |
|---|---|
| Origin | London, England |
| Genres | Jazz |
| Years active | 1986–1994, 2020–present |
| Labels | Antilles, Jazz Warrior |
| Members | Orphy Robinson Courtney Pine Cleveland Watkiss Gary Crosby Steve Williamson Ray Carless Julian Joseph Dennis Rollins Claude Deppa Phillip Bent Michael Mondesir Mark Mondesir Rowland Sutherland |
| Past members |
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The Jazz Warriors were an English all-black London-based group of jazz musicians, that made its debut in 1986. [1] The idea for the band came from the Abibi Jazz Arts, a London organization that promoted black music and black culture. The Jazz Warriors provided black British musicians with a venue to showcase their talents, which until that time was limited mostly to funk music and reggae. [2]
According to writer John Chilton, the Jazz Warriors "proved to be the launching pad for the stellar talents of a number of important jazz musicians." [3] The band released one album – 1987's Out of Many, One People. Despite many of the members leaving for solo careers, the band remained together until 1994; [4] however, they reunited in 2020.
Formed in the 1980s and including 25-plus members, [5] The Jazz Warriors became a showcase for talented young black British musicians, many of whom - including Courtney Pine, Steve Williamson, Cleveland Watkiss, Phillip Bent, Orphy Robinson, Gary Crosby and others - went on to achieve international success. [5]
Former member Crosby has said of the Jazz Warriors:
There were all these different writers, but everything ended up sounding with the same energy. I've never felt anything like that energy — raucous, raw.... It wasn't the most accurate of bands, but the actual power, and the wildness of the soloing.... It was so exciting. Regardless of who wrote what, once we got to the meat of the music, there were fireworks.... A lot of spunk, man, a lot of testosterone going around! [4]
The Jazz Warriors released only one album: Out of Many, One People, in 1987, [1] with featured musicians including Brian Edwards, Andy Harewood, Gary Crosby, Val Maniks, Mark Mondesir, Kevin Robinson, Alan Weekes, Mamadi Kamara, Adrian Reid, Philip Bent, Ray Carless, Courtney Pine, Robin Walker, Trevor Edwards, Claude Deppa, Harry Beckett, Andy Grappy, Orphy Robinson and Cleveland Watkiss. [6] [7]
The group continued performing and touring under the leadership of pianist Adrian Reid, with the help of a committee formed from senior members of the Warriors, until formally closing in the late 1990s. An EP, Chameleon, was released on their own label, Jazz Warriors Records. It was well received internationally and appeared on a bestselling compilation, The Rebirth of the Cool Vol 2 (4th & B'way Records; 1993). Certain new young members continued to gain national prominence and further highlighting the talent pool of young black musicians attracted to the Jazz Warriors; these included Jason Yarde, Dennis Rollins, Winston Rollins, Robert Mitchell, Clarence Adoo, Byron Wallen, Rowland Sutherland, Tony Kofi, Robert Fordjour, Steve and Peter Lewinson, Tony Remy, and Patrick Clahar.
On 6 October 2007, Courtney Pine assembled a fifteen-piece line-up for a new themed concert called "Afropeans" at the Barbican Centre, London, marking the bicentenary of the abolition of the transatlantic slave trade. [8] This new band featured two original Jazz Warriors members (Pine and Jason Yarde), but brought in two other established black British jazz players — pianist Alex Wilson and trumpeter Byron Wallen. It also contained younger black British jazz talent, including Jay Phelps and Nathaniel Facey (both from the band Empirical), Ayanna Witter-Johnson (on cello and vocals), Ebony Steel Pan Orchestra player Samuel Dubois and electric/acoustic guitarist Femi Temowo (known for his work with Soweto Kinch), as well as Cuban electric violinist Omar Puente. The concert was recorded for a live Courtney Pine Afropean Jazz Warriors album, also called Afropeans (Destin-e Records, 2008). [9]
In 2011, a new Jazz Warriors International organisation was formed by some members of the original Jazz Warriors, embracing the historic legacy of the original group. [5] [10]
In 1991, the original Jazz Warriors double-bassist, Gary Crosby, with his partner Janine Irons, established Tomorrow's Warriors, a jazz music education and artist development organisation to nurture and develop talented young jazz musicians wishing to pursue a professional career in jazz. [11] [12]
| International | |
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| National | |
| Artists | |
Courtney Pine,, is a British jazz musician, who was the principal founder in the 1980s of the black British band the Jazz Warriors. Although known primarily for his saxophone playing, Pine is a multi-instrumentalist, also playing the flute, clarinet, bass clarinet and keyboards. On his 2011 album, Europa, he plays almost exclusively bass clarinet.
Soweto Kinch is a British jazz saxophonist and rapper.
British jazz is a form of music derived from American jazz. It reached Britain through recordings and performers who visited the country while it was a relatively new genre, soon after the end of World War I. Jazz began to be played by British musicians from the 1930s and on a widespread basis in the 1940s, often within dance bands. From the late 1940s, British "modern jazz", highly influenced by American bebop, began to emerge and was led by figures such as John Dankworth, Tony Crombie and Ronnie Scott, while Ken Colyer, George Webb and Humphrey Lyttelton played Dixieland-style Trad jazz. From the 1960s British jazz began to develop more individual characteristics and absorb a variety of influences, including British blues, as well as European and World music influences. A number of British jazz musicians have gained international reputations, although the music has remained a minority interest there.
Jazz Jamaica is a British jazz/reggae music group founded by musician Gary Crosby in London in 1991.
Gary Crosby is a British jazz double bassist, composer, music arranger, and educator. He was a founding member of the celebrated group the Jazz Warriors in the 1980s and has worked with many top international artists.
Orphy Robinson MBE is a British jazz multi-instrumentalist who plays vibraphone, keyboards, saxophone, trumpet, piano, marimba, steelpans and drums. He has written music for television, film and theatre.
Dennis Rollins, is an English jazz trombonist, the founder and bandleader of BadBone and Co.
Claude Deppa is a South African jazz trumpeter born in Cape Town, South Africa, probably best known for his work with the Brotherhood of Breath and Carla Bley.
Nikki Yeoh is a British jazz pianist who has worked with Courtney Pine, Cleveland Watkiss, Steve Williamson, Chante Moore, The Roots and Neneh Cherry. Born in London, Yeoh is of mixed race origin, having a father from Malaysia and a British mother. Some of her first music teachers were Don Rendell and Ian Carr.
Steve Williamson is an English saxophonist and composer. He has been called "one of the most distinctive saxophone voices in contemporary British jazz".
Denys Baptiste is an English jazz musician. A graduate of Tomorrow's Warriors, Baptiste plays tenor and soprano saxophone in addition to composing.
Alex Wilson is a British pianist, composer, producer, arranger, and educator.
Cleveland Watkiss,, is a British vocalist, actor, and composer.
Journey to the Urge Within is the debut album by English saxophonist Courtney Pine. It was released on the Verve label in 1986.
Tomorrow's Warriors (TW) is a jazz music education and artist development organisation that was co-founded in 1991 by Janine Irons and Gary Crosby, committed to championing diversity, inclusion and equality across the arts through jazz, with a special focus on "Black musicians, female musicians and those whose financial or other circumstances might lock them out of opportunities to pursue a career in the music industry". Crosby drew inspiration from having been a member of the Jazz Warriors, a London-based group of musicians that in the 1980s showcased many young Black British musicians who went on to achieve international success.
Filomena Campus is a jazz singer, composer, lyricist, academic and theatre director, who was born in Sardinia and since 2001 has been based in London, England. Her performance style characteristically fuses jazz, theatre and literature, and she is the founder of the company Theatralia, curating the annual Theatralia Jazz Festival in collaboration with the PizzaExpress Jazz Club in Soho, with the aim of uniting British and Italian styles. On December 14th, 2023, Campus was awarded the honour of “Cavaliera” (Dame) of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic.
Janine Mireille Irons is a British music educator, artist manager and producer, who in 1991 co-founded with her partner Gary Crosby the music education and professional development organisation Tomorrow's Warriors, of which she is Chief Executive. In 1997 she and Crosby also initiated the Dune Records label, which has a focus on Black British jazz musicians and musicians from Tomorrow's Warriors. She has also worked as a photographer and musician.
Byron Wallen is a British jazz trumpeter, composer and educator. He was described by Jazzwise as "one of the most innovative, exciting and original trumpet players alive". As characterised by All About Jazz, "He does not fit into any pigeonhole, however, and is also something of a renaissance man: he has long been involved in cognitive psychology and also travels widely, spending extended periods in South Africa, Uganda, Zimbabwe, Nigeria, Morocco, Indonesia and Belize ."
Jason Yarde is an English jazz saxophonist, composer, arranger, producer and music director. He has worked with a wide range of artists and music ensembles, including Denys Baptiste, The Blind Boys Of Alabama, McCoy Tyner, Andrew Hill, Jack DeJohnette, Hugh Masekela and the London Symphony Orchestra.
Julie Dexter is a British singer, songwriter and producer, whose music spans the categories of jazz, soul and reggae. She was born and raised in Birmingham, England, and has been based in the United States since 1999. Notable musicians with whom she has worked include Courtney Pine, Soweto Kinch, Jason Yarde, and others.
