The Souljazz Orchestra
Canadian musical group
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Souljazz Orchestra is a Canadian musical group based in Ottawa that has toured Canada, the United States and Europe. Their music is a fusion of soul, jazz, funk, Afrobeat and Latin-American styles.[2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9]
The Souljazz Orchestra | |
|---|---|
The Souljazz Orchestra (2007) | |
| Background information | |
| Origin | Ottawa, Ontario, Canada |
| Genres | Jazz, jazz funk[1] |
| Years active | 2002–present |
| Labels | Funk Manchu, Do Right!, Strut |
| Members | Pierre Chrétien Marielle Rivard Steve Patterson Ray Murray Zakari Frantz Philippe Lafrenière |
| Website | souljazzorchestra |
Career
The band signed to London-based Strut Records, a UK record label that focuses on dance music and afrobeat. Other musicians signed to Strut include "Ethio-Jazz pioneer Mulatu Astatke, Motown guitarist Dennis Coffey and Ghanaian highlife singer Ebo Taylor, to name a few."[10]
According to AllMusic, the band's "overtly political" 2006 single "Mista President," off second album Freedom No Go Die (Do Right!), really increased their audience, [as it was] voted to the number nine spot in the 2006 Top 30 of BBC DJ Gilles Peterson's Worldwide programme.[11]
In 2012, the band completed two US tours that included stops in cities such as Boston, New York City, Philadelphia, Washington DC, and Chicago.[12][13]
Their Resistance album release tour of Europe, all October/November 2015, sees them among others in London, Liverpool, Zurich, Paris, Lyon, Milan, Barcelona, Madrid, Berlin, Cologne, Vienna, Prague, Athens, Marseille.
The band has had three Juno nominations: Instrumental Album of the Year (Rising Sun, 2011), and World Music Album of the Year (Solidarity, 2013, and Resistance, 2016.)
Members
- Pierre Chrétien – electric piano, clavinet, organ, guitar, bass, percussion, vocals
- Marielle Rivard – percussion, vocals
- Steve Patterson – tenor sax, percussion, vocals
- Ray Murray – baritone sax, percussion, vocals
- Zakari Frantz – alto sax, flute, percussion, vocals
- Philippe Lafrenière – drums, percussion, vocals
Discography
- Uprooted (Funk Manchu, 2005)
- Freedom No Go Die (Do Right!, 2007)
- Manifesto (Do Right!, 2008)
- Rising Sun (Strut, 2010)
- Solidarity (Strut, 2012)
- Inner Fire (Strut, 2014)
- Resistance (Strut, 2015)
- Under Burning Skies (Strut, 2017)
- Chaos Theories (Strut, 2019)