Pioneers of the London acid jazz scene, the Brand New Heavies translated their love for the funk grooves of the 1970s into a sophisticated sound which carried the torch for classic soul in an era dominated by hip-hop.
The leader of this family band is the great pianist Igor Bril, People's Artist of the Russian Federation. His partners in the project, saxophonists Alexander and Dmitry Bril, are among the most popular jazz musicians in Russia.
Acid-jazz collective Brooklyn Funk Essentials was first conceived in 1993 by producer Arthur Baker and bassist/musical director Lati Kronlund.
Alto saxophonist Candy Dulfer was brought into the limelight by Prince, who introduced her to the world via his video for Partyman. Raised in a family heavily involved in the Dutch jazz scene, Dulfer is the daughter of Hans Dulfer, a respected jazz tenor saxophonist.
In May 2007 Caro Emerald got a phone call from Dutch producers Jan van Wieringen and David Schreurs. They'd written a song with Canadian songwriter Vincent Degiorgio. Their demo singer wasn't available, and that's why Caro got the opportunity to record the demo for Back It Up.
As a young guitarist growing up in the San Francisco Bay Area, Charlie Hunter was looking for a way to stand out in the '80s. His primary influences were jazz great Joe Pass and the fluid Tuck Andress.
Towards the end of the 80s, Chris Bangs really hit pay dirt as a musical trend-setter with the invention of Acid Jazz genre and as a producer and artist responsible for many early recordings on Eddie Piller's Acid Jazz label and Gilles Peterson's Talkin' Loud.
The brilliantly-named Cinematic Orchestra is led by composer/programmer/multi-instrumentalist Jason Swinscoe, who formed his first group, Crabladder, in 1990 as an art student at Cardiff College.