Incognito (band)
Incognito | |
|---|---|
 Incognito in Bangkok in 2005 | |
| Background information | |
| Origin | London, England |
| Genres | House, acid jazz, soul, pop |
| Years active | 1979–present |
| Labels | P-Vine, Dôme, Edel, Shanachie, Heads Up Int', Handcuts, Pony Canyon, Narada, Universal, Verve, Talkin' Loud, Mercury, Ensign |
| Members | Jean-Paul 'Bluey' Maunick Matt Cooper Vanessa Haynes Mo Brandis Natalie Williams Francis Hylton Francesco Mendolia João Caetano Sid Gauld Jamie Anderson Trevor Mires Maysa Leak Tony Momrelle Imaani Francisco Sales Katie Leone |
| Past members | Chris Botti Jocelyn Brown Joy Rose Pete Ray Biggin Nick Doobay Carleen Anderson Pamela Anderson Graham Harvey Dominic 'Ski' Oakenfull Julian Crampton Richard Bailey Christopher Ballin Marc Anthoni Xavier Barnett Bud Beadle Kelli Sae Karen Bernod Max Beesley Richard Bull Simon Cotsworth Sarah Brown Ray Carless Patrick Clahar Matt Coleman Chris DeMargary Thomas Dyani-Akuru Gail Evans Adrian Fry Andy Gangadeen Gavin Harrison Peter Hinds Randy Hope-Taylor Ed Jones Joy Malcolm Noel McKoy Linda Muriel Quinton Caruthers Kevin Robinson Winston Rollins Gary Sanctuary Snowboy Karl Vandenbossche Fayyaz Virji Tyrone Henry Tony Remy Andy Ross Nichol Thomson Francisco Sales |
| Website | www |
Incognito is a British acid jazz band.[1] Their debut album, Jazz Funk, was released in 1981.[2]
Jean-Paul 'Bluey' Maunick is the band's leader, singer, guitarist, composer, and record producer.[3] The band has included Linda Muriel, Jocelyn Brown, Maysa Leak, Tony Momrelle, Imaani, Vanessa Haynes, Mo Brandis, Natalie Williams, Carleen Anderson, Pamela (PY) Anderson, Kelli Sae, and Joy Malcolm.
History
Incognito was founded by Paul "Tubbs" Williams & Jean-Paul "Bluey" Maunick in 1979, as an offshoot from Light of the World.[2] Light of the World was a substantially sized group and following various changes to the lineup, the founding members Breeze Mckrieth, Kenny Wellington & David Baptiste – inspired by American funk bands such as Funkadelic forming offshoot bands like Parliament – formed Beggar & Co. Bluey & Tubbs went on to form Incognito. However, there has seen a re-connection over the years in Light of the World with various former members, alongside their other commitments.[4]
Incognito has had intermittent success in the UK Singles Chart, with their breakthrough 1991 hit a cover version of the Ronnie Laws tune "Always There", featuring Jocelyn Brown,[2] which made No. 6 in the UK.[1] The group's 1992 single, "Don't You Worry 'bout a Thing" saw similar success, reaching No. 19 in the UK.[1] They have also been a favourite of various re-mixers, including Masters at Work, David Morales, Roger Sanchez and Jazzanova, and have released several albums consisting almost entirely of remixes.
In 1994, Incognito appeared on the Red Hot Organization's compilation album, Stolen Moments: Red Hot + Cool. 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 magazine. In 1996, the band contributed "Water to Drink" to the AIDS-benefit album Red Hot + Rio, also produced by the Red Hot Organization.
Their song "Need to Know" is the theme song for progressive radio and television news program Democracy Now!.
In 2021, the band reissued a celebratory, 40th anniversary, 106 track retrospective of their debut album, Jazz Funk. The Brit funk pioneers have released a music video for the track "You Are in My System." The deluxe reissue features a 52 page booklet with liner notes written by Charles Waring and a selection of the band's archive photos.[5]
In October 2022, the band was the first group to be honored as part of Universal Music Recording's "Black Story" series which honors Black UK artists as part of the UK's Black History Month.[6]
Discography
References
- ^ a b c Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19 ed.). London: Guinness World Records. p. 268. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
- ^ a b c Colin Larkin, ed. (1997). The Virgin Encyclopedia of Popular Music (Concise ed.). Virgin Books. p. 642. ISBN 1-85227-745-9.
- ^ Bush, John. "Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved 6 November 2021.
- ^ "Incognito - About Us". Retrieved 6 November 2021.
- ^ Schube, Will (29 November 2021). "Watch Incognito's New Music Video For Classic Track 'You Are In My System'". uDiscover Music. Retrieved 27 April 2022.
- ^ "Jazz-Funk Pioneers Incognito Celebrated In New 'Black Story' Video Series". www.yahoo.com. Retrieved 20 October 2022.
Further reading
- "Incognito". Music Technology. Vol. 5, no. 10. September 1991. p. 54. ISSN 0957-6606. OCLC 24835173.
External links
- Official Incognito website
- Incognito discography, album releases & credits at Discogs
- Incognito interview by Pete Lewis in Blues & Soul magazine (July 2010)
- Incognito interview by Chris Mann at Smooth-Jazz.de (September 2008)
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Artists | |
| Other | |
- Musical groups established in 1979
- Acid jazz ensembles
- English jazz ensembles
- Smooth jazz ensembles
- Heads Up International artists
- Verve Records artists
- Blue Thumb Records artists
- Mercury Records artists
- Talkin' Loud artists
- Chrysalis Records artists
- Narada Productions artists
- English funk musical groups
- British soul musical groups
- Musical groups from London