Emerging from the tragic bankruptcy of Stiff Records, James Taylor,
founding member of the infamous group The Prisoners - formed The James
Taylor Quartet JTQ's first single, Blow Up, was released on the Re Elect
The President (Acid Jazz) label in 1985. It was a huge success,
immediately attracting the attention of John Peel who championed it; the
track appearing three years running on Peel's seminal Festive 50 Chart.
After an impressive 13 weeks in the Indie Singles Chart, the band decided to start work on a mini album, titled Mission Impossible.
This debut, released in '86, was naturally featured around Taylor's
Hammond organ sound to produce classic covers of Sixties film themes
Mission Impossible, Goldfinger, Mrs Robinson and other heavily grooving
instrumental punk funk tunes. With JTQ's following growing, the band
were encouraged to put out their second album on Re Elect The President,
The Money Spyder.
By the time it was released in 1987, the band's attentions were being
drawn away from their recording career to their now massive live
audience. JTQ's emphasis on live 'dance' music has been the key to the
band's success, enabling them to establish a solid relationship between
them and their fans. With the focus now strongly on being a 'live' band,
The Quartet gigged relentlessly, selling out on the London club
circuit. During this period, major record company interest was aroused
resulting in a long term deal with Polydor. The James Taylor Quartet
released three albums on Polydor, Wait a Minute in 1988, Get Organised
in 1989 and Do Your Own Thing in 1990. A number of hit singles were
spawned from these such as the acclaimed and well-loved classic The
Theme from Starsky & Hutch.
With the release of their first live album, Absolute in 1991, The
Quartet moved to Polydor subsidiary Big Life. Featuring guest vocals
from Rose Windross of Soul II Soul on Shelter and Noel McKoy on
Somebody, the album initiated JTQ's introduction to the Soul Market. In
1992, Noel McKoy officially became the Quartet's lead vocalist. Singles
See a Brighter day and the top 40 Love the life were both taken from the
Top 30 album Supernatural Feeling, released in 1993. In this year
alone, the band performed over one hundred and fifty shows in 15
different countries, including destinations as far flung as Thailand,
Japan and the USA. The climax of this was headlining in front of 5,000
people at London's Brixton Academy. With JTQ's success, James' musical
talent became admired by numerous other acts - The Wonderstuff, Manic
Street Preachers, The Pogues and U2 have all featured James and his
distinctive Hammond playing on their albums.
In 1994, with chart success behind them and their established
international live network, The James Taylor Quartet made the decision
to go full circle and rejoin Edward Piller at the independent Acid Jazz.
The first album from his new home, In The hand of the Inevitable was
received with critical acclaim and is Acid Jazz's current top seller
having sold over 200,000 copies - further proof that James Taylor is one
of the great Hammond players of this generation.
Also released was the retrospective BBC Radio Sessions LP and for the
first time James' material was released in the USA via Hollywood records
with tracks from Mission Impossible being the highest climber in the
college radio charts.
James' 10th album - Living Underground saw a return to the style he
loved most - instrumental Hammond led rocking jazz funk workouts. It
featured the stripped down to the bone sound that pays respect to the
earliest JTQ hits like Mission Impossible and The Money Spyder. The
press respected him for the move away from commercial pop/soul and the
now wholly instrumental live set ripped up the crowds more than ever.
1996 saw James play two full sell out weeks at London's Jazz Cafe and a
sell out show at The Brixton Academy, as well as tours in uncharted
territories from Brazil to Yugoslavia.
In 1997 James had the chance to fulfil a dream - film theme's always
featured heavily throughout his albums and he was asked to score a theme
for Austin Powers, a spy spoof starring Mike Myers (Wayne's World).
James also set up his own label JTI Records, releasing a compilation
album of various artists who he has worked with and respected over the
years including Simon Bartholomew (Brand New Heavies), The Prisoners,
New Jersey Kings and The Apostles. 1998 saw James touring the UK and
Europe to support the release of MOBO-nominated Whole Lotta Live, a new
live album by the band released in May. It also saw James sign to a new
label GUT Records, to begin the next phase of the adventure. The autumn
of 1999 saw James featuring on the Tom Jones duets album Reload with
Looking Out of My Window which they performed together on the National
Lottery Show. A change of label also spawned a change of style with the
latest album on Gut records released in December. A Bigger Picture saw
the band mixing their unique brand of funk with a more polished and
'clubby' production, with the vocals being provided by a brand new
singer, Yvonne Yaney. The band however, decided to leave the label after
just one release due to creative differences, and have recently signed a
new deal with American label Ubiquity.
///////
Tras la trágica quiebra de Stiff Records, James Taylor, miembro fundador
del tristemente célebre grupo The Prisoners, formó el primer sencillo
de James Taylor Quartet JTQ, Blow Up, que salió a la venta en el sello
Re Elect The President (Acid Jazz) en 1985. Fue un gran éxito, atrayendo
inmediatamente la atención de John Peel que lo defendió; la pista
apareció tres años seguidos en el seminal Festive 50 Chart de Peel.
Después de unas impresionantes 13 semanas en el Indie Singles Chart, la
banda decidió empezar a trabajar en un mini álbum, titulado Mission
Impossible.
Este debut, lanzado en el 86, se presentó naturalmente alrededor del
sonido del órgano Hammond de Taylor para producir portadas clásicas de
temas de películas de los años 60, Mission Impossible, Goldfinger, Mrs
Robinson y otras melodías punk funk instrumentales de gran impacto. Con
el crecimiento de JTQ, la banda se animó a sacar su segundo álbum en Re
Elect The President, The Money Spyder.
Para cuando fue lanzado en 1987, la atención de la banda se alejó de su
carrera discográfica hacia su ahora masiva audiencia en vivo. El énfasis
de JTQ en la música "dance" en vivo ha sido la clave del éxito de la
banda, permitiéndoles establecer una sólida relación entre ellos y sus
fans. Con el enfoque de ser una banda en vivo, The Quartet actuó
implacablemente, vendiéndose en el circuito de clubes de Londres.
Durante este período, se despertó el interés de la compañía
discográfica, lo que resultó en un acuerdo a largo plazo con Polydor. El
Cuarteto de James Taylor lanzó tres álbumes con Polydor, Wait a Minute
en 1988, Get Organised en 1989 y Do Your Own Thing en 1990. De ellos
surgieron varios sencillos de éxito como el aclamado y querido clásico
The Theme de Starsky & Hutch.
Con el lanzamiento de su primer álbum en vivo, Absolute en 1991, el
cuarteto se trasladó a la filial de Polydor Big Life. Con las voces
invitadas de Rose Windross de Soul II Soul en Shelter y Noel McKoy en
Somebody, el álbum inició la introducción de JTQ en el mercado de las
almas. En 1992, Noel McKoy se convirtió oficialmente en el vocalista
principal del cuarteto. Los singles See a Brighter day y los 40 primeros
Love the life fueron tomados del álbum Supernatural Feeling, lanzado en
1993. Sólo en este año, la banda realizó más de ciento cincuenta
presentaciones en 15 países diferentes, incluyendo destinos tan lejanos
como Tailandia, Japón y los Estados Unidos. El clímax de esto fue
encabezado frente a 5.000 personas en la Academia Brixton de Londres.
Con el éxito de JTQ, el talento musical de James fue admirado por muchos
otros actos - The Wonderstuff, Manic Street Preachers, The Pogues y U2
han presentado a James y a su característico Hammond en sus álbumes.
En 1994, con el éxito de las listas de éxitos a sus espaldas y su
establecida red internacional en vivo, The James Taylor Quartet tomó la
decisión de cerrar el círculo y volver a unirse a Edward Piller en el
Acid Jazz independiente. El primer álbum de su nuevo hogar, In The hand
of the Inevitable, fue recibido con la aclamación de la crítica y es el
actual top seller de Acid Jazz, habiendo vendido más de 200.000 copias -
una prueba más de que James Taylor es uno de los grandes músicos de
Hammond de esta generación.
También se publicó el LP retrospectivo BBC Radio Sessions y por primera
vez el material de James se publicó en los EE.UU. a través de los discos
de Hollywood con temas de Mission Impossible siendo el escalador más
alto en las listas de la radio universitaria.
El décimo álbum de James - Living Underground vio un regreso al estilo
que más le gustaba - el instrumental de Hammond lideró los
entrenamientos de funk de jazz. Presentaba el sonido despojado hasta el
hueso que respetaba los primeros éxitos de JTQ como Mission Impossible y
The Money Spyder. La prensa lo respetaba por su alejamiento del
pop/soul comercial y el ahora totalmente instrumental set en vivo
desgarraba a las multitudes más que nunca. En 1996 James tocó dos
semanas con todas las entradas vendidas en el Jazz Cafe de Londres y un
concierto con todas las entradas vendidas en la Academia Brixton, así
como giras por territorios inexplorados desde Brasil hasta Yugoslavia.
Tracks:
01. Side Stepping [4:07]
02. Chalkpit [3:01]
03. Message From The Godfather [5:32]
04. Who Put A Hole In My Head [6:20]
05. Splat [3:35]
06. Willma Will [3:23]
07. Tough Chicken [5:04]
08. Isabella Boogaloo [5:37]
09. Ma Che Cosa? [7:59]
10. When In Rome [5:59]
01. Side Stepping [4:07]
02. Chalkpit [3:01]
03. Message From The Godfather [5:32]
04. Who Put A Hole In My Head [6:20]
05. Splat [3:35]
06. Willma Will [3:23]
07. Tough Chicken [5:04]
08. Isabella Boogaloo [5:37]
09. Ma Che Cosa? [7:59]
10. When In Rome [5:59]
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