Groove Collective is an American band. In 2007 they were nominated for a

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...

for Best Contemporary Jazz Album of the Year for the release ''People People Music Music'' on the Savoy Jazz label.

Style

Groove Collective was formed in 1990. The original members were percussionist/MC Gordon "Nappy G" Clay, keyboardist Itaal Shur, Vibraphonist Bill Ware, drummer Genji Siraisi, bassist Jonathan Maron, percussionist Chris Theberge, flutist Richard Worth, saxophonist Jay Rodriguez, trumpeter Fabio Morgera, trombonist Josh Roseman. After witnessing an early show, producer

Gary Katz Gary Katz is an American record producer, best known for his work on albums by Steely Dan. Katz has also produced numerous other recording artists and assisted in the discovery and signing of a number of subsequently successful acts. He has four ...

negotiated the band's signing to

Reprise Records Reprise Records is an American record label founded in 1960 by Frank Sinatra. It is owned by Warner Music Group, and operates through Warner Records, one of its flagship labels. Artists currently signed to Reprise Records include Green Day, En ...

, and produced their eponymous debut album in 1993. In 1994, they appeared on the

Red Hot Organization ''Red Hot Organization'' (RHO) is a non-profit, 501(c) 3, international organization with goals to promote diversity through equal access to healthcare through pop culture. Since its inception in 1989, over 400 artists, producers and directors ...

's compilation album, '' Stolen Moments: Red Hot + Cool'', alongside other prominent jazz artists,

Herbie Hancock Herbert Jeffrey Hancock (born April 12, 1940) is an American jazz musician, bandleader, and composer. He started his career with trumpeter Donald Byrd's group. Hancock soon joined the Miles Davis Quintet, where he helped to redefine the role of ...

and

Roy Ayers Roy Edward Ayers Jr. (September 10, 1940 – March 4, 2025) was an American vibraphonist, record producer, and composer. Ayers began his career as a post-bop jazz artist, releasing several studio albums with Atlantic Records, before his tenure ...

. 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 Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...

'' magazine. They scored two instrumental and adult contemporary hits in 1996 with a cover of

the Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

' "

I Want You (She's So Heavy) "I Want You (She's So Heavy)" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles, written by John Lennon and credited to Lennon–McCartney. The song closes side one of their 1969 album ''Abbey Road'' and features Billy Preston playing the organ. ...

" (US Dance/Club Play #45, US Dance Maxi Singles #23) and "Lift Off" (US R&B/Hip-Hop #73). Groove Collective's musical style reflects the wide-ranging backgrounds and interests of its individual members. Commenting on the group's 1996 release, ''We the People'', critic Michael Casey referred to the numerous influences at work in Groove Collective's sound, specifically the presence of

Afro-pop African popular music (also styled Afropop, Afro-pop, Afro pop or African pop) can be defined as any African music, regardless of genre, that uses Western pop musical instruments, such as the guitar, piano, trumpet, etc.Olabode, O. (2023, J ...

Latin jazz Latin jazz is a genre of jazz with Latin American rhythms. The two main categories are Afro-Cuban jazz, rhythmically based on Cuban popular dance music, with a rhythm section employing ostinato patterns or a clave (rhythm), clave, and Afro-Brazil ...

hip-hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hi ...

, and traditional jazz stylings. This mix is born of the members' varying influences, including

bebop Bebop or bop is a style of jazz developed in the early to mid-1940s in the United States. The style features compositions characterized by a fast tempo (usually exceeding 200 bpm), complex chord progressions with rapid chord changes and numerou ...

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African-American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African-Americans in the ...

old-school hip-hop Old-school hip hop (also spelled old skool) (also known as disco-rap) is the earliest commercially recorded hip hop music and the original style of the genre. It typically refers to the music created around 1979 to 1983, as well as any hip hop t ...

and classic soul. Bassist and co-founder Jonathan Maron has acknowledged the importance of a DJ aesthetic in the music, stating that "(Groove Collective's) goal has always been to emulate the range of music a DJ plays during the course of the night at a packed club. ... A great DJ knows the songs that can ignite the room and fill the dance floor. Some of my favorite musical experiences have been in clubs, where you listen and realize how well all of these styles blend together into one big idiom of its own."

Discography

* ''Groove Collective'' (

Reprise In music, a reprise ( , ; from the verb 'to resume') is the repetition or reiteration of the opening material later in a composition as occurs in the recapitulation of sonata form, though—originally in the 18th century—was simply any re ...

/Giant Step, 1994) U.S. Jazz No. 20

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

Allmusic.com * ''We the People'' (Giant Step, 1996) U.S. Jazz No. 20 * ''Dance of the Drunken Master'' ( Shanachie, 1998) U.S. Jazz No. 22 * ''

Declassified Declassification is the process of ceasing a protective classification, often under the principle of freedom of information. Procedures for declassification vary by country. Papers may be withheld without being classified as secret, and event ...

'' (Shanachie, 1999) * ''It's All in Your Mind'' (Shanachie, 2001) * ''Live: Brooklyn, NY 04.20.02'' (Kufala, 2002) * ''Live...and Hard to Find'' (Kufala, 2002) * ''New York, NY 20.12.02'' (Kufala, 2002) * ''People People Music Music'' (

Savoy Savoy (; )  is a cultural-historical region in the Western Alps. Situated on the cultural boundary between Occitania and Piedmont, the area extends from Lake Geneva in the north to the Dauphiné in the south and west and to the Aosta Vall ...

, 2005) * ''PS1 Warm Up: Brooklyn, NY, 7/2/2005'' (Kufala, 2007)

Band members

Current lineup

* Jay Rodriguez – saxophone, flute, vocals * Jonathan Maron – bass * Genji Siraisi – drums * Chris Ifatoye Theberge – Conga, Bata with * Josh Roseman – trombone * Marcio Garcia - keyboards * Bryan Vargas - guitar * Nina Creese - percussion and vocals

Former members

* Richard Worth – flute, kalimba, compositions, vocals * Itaal Shur – keyboards, synthesizers, compositions, vocals * Bill Ware – vibraphone, compositions, vocals * Nappy G/Gordon Clay – percussion, talking drum, compositions, vocals *

Barney McAll Barney McAll is a jazz pianist and composer who lives in Melbourne, Australia. McAll joined Gary Bartz's band in 1997, and has also played with the Josh Roseman Unit, Fred Wesley and the JB's, Groove Collective, and Kurt Rosenwinkel's "Hear ...

- Keyboards, toys, samples, compositions * Fabio Morgera- trumpet and flugelhorn, compositions * David Jensen – tenor saxophone *

Mike Dillon (musician) Mike Dillon (a.k.a. Mike D) is an American percussionist, vibraphonist, bandleader, and vocalist born in San Antonio, Texas. He is a member of Critters Buggin, Les Claypool's Fancy Band and Garage A Trois. He has performed with many musician ...

- vibraphone

Collaborators

* Adam Rogers - guitar * Mark Anthony Jones - guitar *Bryan Vargas - guitar *

Simone Giuliani Simone Giuliani (born May 1, 1973) is an Italian musician, film composer, arranger, record producer and music director based in Manhattan, New York. He is also a keyboard player and a pianist. Background Simone Giuliani was born in Florence, It ...

- keyboards * Uli Geissendorfer - keyboards * Jonathan Crayford - keyboards * Etienne "ATN" Stadjwyck - keyboards *

Bernie Worrell George Bernard Worrell, Jr. (April 19, 1944 – June 24, 2016) was an American Keyboard instrument, keyboardist and record producer best known as a founding member of the Parliament-Funkadelic collective. In later years, he also worked with ...

- keyboards *Victor Axlerod - keyboards *Eric Lane - keyboards *Ben Stivers - keyboards *Pablo Vergara - keyboards * Cucho Valdez *David Fiuczynski *

Curtis Fowlkes Curtis Fowlkes (March 19, 1950 – August 31, 2023) was an American jazz trombonist and singer. He was a founding member of The Jazz Passengers. He had a twin brother James May Fowlkes and his parents were James Ray and Rosa May Fowlkes. Caree ...

- trombone *

Fred Wesley Fred Wesley (born July 4, 1943) is an American trombonist who worked with James Brown in the 1960s and 1970s, and Parliament-Funkadelic in the second half of the 1970s. Biography Wesley was born the son of a high school teacher and big band le ...

- trombone *Reut Regev - trombone *

Peter Apfelbaum Peter Noah Apfelbaum (born August 21, 1960) is an American avant-garde jazz pianist, tenor saxophonist, drummer, and composer born in Berkeley, California. Career Apfelbaum formed the Hieroglyphics Ensemble in 1977. He performed with Carla Bley ...

- saxophones *Troy Simms - saxophones *Clark Gayton - trombone *

Jack Walrath Jack Arthur Walrath (born May 5, 1946) is an American post-bop jazz trumpeter and musical arranger known for his work with Ray Charles, Gary Peacock, Charles Mingus, and Glenn Ferris, among others. Biography Walrath was born in Stuart, Florida. ...

- trumpet - *

DJ Jazzy Nice A disc jockey, more commonly abbreviated as DJ, is a person who plays recorded music for an audience. Types of DJs include radio DJs (who host programs on music radio stations), club DJs (who work at nightclubs or music festivals), mobile DJ ...

- DJ * Wayne "Smash" Hunter - DJ *DJ Nicodemus *Eric Kupper * Salam Remi - * Diosa Gary - vocals * MC Babee Power - vocals *

Vinia Mojica Vinia A. Mojica (born March 14, 1970) is an American singer from Queens, New York. She is best known for her collaborations with the Native Tongues collective and other hip hop artists. Life and career Her recording career began in 1989 with t ...

- vocals * Alien Nation - vocals * Lucy Woodward - vocals *Malik Work - vocals - * Hiroyuki Sanada - production and mixology * Uncle Fester - live production

References

{{Authority control American funk musical groups Jazz ensembles from New York City