''Transatlantic R.P.M.'' is an album by the British

acid jazz Acid jazz (also known as club jazz, psychedelic jazz, or groove jazz) is a music genre that combines elements of funk, soul music, soul, and hip hop music, hip hop, as well as jazz and disco. Acid jazz originated in clubs in London during the 1 ...

band

Incognito Incognito is an English adjective meaning "in disguise", "having taken steps to conceal one's identity". Incognito may also refer to: Film and television Film * ''Incognito'', a 1915 film featuring Rae Berger * ''Incognito'' (1937 film), a Dan ...

, released in 2010 on

Dome Records Dome Records is a British record label which has existed since 1992, specialising in soul and contemporary R&B music. History The label, also known as Dôme Records, was formed in 1992, and has consistently been voted as the United Kingdom's lea ...

. The album peaked at No. 4 on the UK Jazz & Blues Albums chart, No. 16 on the UK Independent Albums chart and No. 8 on the US ''

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 ...

Top Contemporary Jazz Albums The ''Billboard'' charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs and albums in the United States and elsewhere. The results are published in ''Billboard'' magazine. ''Billboard'' biz, the online extension of the ''Billboard'' charts, p ...

chart.

Critical reception

David Rose of

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

wrote, "Anyone with an allergy to Smooth FM should look away now, but fans of slap-bass soul and inoffensive grooves will find much to enjoy from acid jazz survivors Incognito (celebrating their 30th birthday). As befits a anniversary album, this is a rose-tinted exercise in nostalgia, featuring cameos from

Chaka Khan Yvette Marie Stevens (born March 23, 1953), better known by her stage name Chaka Khan ( ), is an American singer. Known as the " Queen of Funk", her career has spanned more than five decades beginning in the early 1970s as the lead vocalist of ...

and former members of

Jamiroquai Jamiroquai ( ) are an English acid jazz and funk band from London. Formed in 1992, they are fronted by vocalist Jay Kay, and were prominent in the London-based funk and acid jazz movement of the 1990s. They built on their acid jazz sound in th ...

Tortured Soul ''Tortured Soul'' () is a 1919 Italian silent film directed by Mario Caserini and starring Maria Jacobini, Andrea Habay and Alberto Collo. Alessandro Blasetti, a leading Italian director of the Fascist era, had his first contact with filmmaking ...

and

Earth, Wind & Fire Earth, Wind & Fire (abbreviated as EW&F or EWF) is an American band formed in Chicago, Illinois in 1969. Their music spans multiple genres, including jazz, R&B, soul, funk, disco, pop, Latin and Afro-pop. They are among the best-selling ba ...

." Mario Tarradell of the

Dallas Morning News ''The Dallas Morning News'' is a daily newspaper serving the Dallas–Fort Worth area of Texas, with an average print circulation in 2022 of 65,369. It was founded on October 1, 1885, by Alfred Horatio Belo as a satellite publication of the ' ...

, in a B review claimed, "Three decades later, Britain's

Jean-Paul Maunick Jean-Paul Maunick (born 19 February 1957, Mauritius), known by his stage name Bluey is a British guitarist, bandleader, composer and record producer. He has led the British acid jazz band Incognito since its formation in 1979. With Incognito, ...

keeps Incognito cranking out sophisticated jazz, R&B, funk and disco beats as part of the sorely underrated acid-jazz style." Thom Jurek of

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

, in a 3.5/5 star review noted, "Incognito may not be innovating on Transatlantic R.P.M., but in showcasing the many places they've been, and the wide vein they've mined, they don't need to. This is a summeritme party record with fine songs and good vibes in abundance." Jonathan Takiff of the

Philadelphia Daily News ''Philadelphia Daily News'' is a tabloid newspaper that serves Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The newspaper is owned by The Philadelphia Inquirer, LLC, which also owns ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'', a daily newspaper in Philadelphia. The ''Dail ...

in a B+ review, also declared "Fresh, horn-blasted soul music has gotten harder to come by on this side of the big pond. But U.K. funkmasters Incognito, led by Jean-Paul "Bluey" Maunick, are keeping the sound alive and well on "Transatlantic R.P.M." (Shanachie, B+) with a kick that could rouse even Philly groovemasters

Kenny Gamble Kenneth Gamble (born August 11, 1943, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) and Leon A. Huff (born April 8, 1942, Camden, New Jersey) are an American songwriting and production duo credited for developing the Philadelphia soul music genre (also known as P ...

and

Leon Huff Kenneth Gamble (born August 11, 1943, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) and Leon A. Huff (born April 8, 1942, Camden, New Jersey) are an American songwriting and production duo credited for developing the Philadelphia soul music genre (also known as P ...

from their semiretirement."

Track listing

Personnel

Musicians * Graham Harvey – keyboards (1, 14) *

Ski Oakenfull Dominic "Ski" Oakenfull (best known as Ski Oakenfull) is an English music producer, keyboard player, and educator. His nickname "Ski" was given by his bandmates in The K-Creative who named him after the dance music artist Adamski. In 2019 Ski in ...

– keyboards (1, 5, 14) * Matt Cooper – keyboards (2-4, 7, 8-13, 16), string arrangements (10) * Mo Hausler – programming (15) * Jean-Paul "Bluey" Maunick – guitars (1-7, 9-14, 16), rhythm guitar (8), string arrangements (10), keyboards (15), bass (15), beats (15) * Richard Bull – acoustic guitar (4), bass (4), drums (4, 16), keyboards (16), drums (16) *

Al McKay Albert Phillip McKay (born February 2, 1948) is an American guitarist, songwriter, and record producer. He is a former member of The Watts 103rd Rhythm Street Band and Earth, Wind & Fire. As a member of EW&F, during 2000, he was inducted into the ...

– lead guitar (8), rhythm guitar (8) *

Stuart Zender Stuart Patrick Jude Zender (born 18 March 1974) is an English bassist. He is best known as a former member of the band Jamiroquai. Biography Early life Zender was born in Sheffield, England. He comes from a family with a musical background: ...

– bass (1, 14) * Francis Hylton – bass (2, 3, 5-13, 16), keyboards (3) * Pete Biggin – drums (1-3, 5-14) * Thomas Dyani – percussion (1-14) * Alice Hall – violin (10, 14) Brass sections * Paul Greenwood – saxophones (1, 14),

flute The flute is a member of a family of musical instruments in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, producing sound with a vibrating column of air. Flutes produce sound when the player's air flows across an opening. In th ...

(1) *

Finn Peters Finn Peters is a flautist and saxophonist. "After the best part of a decade immersed in dance, hip hop, Afro-Cuban, electronica and contemporary classical musics, flautist and saxophonist Finn Peters returned to his jazz roots with ''Su-Ling'' (Ba ...

– saxophones (1, 4, 14), flute (1) * Patrick Clahar – saxophones (2, 3) * Simon Willescroft – saxophones (6, 11, 16), horn arrangements (6, 11) *

Jim Hunt James Baxter Hunt Jr. (born May 16, 1937) is an American politician and retired attorney who was the List of governors of North Carolina, 69th and 71st governor of North Carolina (1977–1985, and 1993–2001). He is the longest-serving governo ...

– saxophones (9, 12) * Trevor Mines – trombone (1, 4, 14), brass arrangements (1, 4, 14) * Fayyaz Virji – trombone (2, 3, 9, 12) *

Dave Williamson Dave Williamson is a stand-up comedian from Miami, Florida now living in El Segundo, California. Williamson was named "best comedian in Miami" in 2012 by ''Miami New Times'', which called his comedy "unpretentious, genuinely interesting, and, mos ...

– trombone (6, 11), horn arrangements (6, 11) * Sid Gauld – trumpet (1, 4, 11, 14),

flugelhorn The flugelhorn (), also spelled fluegelhorn, flugel horn, or flügelhorn, is a brass instrument that resembles the trumpet and cornet, but has a wider, more conical bore. Like trumpets and cornets, most flugelhorns are pitched in B♭, though ...

(16), horn arrangements (16) * Kevin Robinson – trumpet (2, 3, 13), brass arrangements (2, 3, 13), flugelhorn (10, 13) * Daniel Carpenter – trumpet (6, 16), horn arrangements (6) * Dominic Glover – trumpet (9, 12), horn arrangements (9, 12) * Jean-Paul "Bluey" Maunick – horn arrangements (6, 9-13, 16) * Matt Cooper – horn arrangements (10) String section (Tracks 5, 7 & 8) *

Simon Hale Simon Hale is a British composer, arranger, and keyboardist. Life Hale was born in Birmingham, England in 1964, being dually raised there and in South Manchester before moving to London, where he studied popular music at Goldsmiths College, Uni ...

– string arrangements and conductor * Nick Squires – cello * Bill Hawkes – viola * Alice Hall, Ben Hancox, Yuri Kalnits, Simon Kodurand and Julian Leaper – violin Vocalists *

Mario Biondi Mario Biondi (born Mario Ranno, 28 January 1971) is an Italian singer. Early life Mario Biondi was born in Catania, Italy, to local Sicilian parents. He is the son of popular song singer Giuseppe Ranno, known by the pseudonym Stefano Biondi ...

– lead vocals (1, 14) *

– lead vocals (1, 8), backing vocals (1, 8) * Vanessa Haynes – backing vocals (1, 4, 9, 12, 14), lead vocals (12) *

Tony Momrelle Tony Momrelle (born ''Anthony Momrelle'' on 28 April 1973) is a British R&B and jazz singer and is one of the current lead vocalists of the band Incognito. Before his stint in Incognito, Momrelle was already a solo recording artist who release ...

– backing vocals (1-5, 9, 10, 12-14, 16), lead vocals (9, 13), vocals (15) * Joy Rose – backing vocals (1, 3-5, 9, 10, 12, 13, 16), lead vocals (3, 10), vocals (15) *

Luckyiam Tommy Woolfolk Jr., better known by his stage name Luckyiam, is a rapper from Los Angeles, California. He is a founding member of Living Legends. He is also a member of CMA and Mystik Journeymen. History Luckyiam released ''Most Likely to Succe ...

– lead vocals (2) * Tiffany Smith – lead vocal fills (2) *

Lurine Cato Lurine Lilian Cato (born 9 September 1974) is a Great Britain, British Gospel music, gospel singer, songwriter, and session vocalist. She won the MOBO Awards, MOBO Award for Best Gospel Act in 2013 and was a finalist on the 12th season of ''Bri ...

– backing vocals (3, 5, 16), vocals (15) *

Maysa Leak Maysa Leak (born August 16, 1966) is an American jazz singer better known by her mononym Maysa. She is well known by fans of smooth jazz both for her solo work and her work with the British band Incognito. Early life and career Leak attended Mil ...

– lead vocals (4), backing vocals (4) * Gail Evans – backing vocals (4) *

Leon Ware Leon Ware (February 16, 1940 – February 23, 2017) was an American songwriter, producer, composer, and singer. Besides a solo career as a performer, Ware was best known for producing hits for other artists including Michael Jackson, Quincy ...

– lead vocals (5), backing vocals (5) *

Ursula Rucker Ursula Desire Rucker is an American spoken word recording artist. Rucker is known for a diverse repertoire, and for using techniques that catch her listeners' attention. Biography Rucker was born and raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where ...

– lead vocals (6) * John-Christian Urich – lead vocals (7) * Jean-Paul "Bluey" Maunick – backing vocals (9, 12, 13, 16), lead vocals (16) * Hilda Campbell – backing vocals (10) * Miss Cherokee – backing vocals (13) * Charlise Rookwood – backing vocals (13)

Production

* Jean-Paul "Bluey" Maunick – producer * Francis Hylton – producer * John-Christian Urich – additional production (7), recording (7) * Mo Hausler – recording, mixing, mastering * Tim Motzer – vocal recording (6) * Richard Bull – additional engineer * Dilip Harris – additional engineer * Joshua Minyard – additional engineer * Andy Savours – additional engineer * Tom Stanley – additional engineer * Ken Karner – design * Cerraeh Laykin – photography * Nigel Conway – management * Takami Maunick – executive assistant

References

{{Incognito (band) 2010 albums Incognito (band) albums