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The James Taylor Quartet are a British
United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom , the UK or Britain,is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe....
 four-piece jazz funk band who have become renowned for their live performances. They were formed by Hammond organ
Hammond organ

The Hammond organ is an electronic organ which was invented by Laurens Hammond in 1934 and manufactured by the Hammond Organ Company. While the Hammond organ was originally sold to Church as a lower-cost alternative to the wind-driven pipe organ, in the 1960s and 1970s, it became a standard keyboard instrument for jazz, blues, Rock and r...
 player James Taylor following the break-up of his former band The Prisoners
The Prisoners

The Prisoners were a mod revival band who formed in 1982 in Chatham, Kent, England. Their 1960s garage sound made them a regular live fixture in London's underground "psychedelic revival" scene of the early 1980s....
 in the wake of Stiff Records
Stiff Records

Stiff Records is a record label created in London in 1976 in music by entrepreneurs Dave Robinson and Andrew Jakeman , and active until 1985 in music....
' bankruptcy. The core line-up is James Taylor (Hammond organ
Hammond organ

The Hammond organ is an electronic organ which was invented by Laurens Hammond in 1934 and manufactured by the Hammond Organ Company. While the Hammond organ was originally sold to Church as a lower-cost alternative to the wind-driven pipe organ, in the 1960s and 1970s, it became a standard keyboard instrument for jazz, blues, Rock and r...
), Nigel Price (guitar
Guitar

The guitar is a musical instrument with ancient roots that is used in a wide variety of musical styles. It typically has six Strings , but Tenor guitar, Seven-string guitar, Eight-string guitar, Ten-string guitar, Eleven-string guitar, Twelve-string guitar, Thirteen-string guitar and doubleneck guitar string guitars also exist....
), Gary Crockett (bass
Bass guitar

The electric bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a plectrum.The bass guitar is similar in appearance and construction to an electric guitar, but with a larger body, a longer neck and Scale length, and usually four strings tuned to the same pitches as those of the double bass, whic...
) and Neil Robinson (drums
Drum kit

A drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and sometimes other percussion instruments, such as cowbell s, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single drummer....
) though recordings and live performances usually feature a horn section comprising John Willmott (tenor sax/flute
Flute

The flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike other woodwind instruments, a flute is a reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air against an edge....
) and Nick Smart (trumpet
Trumpet

The trumpet is a musical instrument with the highest Register in the brass instrument family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BC....
) and also vocalist Yvonne Yanney.

The band are often referred to by the acronym JTQ, and have no connection to the American
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
 singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriter

File:Joan Baez Bob Dylan crop.jpgSinger-songwriter is a term that refers to performers who Lyricist, composer and singing their own Musical piece including lyrics and melody....
 James Taylor
James Taylor

James Vernon Taylor is a Grammy Award winning United States singer-songwriter and guitarist born in Boston, Massachusetts, and raised in Carrboro, North Carolina, North Carolina....
.

Film Theme Beginnings
The James Taylor Quartet's first single, "Blow-Up" (a funked up version of Herbie Hancock's main theme from the seminal 60s film of the same name
Blowup

Blowup is a 1966 in film British-Italian art film directed by Michelangelo Antonioni and was that director's first English language film. It tells the story of a photographer's involvement with a murder case....
), was released in 1985 on the Re Elect The President label, which would later become the Acid Jazz
Acid jazz

Acid jazz is a musical genre that combines elements of jazz, funk and hip-hop, particularly Music loop beats. It developed in the UK over the 1980s and 1990s and could be seen as tacking the sound of jazz-funk onto electronic music dance/pop music: jazz-funk musicians such as Roy Ayers and Donald Byrd are often credited as forerunners of aci...
 label.






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Encyclopedia


The James Taylor Quartet are a British
United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom , the UK or Britain,is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe....
 four-piece jazz funk band who have become renowned for their live performances. They were formed by Hammond organ
Hammond organ

The Hammond organ is an electronic organ which was invented by Laurens Hammond in 1934 and manufactured by the Hammond Organ Company. While the Hammond organ was originally sold to Church as a lower-cost alternative to the wind-driven pipe organ, in the 1960s and 1970s, it became a standard keyboard instrument for jazz, blues, Rock and r...
 player James Taylor following the break-up of his former band The Prisoners
The Prisoners

The Prisoners were a mod revival band who formed in 1982 in Chatham, Kent, England. Their 1960s garage sound made them a regular live fixture in London's underground "psychedelic revival" scene of the early 1980s....
 in the wake of Stiff Records
Stiff Records

Stiff Records is a record label created in London in 1976 in music by entrepreneurs Dave Robinson and Andrew Jakeman , and active until 1985 in music....
' bankruptcy. The core line-up is James Taylor (Hammond organ
Hammond organ

The Hammond organ is an electronic organ which was invented by Laurens Hammond in 1934 and manufactured by the Hammond Organ Company. While the Hammond organ was originally sold to Church as a lower-cost alternative to the wind-driven pipe organ, in the 1960s and 1970s, it became a standard keyboard instrument for jazz, blues, Rock and r...
), Nigel Price (guitar
Guitar

The guitar is a musical instrument with ancient roots that is used in a wide variety of musical styles. It typically has six Strings , but Tenor guitar, Seven-string guitar, Eight-string guitar, Ten-string guitar, Eleven-string guitar, Twelve-string guitar, Thirteen-string guitar and doubleneck guitar string guitars also exist....
), Gary Crockett (bass
Bass guitar

The electric bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a plectrum.The bass guitar is similar in appearance and construction to an electric guitar, but with a larger body, a longer neck and Scale length, and usually four strings tuned to the same pitches as those of the double bass, whic...
) and Neil Robinson (drums
Drum kit

A drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and sometimes other percussion instruments, such as cowbell s, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single drummer....
) though recordings and live performances usually feature a horn section comprising John Willmott (tenor sax/flute
Flute

The flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike other woodwind instruments, a flute is a reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air against an edge....
) and Nick Smart (trumpet
Trumpet

The trumpet is a musical instrument with the highest Register in the brass instrument family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BC....
) and also vocalist Yvonne Yanney.

The band are often referred to by the acronym JTQ, and have no connection to the American
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
 singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriter

File:Joan Baez Bob Dylan crop.jpgSinger-songwriter is a term that refers to performers who Lyricist, composer and singing their own Musical piece including lyrics and melody....
 James Taylor
James Taylor

James Vernon Taylor is a Grammy Award winning United States singer-songwriter and guitarist born in Boston, Massachusetts, and raised in Carrboro, North Carolina, North Carolina....
.

Film Theme Beginnings


The James Taylor Quartet's first single, "Blow-Up" (a funked up version of Herbie Hancock's main theme from the seminal 60s film of the same name
Blowup

Blowup is a 1966 in film British-Italian art film directed by Michelangelo Antonioni and was that director's first English language film. It tells the story of a photographer's involvement with a murder case....
), was released in 1985 on the Re Elect The President label, which would later become the Acid Jazz
Acid jazz

Acid jazz is a musical genre that combines elements of jazz, funk and hip-hop, particularly Music loop beats. It developed in the UK over the 1980s and 1990s and could be seen as tacking the sound of jazz-funk onto electronic music dance/pop music: jazz-funk musicians such as Roy Ayers and Donald Byrd are often credited as forerunners of aci...
 label. The track was championed by the NME
NME

The New Musical Express is a popular music magazine in the United Kingdom which has been published weekly since March 1952. It was the first British paper to include a singles chart, which first appeared in the 14 November 1952 edition....
 and John Peel
John Peel

John Robert Parker Ravenscroft, Order of the British Empire , known professionally as John Peel, was an England disc jockey, radio presenter and journalist....
, appearing in Peel's Festive Fifty chart for 1987. The band's debut album, Mission: Impossible
Mission: Impossible

Mission: Impossible began as an American television series that chronicles the missions of a team of secret United States government agents known as the Impossible Missions Force ....
 was released the following year and predominantly consisted of covers of Sixties film themes such as "Alfie
Alfie (song)

"Alfie" is a song written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David.It was the theme from the 1966 film Alfie . It was performed in the film during the end credits by Cher in an arrangement by Sonny Bono....
", "Mrs. Robinson
Mrs. Robinson

"Mrs. Robinson" is a song written by Paul Simon and first performed by Simon and Garfunkel. When released as a single in 1968, it hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the US, for their second chart-topping hit after "The Sounds of Silence"....
" and "Goldfinger
Goldfinger (film)

Goldfinger is the third spy film in the James Bond James Bond , and the third to star Sean Connery as the fictional character Secret Intelligence Service agent James Bond ....
" in a rough, up-tempo, almost punk-like style that was primarily focussed on Taylor's Hammond organ playing. Their second album, The Money Spyder, was the soundtrack to an imaginary spy film, applying the band's distinctive style to Taylor's own compositions.

Whilst promoting these albums The James Taylor Quartet developed a strong reputation as a live band that remains to this day. The live set focuses on accessible rhythm driven music that some classify as having elements of modern dance music
Dance music

Dance music is music composed specifically to facilitate or accompany dance. It can be either a whole musical piece or part of a larger musical arrangement....
, despite including a lot of improvised solos. During this period a contract with a major record led to them playing to ever increasing audiences. The band also recorded their signature tune "The Theme from Starsky and Hutch
Starsky and Hutch

Starsky and Hutch is a 1970s United States television series that consisted of a 90-minute television pilot movie and 92 episodes of 60 minutes each; created by William Blinn, produced by Spelling-Goldberg Productions, and broadcast between April 30 1975 and May 15 1979 on the American Broadcasting Company network; distributed by Sony P...
" during this period. This led to the release of the live album Absolute in 1991, which attempted to capture the experience of the band in concert (even though it was recorded 'live' in the studio, the audience cheering being overdubbed later).

The Emergence of Acid Jazz


In the early 1990s the band changed direction and released a string of song-based albums to appeal to the then fashionable Soul
Soul music

Soul music is a music genre originating in the United States combining elements of gospel music and rhythm and blues. According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, soul is "music that arose out of the African American culture through the transmutation of gospel and rhythm & blues into a form of funky, Secularity testifying." The genre occasion...
 and Acid Jazz
Acid jazz

Acid jazz is a musical genre that combines elements of jazz, funk and hip-hop, particularly Music loop beats. It developed in the UK over the 1980s and 1990s and could be seen as tacking the sound of jazz-funk onto electronic music dance/pop music: jazz-funk musicians such as Roy Ayers and Donald Byrd are often credited as forerunners of aci...
 scene in the UK. They featured vocalists such as Rose Windross of Soul II Soul
Soul II Soul

Soul II Soul is a 2-time Grammy winning act that emerged at the end of the 1980s from London. The group initially attracted attention as a sound system , playing records at house and street parties ....
, Alison Limerick
Alison Limerick

Alison Limerick is a United Kingdom singing.She began her music career as a backing vocalist in the mid 1980s, after attending the London Contemporary School of Dance....
 and Noel McKoy
Noel McKoy

Noel McKoy is a U.K. based soul music singer...
. McKoy became a permanent member of the band for part of this period. The single "Love The Life" reached the Top 40 and the accompanying album Supernatural Feeling reached the top 30 in the UK charts. The next album In The Hand of The Inevitable saw a return to the Acid Jazz
Acid jazz

Acid jazz is a musical genre that combines elements of jazz, funk and hip-hop, particularly Music loop beats. It developed in the UK over the 1980s and 1990s and could be seen as tacking the sound of jazz-funk onto electronic music dance/pop music: jazz-funk musicians such as Roy Ayers and Donald Byrd are often credited as forerunners of aci...
 label where it remains the label's biggest selling album.

The Return to Funk Roots


Since then the James Taylor Quartet have returned to their original style of instrumental Hammond-led jazz funk workouts on albums that have showcased the band's instrumental talents. Cover versions such as "Whole Lotta Love
Led Zeppelin

Led Zeppelin were an English rock music band formed in 1968 by Jimmy Page , Robert Plant , John Paul Jones and John Bonham . With their heavy, guitar-driven sound, Led Zeppelin are regarded as one of the first heavy metal music bands....
", "Dirty Harry
Dirty Harry

Dirty Harry is a crime film thriller produced and directed by Don Siegel. It is the first film in the Dirty Harry . Clint Eastwood plays the title role, in his first outing as San Francisco Police Department Inspector Harry Callahan ....
" and "Jesus Christ Superstar
Jesus Christ Superstar

Jesus Christ Superstar is a rock opera by Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber. It highlights the political and interpersonal struggles of Judas Iscariot and Jesus....
"' are still recorded in the same spirit as the band's debut "Blow-Up" single, but the albums are mainly original compositions. Live gigs regularly feature a vocalist and showcase songs from the soul period of the band. They received a Music of Black Origin
MOBO Awards

The MOBO Awards, established in 1995 by Kanya King MBE and Andy Ruffell , are held annually in the United Kingdom to recognise artists of any race or nationality performing black music....
 nomination for their second live album Whole Lotta Live.

Collaborations & Guest Spots


The James Taylor Quartet produced a bona-fide film theme of their own when they contributed to the soundtrack of the first Austin Powers
Austin Powers

Sir Austin Danger Powers, Order of the British Empire, is a fictional character from the Austin Powers series of films. He first appeared in Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery and is portrayed by Mike Myers ....
 film. As well as their own recordings, James Taylor and members of the quartet have collaborated with Tom Jones
Tom Jones (singer)

Sir Thomas John Woodward Officer of the British Empire , known by his stage name Tom Jones, is a Welsh singer-songwriter, particularly noted for his powerful voice and wide vocal range....
 on the duets album Reload and featured on records by The Wonder Stuff
The Wonder Stuff

The Wonder Stuff are a band originally based in Stourbridge, West Midlands , in the Black Country, England....
, Manic Street Preachers
Manic Street Preachers

Manic Street Preachers are an alternative rock band from Blackwood, Wales, formed in 1986. Often referred to as the Manics, they are James Dean Bradfield , Nicky Wire and Sean Moore ....
, The Pogues
The Pogues

The Pogues are a band of mixed Irish and English background, playing traditional Irish music with influences from punk rock and jazz, formed in 1982 and fronted by Shane MacGowan....
, Kingmaker
Kingmaker (band)

Kingmaker was a United Kingdom rock group, founded in Kingston upon Hull in 1990....
 and U2
U2

U2 are a rock music band from Dublin, Republic of Ireland. The band consists of Bono , The Edge , Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen, Jr. .The band formed in 1976 when the members were teenagers with limited musical proficiency....
. They were also the house band on Gaby Roslin's
Gaby Roslin

Gaby Roslin is an England television presenter and actress....
 short-lived Channel 4
Channel 4

Channel 4 is a UK Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom television broadcaster which began transmissions on 2 November 1982. Although commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the #Channel Four Television...
 chat show.

In the late 1990s, James Taylor began composing and recording library music for the Bruton Music company. A series of releases were made available for use by the media industry in TV advertisements, programmes, films etc. As this material is not available for sale to the general public they are sought after by completist, die hard fans.

New Jersey Kings


The James Taylor Quartet have also released three albums under the name New Jersey Kings. These are similar in style to the core funky Hammond sound of JTQ, but have tended to be recorded live in the studio resulting in a more natural yet raw sound.

Recent News


Some performances during 2005 included an augmented horn section and have been promoted as the James Taylor Funk Orchestra.

During 2005 Nigel Price (guitar) replaced David Taylor.

A new JTQ album A Taste of Cherry was released in September 2006.

Discography

JTQ releases:
  • Mission: Impossible
    Mission Impossible (JTQ album)

    Track listing Side 1#Blow Up Herbie Hancock#Mission Impossible Lalo Schifrin#Gold Finger Side 2#The Cat Lalo Schifrin Listed as "Joyhouse" on rear of sleeve...
     (1986)
  • The Money Spyder
    The Money Spyder

    Track listing Side 1#The Money Spyder#One Way Street#Car Chase#The Spiral Staircase#Mr Cool's Dream#Untitled # 1 #A Real Mean TimeSide 2...
     (1987)
  • The First Sixty Four Minutes (1988) Repackage of Mission: Impossible and The Money Spider
  • Wait a Minute (1988)
  • Get Organized (1989)
  • Do Your Own Thing (1990)
  • Supernatural Feeling (1991)
  • Absolute (live) (1993)
  • Extended Play (1994)
  • BBC Sessions (1995)
  • In the Hand of the Inevitable (1995)
  • A Few Useful Tips about Living Underground (1996)
  • Creation (1997)
  • Whole Lotta Live (1998)
  • JTQ, A Collection - the Best of the Acid Jazz Years (1999)
  • Penthouse Suite (1999)
  • A Bigger Picture (1999)
  • Swinging London (2000)
  • Message From The Godfather (2001)
  • Room at the Top (2002)
  • The Oscillator (2003)
  • A Taste of Cherry (2006)
  • Picking Up Where We Left Off' (2007)
  • Don't Mess With Mr. T (2007)
  • Live At The Jazz Cafe (2008)
Bruton library releases:
  • Swinging London (tbc
    TBC

    TBC may refer to:* Abbreviation of "to be continued" or "to be considered" or "to be confirmed"* Taegu Broadcasting Corporation, a South Korean broadcasting company...
    )
  • Retro Acid Jazz (1995)
  • The Hustle (2004)
New Jersey Kings:
  • Party to the Bus Stop (1992)
  • Stratosphere Breakdown (1995)
  • Uzi Lover (2002)


External links