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Shakatak is 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....
 jazz-funk
Jazz-funk

Jazz-funk is a sub-genre of jazz music characterized by a strong back beat , electrified sounds, and often, the presence of the first electronic analog synthesizers....
 band
Band (music)

In music, a musical ensemble or band is a group of musicians that works together to perform songs. The following articles concern types of musical bands:...
, founded in 1980.

atak scored a number of chart
Record chart

Record chart are a method of ranking music according to popularity during a given period of time. Examples of music charts are the Hit parade, Hot 100 or Top 40....
 entries, including two Top Ten hits in the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart

The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official UK Charts Company on behalf of the British record industry. The chart week runs from Sunday to Saturday, with the chart being printed in Music Week magazine , ChartsPlus , and published online on various sites ....
, "Night Birds" (1982) and "Down on the Street" (1984). The group is still popular in Japan
Japan

Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, People's Republic of China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south....
 and the Far East
Far East

The Far East is a term current in English language to refer to the countries of East Asia. The term is often expanded to also include Southeast Asia and South Asia, for economic and cultural reasons, for example because Buddhism is common to East Asia, Southeast Asia and South Asia....
, and generally produces a new album
Album

An album or record album is a collection of related Sound recording and reproduction or music tracks distributed to the public. The most common way is through commercial distribution, although smaller artists will often distribute directly to the public by selling their albums at live concerts or on their websites....
 each year.

From their first release in August 1980, (the Bill Sharpe composition "Steppin'" on the Polydor
Polydor Records

Polydor Records is a record label currently headquartered in the United Kingdom, and is a subsidiary of Universal Music Group....
 record label
Record label

In the music industry, a record label can be a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of recorded sound and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the Record producer, manufacturing, distribution , marketing and promotion, and enforcement of copyright protec...
), and their first album, Drivin' Hard, the band's singles
Single (music)

In the record industry, a single is a song usually used from a current or upcoming album to promote the album. Singles are distributed through a number of ways; originally, they were packaged as "single" records with one or two other songs and sold before the release of the album....
 and albums have entered the charts fairly regularly.

It was the release of "Easier Said Than Done" that was to give the band the radio
Radio

Radio is the transmission of signals, by modulation of electromagnetic radiation with frequency below those of visible light.Electromagnetic radiation radio propagation by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space....
 exposure needed for their first top-twenty hit.






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Encyclopedia


Shakatak is 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....
 jazz-funk
Jazz-funk

Jazz-funk is a sub-genre of jazz music characterized by a strong back beat , electrified sounds, and often, the presence of the first electronic analog synthesizers....
 band
Band (music)

In music, a musical ensemble or band is a group of musicians that works together to perform songs. The following articles concern types of musical bands:...
, founded in 1980.

Career

Shakatak scored a number of chart
Record chart

Record chart are a method of ranking music according to popularity during a given period of time. Examples of music charts are the Hit parade, Hot 100 or Top 40....
 entries, including two Top Ten hits in the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart

The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official UK Charts Company on behalf of the British record industry. The chart week runs from Sunday to Saturday, with the chart being printed in Music Week magazine , ChartsPlus , and published online on various sites ....
, "Night Birds" (1982) and "Down on the Street" (1984). The group is still popular in Japan
Japan

Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, People's Republic of China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south....
 and the Far East
Far East

The Far East is a term current in English language to refer to the countries of East Asia. The term is often expanded to also include Southeast Asia and South Asia, for economic and cultural reasons, for example because Buddhism is common to East Asia, Southeast Asia and South Asia....
, and generally produces a new album
Album

An album or record album is a collection of related Sound recording and reproduction or music tracks distributed to the public. The most common way is through commercial distribution, although smaller artists will often distribute directly to the public by selling their albums at live concerts or on their websites....
 each year.

From their first release in August 1980, (the Bill Sharpe composition "Steppin'" on the Polydor
Polydor Records

Polydor Records is a record label currently headquartered in the United Kingdom, and is a subsidiary of Universal Music Group....
 record label
Record label

In the music industry, a record label can be a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of recorded sound and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the Record producer, manufacturing, distribution , marketing and promotion, and enforcement of copyright protec...
), and their first album, Drivin' Hard, the band's singles
Single (music)

In the record industry, a single is a song usually used from a current or upcoming album to promote the album. Singles are distributed through a number of ways; originally, they were packaged as "single" records with one or two other songs and sold before the release of the album....
 and albums have entered the charts fairly regularly.

It was the release of "Easier Said Than Done" that was to give the band the radio
Radio

Radio is the transmission of signals, by modulation of electromagnetic radiation with frequency below those of visible light.Electromagnetic radiation radio propagation by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space....
 exposure needed for their first top-twenty hit. This record introduced their instrumental
Instrumental

An instrumental is a musical composition or recording without lyrics or any other sort of vocal music; all of the music is produced by musical instruments....
-unison vocal
Human voice

The human voice consists of sound Voice production by a human being using the vocal folds for Speech communication, singing, Laughter, crying, screaming, etc....
 sound to a much wider audience, and the track stayed in the UK
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....
 chart for seventeen weeks. The follow-up, "Night Birds", was their first single to reach the top ten, and the album of the same name gave Shakatak their first gold album
Music recording sales certification

Music recording sales certification is a system of certifying that a music Sound recording has shipped a certain number of copies.Almost all countries follow variations of the RIAA certification categories, which are named after the precious materials gold, platinum and diamond ....
, entering at number four and remaining in the charts for twenty-eight weeks. By now a major international act, the success of the release gave them the number-one jazz
Jazz

Jazz is a primarily American musical art form which originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States from a confluence of African and European music traditions....
 album slot in Japan, and attracted interest across Europe
Europe

Europe is, conventionally, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural , the Caspian Sea, and by the Caucasus Mountains to the southeast....
 and South America
South America

South America is the southern continent of the Americas, situated entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere....
.

Whilst all this recording activity was going on, the band were also touring extensively through 1982, performing a total of 132 concert
Concert

A concert is a live performance, usually of music, before an audience. The music may be performed by a single musician, sometimes then called a recital, or by a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra, a choir, or a musical band....
s in one year. The band played live shows throughout the UK, Europe, and Japan.

Two more albums – Invitations and Out of This World – were recorded in 1982 and 1983, resulting in several more chart hits, and paving the way for the next major breakthrough in the band's career. With a subtle change in musical direction, yet still retaining the band's identity, Jill Saward became their lead singer to make Shakatak's fifth album, Down on the Street. The resulting single releases "Down on the Street" and "Watching You" had some success, and brought them attention in new parts of the world. The following year saw the release of the group's first live album
Live album

A live album – commonly contrasted with a studio album – is a recording consisting of material recorded during stage performances. Live albums may be recorded at a single concert, or combine recordings made at multiple concerts....
, which was recorded in both Tokyo
Tokyo

, officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan of Japan and located on the eastern side of the main island Honshu. The twenty-three special wards of Tokyo, each governed as a city, cover the area that was once the Tokyo City in the eastern part of the prefecture, and total over 8 million people....
 and London
London

London is the capital of both England and the United Kingdom, and the most populous municipality in the European Union. An important settlement for two millennia, History of London goes back to its founding by the Roman Empire....
.

The seventh album, Day by Day, saw the development of songwriting
Songwriter

File:Beethoven.jpgA songwriter is someone who writes the lyrics, as well the musical composition or melody to songs. One who writes only lyrics is a lyricist, while one who writes only music is a composer....
 by all of the band members. In 1986 Saward announced that she was expecting a baby later the same year. This news gave the band an excuse to stop their hectic touring schedule for a while, and concentrate purely on recording. The band were in the top five foreign acts in Japan, and after winning the coveted Silver Award in the Tokyo International Song Festival, Shakatak were asked to produce an extra album each year exclusively for the Japanese market. By this time they had two extra albums released there entitled Into the Blue and Golden Wings. Both sold reasonably well, the latter winning the "Best Instrumental Album 1987" at the Japanese Phonograph Record Association Awards.

However, following this success the band felt it was time that they re-directed their efforts back to singles, and an album for release to the rest of the world. The result was Something Special, closely followed by the night club and chart hit "Mr Manic & Sister Cool" from their next LP
Gramophone record

A gramophone record is an analog signal sound storage medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed modulated spiral groove usually starting near the periphery and ending near the centre of the disc....
, Manic and Cool. In the 1990s the band had great success in the U.S.
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...
 when they had two albums that went to No 1 in the contemporary jazz charts and were also awarded the Japanese grammy for best international instrumental album six years running. Since 2000 the band has continued to record and tour the world.

Personnel


Present

  • Jill Saward — vocals
  • Bill Sharpe — keyboards
    Keyboard instrument

    A keyboard instrument is any musical instrument played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include various types of organ s as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic musical instrument....
  • Roger Odell — 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....
  • George Anderson — 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...
  • Alan Wormald — 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....


Former and occasional members

  • Keith Winter — electric guitar
    Electric guitar

    An electric guitar is a type of guitar that uses pickup to convert the vibration of its steel-cored strings into an electrical current, which is made louder with an instrument amplifier and a speaker....
     on all albums until early 1990s. A founder member of the band, Winter had to give up playing guitar due to serious nerve damage, although he stayed in close contact with the band and has just started to play again after eighteen years.
  • Steve Underwood — bass guitar on the album Driving Hard
  • Jackie Rawe — vocals on the first four albums
  • Dick Morrissey
    Dick Morrissey

    Richard Edwin "Dick" Morrissey was a United Kingdom jazz musician and composer. He played tenor sax, soprano sax and flute....
     — saxophone
    Saxophone

    The saxophone is a conical-Bore transposing instrument musical instrument considered a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and are played with a Single-reed instrument mouthpiece similar to the clarinet....
    s on Nightbirds and Invitations
  • Nigel Wright
    Nigel Wright

    Nigel Wright is a record producer from England. His career as record producer, orchestration and songwriter has scored five Chart-topper single s, 31 Top 20 singles and a string of music recording sales certification albums with musicians as diverse as Shakatak, Barbra Streisand, Madonna , Boyzone, Sonia Evans, Take That, Sinitta, Jos? Car...
     — keyboards
  • Issei Noro
    Issei Noro

    is a Japanese jazz fusion guitarist who is one of the founding members and the main composer of the band Casiopea. He has released 5 solo albums and a compilation....
     Guitar
  • Minoru Mukaiya
    Minoru Mukaiya

    is a Japanese musician. He joined the jazz fusion band Casiopea in 1979 as keyboardist.He is also the producer of the train simulator game, Train Simulator series and CEO of Ongakukan....
     Keyboards


Discography


Albums

  • 1981: Drivin' Hard
    Drivin' Hard

    Drivin' Hard, released in May 1981 on the Polydor label, is the first album by Shakatak....
  • 1982: Night Birds
  • 1982: Invitations
  • 1983: Out of This World
  • 1984: Down on the Street
  • 1984: Shakatak Live in Japan
    Shakatak Live in Japan

    Shakatak Live in Japan is a 2 LP set released only in that country and was recorded at the Nakano Sun Plaza Hall during the Japan tour in 1984....
    (live)
  • 1985: Live! (February 1985) (live)
  • 1985: Day by Day/City Rhythm
  • 1986: Into the Blue
  • 1987: Golden Wings
  • 1987: Never Stop Your Love
  • 1988: Manic and Cool
  • 1988: Da Makani
  • 1988: Coolest Cuts
  • 1988: The Very Best of Shakatak
  • 1989: Nightflite
  • 1989: Turn the Music Up
  • 1990: Fiesta
  • 1990: Greatest Grooves
  • 1990: Perfect Smile
  • 1990: Night Moves
  • 1991: Bitter Sweet
  • 1991: Utopia
  • 1991: Open Your Eyes
  • 1991: The Remix Best Album
  • 1992: Night Moves
  • 1992: Christmas Dreams
  • 1993: Street Level
  • 1993: On the Street
  • 1993: Under the Sun
  • 1995: Full Circle
  • 1997: Let The Piano Play
  • 1998: Live at Ronnie Scott's
  • 1998: Shinin On
  • 1998: Christmas Album
  • 1999: Jazz In The Night
  • 1999: Magic
  • 2001: Under Your Spell
  • 2002: Dinner Jazz
  • 2003: Blue Savannah
  • 2005: Easier Said Than Done (live)
  • 2006: Beautiful Day
  • 2007: Emotionally Blue


Compilations

  • 1985: The Coolest Cuts
  • 2003: Smooth Solos


  • A three-part compilation album
    Compilation album

    A compilation album is an album featuring tracks from multiple recording artists, often culled from a variety of sources The tracks are usually collected according to a common characteristic, such as popularity, source or subject matter....
     set, compiled by Roger Odell:
    • Sunset Jazz
    • After Dark
    • Drive Time


Singles

  • 1980
    • "Steppin'"
  • 1981
    • "Feels Like the Right Time"
    • "Living in the UK"
    • "Brazilian Dawn"
    • "Easier Said Than Done"
  • 1982
    • "Night Birds"
    • "Streetwalkin'"
    • "Invitations"
    • "Stranger"
  • 1983
    • "Dark Is the Night"
    • "If You Could See Me Now"
  • 1984
    • "Down On The Street"
    • "Don't Blame It on Love"
  • 1985
    • "Day by Day" (featuring Al Jarreau
      Al Jarreau

      Alwyn Lopez "Al" Jarreau is an United States singer. A seven-time Grammy Award winner, he is the only vocalist in history to win in three separate categories: jazz, pop music, and R&B....
      )
  • 1987
    • "Mr Manic and Sister Cool"
  • 1988
    • "Dr! Dr!"
    • "Time Of My Life"
  • 1989
    • "Turn The Music Up"


External links

  • at Allmusic website