Shakatak
Encyclopedia
Shakatak are an English
jazz-funk
band
, founded in 1980.
entries, including two Top Ten hits in the UK Singles Chart
, "Night Birds" (1982) and "Down on the Street" (1984) plus a further 12 entries in the Guinness book of British Hit Singles. The group are still popular throughout the world particularly in Japan
and the Far East
, and generally produce a new album
every two years on JVC Records.
From their first release in August 1980, (the Bill Sharpe composition "Steppin'" on the Polydor
record label
), and their first album, Drivin' Hard, the band's singles
and albums have entered the charts regularly .
It was the release of "Easier Said Than Done" that was to give the band the radio
exposure needed for their first top-twenty hit. This record introduced their instrumental
-unison vocal
sound to a much wider audience, and the track stayed in the UK
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
, 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
album slot in Japan, and attracted interest across Europe
and South America
. Night Birds was used in the feature film "Away We Go" directed by Sam Mendes and was used as the demonstration song on many Casio Piano Keyboards such as the Casio CT-460.
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 (formerly of Fusion Orchestra
, Brandy and Citizen Gang) 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 great success, and brought them attention in new parts of the world. The following year saw the release of the group's first live album
, which was recorded in both Tokyo
and London
.
The seventh album, Day by Day, saw the development of songwriting
by all of the band members. In 1986 Saward announced that she was expecting a baby later the same year. This news allowed the band to ease their hectic touring schedule for a while, and enabled them to concentrate purely on recording for a brief period. 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 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
, Manic and Cool.
In the 1990s, the band had success in the US
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.
Shakatak continue to appear regularly throughout the world with recent festival performances at Jakjazz, the Jakata International Jazz Festival, Bangkok, Hua Hin and the Bratislava Jazz Day and they make annual appearances at the Billboard Clubs in Japan and the Pizza Express Jazz Room in London plus numerous other concert and club performances.
The band celebrated their thirtieth anniversary year in 2010.
Plus for live shows
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
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 music. The following articles concern types of musical bands:* All-female band* Big band* Boy band* Christian band* Church band* Concert band* Cover band...
, founded in 1980.
Career
Shakatak scored a number of chartRecord chart
A record chart is a ranking of recorded 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 Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
, "Night Birds" (1982) and "Down on the Street" (1984) plus a further 12 entries in the Guinness book of British Hit Singles. The group are still popular throughout the world particularly in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, 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 an English term mostly describing East Asia and Southeast Asia, with South Asia sometimes also included for economic and cultural reasons.The term came into use in European geopolitical discourse in the 19th century,...
, and generally produce a new album
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
every two years on JVC Records.
From their first release in August 1980, (the Bill Sharpe composition "Steppin'" on the Polydor
Polydor Records
Polydor is a record label owned by Universal Music Group, headquartered in the United Kingdom.-Beginnings:Polydor was originally an independent branch of the Deutsche Grammophon Gesellschaft. Its name was first used as an export label in 1924, the British and German branches of the Gramophone...
record label
Record label
In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...
), and their first album, Drivin' Hard, the band's singles
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
and albums have entered the charts 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 through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels 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 singing, although it might include some non-articulate vocal input; the music is primarily or exclusively produced by musical instruments....
-unison vocal
Human voice
The human voice consists of sound made by a human being using the vocal folds for talking, singing, laughing, crying, screaming, etc. Its frequency ranges from about 60 to 7000 Hz. The human voice is specifically that part of human sound production in which the vocal folds are the primary...
sound to a much wider audience, and the track stayed in the UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
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 recording has shipped or sold a certain number of copies, where the threshold quantity varies by type and by nation or territory .Almost all countries follow variations of the RIAA certification categories,...
, 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 musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
album slot in Japan, and attracted interest across Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
and South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
. Night Birds was used in the feature film "Away We Go" directed by Sam Mendes and was used as the demonstration song on many Casio Piano Keyboards such as the Casio CT-460.
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 (formerly of Fusion Orchestra
Fusion Orchestra
-History:The band was formed in 1969 by Dave Bell, Stan Land, and Colin Dawson, but the more recognisable incarnation was formed when Jill Saward joined on vocals in 1970. They performed regularly on the British club circuit in the early 1970s, clocking up over 500 gigs at venues such as the...
, Brandy and Citizen Gang) 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 great 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 is a recording consisting of material recorded during stage performances using remote recording techniques, commonly contrasted with a studio album...
, which was recorded in both Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
and London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
.
The seventh album, Day by Day, saw the development of songwriting
Songwriter
A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
by all of the band members. In 1986 Saward announced that she was expecting a baby later the same year. This news allowed the band to ease their hectic touring schedule for a while, and enabled them to concentrate purely on recording for a brief period. 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 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, commonly known as a phonograph record , vinyl record , or colloquially, a record, is an analog sound storage medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove...
, Manic and Cool.
In the 1990s, the band had success in the US
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
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.
Shakatak continue to appear regularly throughout the world with recent festival performances at Jakjazz, the Jakata International Jazz Festival, Bangkok, Hua Hin and the Bratislava Jazz Day and they make annual appearances at the Billboard Clubs in Japan and the Pizza Express Jazz Room in London plus numerous other concert and club performances.
The band celebrated their thirtieth anniversary year in 2010.
Present
Original Members- Jill Saward — vocals (percussion, flute)
- Bill Sharpe — keyboardsKeyboard instrumentA keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
- Roger Odell — drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
- George Anderson — bassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
Plus for live shows
- Alan Wormald — guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
- Jacqui Hicks — (backing vocals, sax & flute)
Former and occasional members
- Keith Winter — electric guitarElectric guitarAn electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker...
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 Drivin' Hard
- Jackie Rawe — vocals on the first three albums
- Dick MorrisseyDick MorrisseyRichard Edwin "Dick" Morrissey was a British jazz musician and composer. He played the tenor sax, soprano sax and flute.- Background :...
— saxophoneSaxophoneThe saxophone is a conical-bore transposing musical instrument that is a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in 1846...
s on Night Birds and Invitations - Nigel Wright — keyboards; (producer of Night Birds)
- Tracey AckermanTracey AckermanTracy Ackerman is a British singer and songwriter. She works with several other British songwriters including Andy Watkins and Paul Wilson of Absolute and Mark Taylor....
— backing vocals on City Rhythm, Manic and Cool, and Open Your Eyes
Albums
- 1981: Drivin' HardDrivin' HardDrivin' Hard, released in May 1981 on the Polydor label, is the first album by Shakatak.-Track listing:#"Livin In The U.K." - 5:54#"Into the Night" - 4:36#"Toot The Shoot" - 4:00 Drivin' Hard, released in May 1981 on the Polydor label, is the first album by Shakatak.-Track listing:#"Livin In The...
- 1982: Night Birds
- 1982: Invitations
- 1983: Out of This WorldOut of This World (Shakatak album)Out Of This World, released in 1983 on the Polydor label, is the fourth album by Shakatak.-Track listing:Side 1:#"Dark Is The Night" - 5:28#"Don't Say That Again" - 4:46#"Slip Away" - 5:19#"On Nights Like Tonight" - 5:13Side 2:...
- 1984: Down on the Street
- 1984: Shakatak Live in JapanShakatak Live in JapanShakatak 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.-Track Listing & Format:*LP: Polydor 38MM 0344/5*Double gatefold album with lyric insert.*Side One...
(live) - 1985: Live! (February 1985) (live)
- 1985: City Rhythm
- 1986: Into the Blue (Issued in Japan only)
- 1987: Golden Wings (Issued in Japan only)
- 1988: Manic and Cool
- 1988: Da Makani (Issued in Japan only)
- 1988: The Very Best of Shakatak
- 1989: Niteflite (Issued in Japan only)
- 1989: Turn the Music Up
- 1990: Fiesta (Issued in Japan only)
- 1990: Christmas Eve (Issued in Japan only)
- 1991: Bitter Sweet
- 1991: Utopia (Issued in Japan only)
- 1993: Street Level
- 1993: Under the Sun
- 1993: The Christmas Album
- 1994: Full Circle
- 1997: Let The Piano Play
- 1998: View From The City
- 1998: Live at Ronnie Scott's
- 2001: Under Your Spell
- 2003: Blue Savannah
- 2005: Easier Said Than Done (live album)
- 2005: Beautiful Day
- 2007: Emotionally Blue
- 2009: Afterglow
- 2011: Across The World
Compilations
- 1988: The Coolest Cuts
- 1990: Perfect Smile (Issued in the US only)
- 1991: Open Your Eyes (Issued in the US only, with 1 brand new track Hungry)
- 1991: Remix Best Album
- 1991: Night Moves
- 1996: The Collection
- 1996: Jazz Connections Volumes 1-6 (6 compilation albums of their exclusive Japanese albums from the 80's and early 90's)
- 1998: Shinin' On
- 1999: Magic
- 1999: Jazz In The Night
- 2000: The Collection Volume 2
- 2002: Dinner Jazz
- 2003: Smooth Solos
- 2008: The Best Of Shakatak
- 2008: The Ultimate Collection
- 2009: The Coolest Cuts 12" Mixes Volume 1
- 2009: The Coolest Cuts 12" Mixes Volume 2
- A three-part compilation albumCompilation albumA compilation album is an album featuring tracks from one or more performers, often culled from a variety of sources The tracks are usually collected according to a common characteristic, such as popularity, genre, 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 StreetDown on the StreetDown On The Street is a 1984 song by Shakatak,The song is about the joy of Nightlife.With the song managed Shakatak their long awaited commercial Breakthrough....
" - "Don't Blame It on Love"
- "Watching You"
- "Down on the Street
- 1985
- "Day by Day" (featuring Al JarreauAl JarreauAlwin "Al" Lopez Jarreau is a seven-time Grammy Award winning jazz singer.- Background :Jarreau was born in Milwaukee, the fifth of six children. His web site refers to Reservoir, Inc., the name of the street where he lived. His father was a Seventh-Day Adventist Church minister and singer, and...
)
- "Day by Day" (featuring Al Jarreau
- "City Rhythm"
- 1987
- "Mr Manic and Sister Cool"
- 1988
- "Dr! Dr!"
- "Time Of My Life"
- 1989
- "Turn The Music Up"
External links
- Shakatak web site
- Bill Sharpe web site
- Jill Saward web site
- George Anderson web site
- Roger Odell web site
- [ Shakatak biography] at the Allmusic website
- Licensing of Shakatak Masters - Maxwood Music website