The Souljazz Orchestra is a Canadian musical group based in Ottawa that has toured Canada, the United States and Europe. Their music is a fusion of soul, jazz, funk, Afrobeat and Latin-American styles.[2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9]
Career
The band signed to London-based Strut Records, a UK record label that focuses on dance music and afrobeat. Other musicians signed to Strut include "Ethio-Jazz pioneer Mulatu Astatke, Motown guitarist Dennis Coffey and Ghanaian highlife singer Ebo Taylor, to name a few."[10]
According to AllMusic, the band's "overtly political 2006 single "Mista President," off second album Freedom No Go Die (Do Right!), really increased their audience, [as it was] voted to the number nine spot in the 2006 Top 30 of BBC DJ Gilles Peterson's Worldwide programme.[11]
In 2012, the band completed two US tours that included stops in cities such as Boston, New York City, Philadelphia, Washington DC, and Chicago.[12][13]
Their Resistance album release tour of Europe, all October/November 2015, sees them among others in London, Liverpool, Zurich, Paris, Lyon, Milan, Barcelona, Madrid, Berlin, Cologne, Vienna, Prague, Athens, Marseille.
The band has had three Juno nominations: Instrumental Album of the Year (Rising Sun, 2011), and World Music Album of the Year (Solidarity, 2013, and Resistance, 2016.)
Members
Pierre Chrétien – electric piano, clavinet, organ, guitar, bass, percussion, vocals
^Wigney, Allan (2008-05-28). "Souljazz Orchestra going global". jam.canoe.ca. Sun Media. Archived from the original on 2013-01-15. Retrieved 2008-07-07.
^"Souljazz Orchestra Headlines First Major US Tour". National Geographic World Music. National Geographic Society. Retrieved 27 July 2012.
^Kellman, Andy. "The Souljazz Orchestra: Music Biography, Credits and Discography". AllMusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 27 July 2012.
^Detwiler, Ryan A. "The Souljazz Orchestra heads south of the border for first major US tour, heats up mild American winter". Tiny Mix Tapes. Tiny Mix Tapes. Retrieved 27 July 2012.
