They started out as friends hanging out at the same places in Ottawa and just through talking found they had a lot in common musically. Pierre says the time has gone by quickly. Inner Fire, the bands sixth album, has been burning up charts and will be lighting up festivals this summer. Twelve years, six albums, two Juno nominations and relentless touring throughout the world have melded the group into a tight, high-voltage, party machine that is known for their live shows.

This Ottawa based collective of six features Pierre Chretien вЂ“ vintage keyboards, percussion, vocals, Marielle Rivard вЂ“ percussion, vocals, Ray Murray вЂ“ baritone sax, percussion, vocals, Philippe Lafreniere вЂ“ drums, percussion, vocals, Steve Patterson вЂ“ tenor sax, percussion, vocals, and Zakari Frants вЂ“ alto sax, flute percussion, vocals. The Souljazz Orchestra are connoisseurs and purveyors of some of the funkiest, soul-jazz, Afro-Latin driven, and Caribbean rhythms youвЂ™ll hear anywhere.

What do a harp and a goat hoof rattle have in common? They are all part of the accelerant The Souljazz Orchestra use to stoke their Inner Fire Their music is always exciting, soulful, and expertly played they never fall prey to world fusion clichГ©s.Stoking the Fire with The Souljazz Orchestra No matter how high they set the bar here, the Souljazz Orchestra execute. While horns assert themselves at the start, itвЂ™s the keys, layers of manic percussion, and MвЂ™Baye and a chorus that send this one over as the setвЂ™s strongest cut. вЂњServe & ProtectвЂќ is a furious rhythm collision of Afro-beat and Latin rhythms. The other reggae-inflected jam here, вЂњConquering Lion,вЂќ is hard on the jazz-funk tip with killer front-line horns on all burners. вЂњJerichoвЂќ is on the roots reggae tip with baritone saxophonist Ray Murray on vocals, while the more streetwise вЂњKingpinвЂќ goes at reggae with guest Gary вЂњSlimвЂќ Moore leading the swaggering bubbler. Immediately following, MвЂ™Baye leads the band in the funk number вЂњKelen Ati Leen.вЂќ вЂњYa BastaвЂќ showcases the bandвЂ™s horn section as it employs incendiary salsa in a strutter par excellence, with a vocal from the Souljazz OrchestraвЂ™s resident conguero and drummer, Philippe LafreniГЁre, leading the furious dance chant. The layers of guitars and distorted keyboards (Pierre ChrГ©tien) meet layers of percussion, horns, and a call-and-response chorus. Here, Afro-beat and Afro-jazz meet slippery funk grooves from the modern West. Set opener вЂњBibinayвЂќ features El Hadji вЂњГ‰lageвЂќ MвЂ™Baye, a Senegalese native who now resides in Quebec. The band employs its usual meld of Afro-beat, Caribbean, tropical, Latin, and Brazilian styles with jazz, funk, and soul, but the interaction with singers brings the mix to a whole different level. Solidarity furthers the bandвЂ™s reach as it employs vocal talents from a wide range of singers from CanadaвЂ™s vast underground music scene. Meeting with nearly universal acclaim, it spread the sextetвЂ™s well-deserved reputation for creating a musically adventurous meld of global styles, accurately reflecting roots cultures as they dialogue with one another in the 21st century - without watering them down. CanadaвЂ™s Souljazz Orchestra were well-known to audiences in Europe before their 2010 Strut debut, Rising Sun it was the sextetвЂ™s first all-acoustic effort.

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