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King Phoenix

by The Jazz Defenders

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Azhaar Saffar
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Azhaar Saffar I love this album: a beautiful blend of jazz styles, Streetsy, ambient, super funky, nice melodies and bossa grooves! Horns and strings!
It's both ambient and raw.
From the cool bop of 'Twilight' to the filmic ambience of 'Oracle 'and super funky 'Munch'!
The streetsy 'Perfectly Imperfect' rap about the confused culture of our times,reminds me of 'The Disposable Heroes..
But 'Saudade' makes me feel saudade..
Great compositions! Thanks guys!
Favorite track: Saudade.
Reg Dredd Discerning Funk Fan
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Reg Dredd Discerning Funk Fan This is what Jazz needs for the next generations. I'd like to hear an instrumental Live Slow. Great recordings, even better live, saw them in Henley 27th Nov. 22, best thing I've seen since the Haggis Horns. Favorite track: Live Slow (feat Herbal T) [album version].
Maff
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Maff Thank you George and the Gentlemen. Can’t sufficiently describe the joy this new album brings my day. Had played Scheming to death but now this! Right bang up the middle of my musical street. Lee Morgan in the Ipcress file, Horace Silver in the Quilter Memorandum. Immense thanks lads x
rick0361
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rick0361 Can’t get enough of this album, so many different feelings as the music runs through it.

Brilliant!
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  • Record/Vinyl + Digital Album

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    Trans Orange Vinyl, limited to 100 copies - Bandcamp exclusive

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  • Record/Vinyl + Digital Album

    "King Phoenix" vinyl (black) + "The Big Man" 7" vinyl - SAVE £12 COMPARED TO BUYING BOTH SEPARATELY

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  • Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album

    "King Phoenix" CD + "The Big Man" 7" vinyl

    Includes unlimited streaming of King Phoenix via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    ships out within 5 days
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  • Full Digital Discography

    6
    releases

    Get all 6 The Jazz Defenders releases available on Bandcamp and save 30%.

    Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of Memory in Motion, Rolling on a High, King Phoenix, Live Slow (feat Herbal T), The Big Man / Love's Vestige, and Scheming. , and , .

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  • Autographed Limited Edition 12" Vinyl
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    Autographed by the band. (photo is of unsigned version)

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  • Autographed Limited Edition Orange 12" Vinyl
    Record/Vinyl + Digital Album

    Trans orange coloured vinyl autographed by the band (photo is of unsigned version)

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1.
Wagger Jaunt 03:50
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2.
Munch 04:17
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3.
The Oracle 05:01
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4.
Twilight 04:06
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5.
Love's Vestige 03:21
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6.
Perfectly Imperfect (feat Doc Brown) 04:16
info
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7.
Reprise Queen Bee 00:58
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8.
From The Ashes 04:15
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9.
Saudade 02:43
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10.
Live Slow (feat Herbal T) [album version] 04:32
info
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about

Bristol's jazz daddies The Jazz Defenders drop their second album for Haggis Records (home of UK funk kings The Haggis Horns), in March 2022 and it's a real departure from their debut release "Scheming" (released in 2020). Whereas that album was a homage to the late 1950s/early 1960s classic jazz style known as hard bop, this release moves into new territory with hip-hop/jazz, cinema soundtrack flavours, Latin rhythms and soul-jazz all upfront in the mix. Two taster singles from the album released in mid/late 2021, "The Big Man/Love's Vestige and "Live Slow" (featuring US rapper Herbal T), received great radio support from the likes of Craig Charles (BBC 6 Music), Helen Mayhew (Jazz FM), Jamie Cullum (BBC Radio 2), Ashley Beedle (Worldwide FM), Colin Curtis (Worldwide FM) amongst many others, all loving the Jazz Defenders' musical fusion of retro meets modern.

The classic sound that has inspired the band this time is very much from the mid-late 1960s era and the merging of soul and funk beats with jazz solos/improvisation. Tracks like "Wagger Jaunt" and "Munch" nod to the piano and organ-led soul-jazz of artists like Ramsey Lewis, Herbie Hancock, Reuben Wilson and Jimmy Smith. Meanwhile "Saudade" and "Love's Vestige" feature Brazilian bossa rhythms but with some added film soundtrack overtones. Speaking of movie soundtracks, "The Oracle'' is a pure homage to the classic cinematic compositions of maestros like John Barry (James Bond, The Ipcress File) or Lalo Schifrin (Mission Impossible, Bullitt) right down to the very impressive string arrangement, beautifully scored and orchestrated by
bandleader George Cooper.

A big departure from the previous album comes via the two hip-hop/jazz tracks, both of which feature guest MCs. "Live Slow" has US rapper Herbal T blessing the mic over an uptempo soul-jazz number whilst "Perfectly Imperfect" features London MC/actor Doc Brown rapping on a nice and slow 90's style head-nodding hip-hop groove. Both compositions show George Cooper's love for old school boom-bap hip-hop (by the way, he also plays keys with renowned UK hip-hop big band Abstract Orchestra). For classic jazz lovers who dug the first album, there are two pure jazz tracks that join the dots between that debut release and this sophomore one - "Twilight" and "From The Ashes" - with plenty of vibrant solos for the discerning listener.

"King Phoenix" is a statement in itself from the Jazz Defenders. After 2 years of music being destroyed by the pandemic and many musicians inactive, the band has risen from the ashes with new vigour, energy, and vision to try something new and not just repeat past musical glories. A band that sticks to the same script every release might just end up having a short shelf life but the Jazz Defenders are planning on being around for a long time.

credits

released March 18, 2022

George Cooper - Piano, Organ, Wurlitzer & Percussion
Will Harris - Double & Electric Bass
Ian Matthews - Drums
Nick Malcolm - Trumpet & Flugelhorn
Nicholas Dover - Tenor Sax

Doc Brown - Vocals on track 6
Herbal T - Vocals on track 10
John Pearce - Violin on tracks 3 & 9
Atholl Ransome - Flute on track 9
Leigh Coleman - Vocals on track 6

All tracks written by George Cooper except for track 6 written by George Cooper & Doc Brown and track 10 written by George Cooper & Chris Jones
Additional composition on tracks 4, 5 & 8 by Will Harris
String arrangements by George Cooper
Mix facilitated by Kate Sanders
Mixed by Nicolas Dover
Additional mixing by George Cooper
Mastered by Andy Miles at Stardelta Audio Mastering
Photo by Jonny Green
Artwork by Si Paull

Thank you to all my wonderful friends and family for being the loveliest people on the planet and showing such dedication in their support of my music. From the ashes may we all rise sharper, stronger, bolder, and brighter than ever before. George X

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The Jazz Defenders Bristol, UK

Led by one of the UK's most formidable jazz pianists, George Cooper, The Jazz Defenders are a group born from a deep love of Blue Note jazz, drawing on a wealth of inspiration to craft their own raw and vibrant compositions combining solid grooves and catchy horn lines fusing soul, jazz, hip hop, soundtrack and groove into a masterful union that leaves audiences mesmerised. ... more

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