Jazz Warriors
Jazz Warriors | |
|---|---|
| Origin | London, England |
| Genres | Jazz |
| Years active | 1986–1994, 2020–present |
| Labels | Antilles, Jazz Warrior |
| Members | Orphy Robinson Courtney Pine Cleveland Watkiss Gary Crosby Steve Williamson Ray Carless Julian Joseph Dennis Rollins Claude Deppa Phillip Bent Michael Mondesir Mark Mondesir Rowland Sutherland |
| Past members |
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The Jazz Warriors were an English all-black London-based group of jazz musicians, that made its debut in 1986. The idea for the band came from the Abibi Jazz Arts, a London organization that promoted black music and black culture. The Jazz Warriors provided black British musicians with a venue to showcase their talents, which until that time was limited mostly to funk music and reggae.
According to writer John Chilton, the Jazz Warriors "proved to be the launching pad for the stellar talents of a number of important jazz musicians." The band released one album – 1987's Out of Many, One People. Despite many of the members leaving for solo careers, the band remained together until 1994; however, they reunited in 2020.