Biography
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Members
- Adrian Reid
- Alan Weekes
- Andy Grappy
- Claude Deppa
- Cleveland Watkiss
The Jazz Warriors were an all-black London-based group of jazz musicians that made their debut in 1986. According to musician/writer John Chilton, "… proved to be the launching pad for the stellar talents of a number of important jazz musicians." The group remained together until 1994, though many of the original members had since left to start their own careers.
Former member Gary Crosby has said of the Jazz Warriors:
There were all these different writers, but everything ended up sounding with the same energy. I've never felt anything like that energy — raucous, raw …It wasn't the most accurate of bands, but the actual power, and the wildness of the soloing…It was so exciting. Regardless of who wrote what, once we got to the meat of the music, there were fireworks…A lot of spunk, man, a lot of testosterone going around!
The idea for the Jazz Warriors came from the Abibi Jazz Arts in 1985. The Abibi Jazz Arts was a London organization that promoted black music and black culture. The Jazz Warriors would provide black musicians with a venue to showcase their talents, which until that time was limited mostly to funk music and reggae.
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