Shakatak

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Shakatak performing at Knebworth Park as part of the Capital Radio Jazz Festival, 1982.

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Shakatak performing at Wuppertal, Germany, 2014

Shakatak are an English jazz-funk band founded in 1980<ref name="Larkin"/> by Bill Sharpe, Nigel Wright, Roger Odell and Keith Winter. An initial white label release, "Steppin", caught attention by Passion records label owner Les McCutcheon and Northern Soul DJ Kev Roberts. The band's name was created by them and derived from the name of a record store in Soho, London called "Record Shack".

Shakatak scored a number of chart entries, including two Top 10 hits in the UK Singles Chart, "Night Birds" (1982) and "Down on the Street" (1984), plus a further 12 entries in the Guinness Book of British Hit Singles.<ref name="British Hit Singles & Albums"/> The group is still active and popular throughout the world, particularly in Japan and the Far East, and generally produce a new album every two years on JVC Records.

From their first release in August 1980 (the Bill Sharpe composition "Steppin'" on the Polydor record label), and their first 1981 album, Drivin' Hard, the band's singles and albums have entered the charts regularly.

CareerEdit

It was the release of the 1981 single "Easier Said Than Done" that gave the band the radio exposure needed for their first top-twenty hit.<ref name="Larkin">Template:Cite book</ref> This record introduced their instrumental-unison vocal soundTemplate:Clarify to a much wider audience, and the track stayed in the UK Singles Chart for seventeen weeks. The follow-up, "Night Birds" (1982), was their first single to reach the top ten and it also peaked in Australia at number 92.<ref name=aus>Template:Cite book</ref> The album of the same name gave Shakatak their first gold album, entering at number four and remaining in the charts for twenty-eight weeks.<ref name="British Hit Singles & Albums">Template:Cite book</ref> Jill Saward (formerly of Fusion Orchestra, Brandy and Citizen Gang) became their sole lead singer to make Shakatak's fifth album, Down on the Street (1984).<ref name="allmusic">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

The band gained a huge popularity in Japan, were they released a series of largely instrumental albums such as Da Makani (1988) exclusively for the Japanese market.<ref name="allmusic" /> Manic & Cool, featuring the night club and chart hit "Mr Manic & Sister Cool" was released internationally in 1988.<ref name="allmusic" />

In the 1990s, the band achieved success in the US when their 1992 album Open Your Eyes went to No 1 in the contemporary jazz charts.<ref name="allmusic" /> The 1997 album Full Circle expanded their sound with hip hop-beats.<ref name="allmusic" />

Still active, the band has released and number of albums in the 2000s and celebrated their thirtieth anniversary year in 2010, marking the occasion with the release of the album Across the World the following year.<ref name="allmusic" />

Independent projectsEdit

Bassist George Anderson released his second solo album, Expressions, on 3 September 2012 through Secret Records. Coming three years after his first 2009 album Positivity, this album again had Anderson writing, arranging and producing all of the tracks. The albums Body and Soul (10 March 2017) and Songs From Tomorrow (5 March 2021) followed, again through Secret Records.

Keyboardist Bill Sharpe worked with American jazz pianist Don Grusin on a joint project called Geography released in 2007. Sharpe's second collaboration with Grusin, Trans Atlantica, was released on 3 September 2012. It was also issued through Secret Records, and included Geography as a special 2-CD package. On 23 February 2024 Leee John and Bill Sharpe released the album Intimate Glow.

Drummer Roger Odell has released three albums with his band Roger Odell's Beatifik: The Blue Window (2000, Passion Jazz), Intrigue (15 November 2015, Secret Records) and The Long Drive Home (2019, Secret Records as Beatifik). These albums feature Jacqui Hicks (lead vocals), saxophonist Mornington Lockett as well as Roger's wife Larraine Odell (vocals) and son Jamie Odell a.k.a. Jimpster (keyboards, vocals, producer).

PersonnelEdit

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Bill Sharpe
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Jill Saward
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George Anderson
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Roger Odell
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Debby Bracknell (Tour)

Current members

Jill Saward – vocals, percussion, flute (1980–present)<ref name="saward">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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Bill Sharpe – keyboards (1980–present)<ref name=sharpe>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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Roger Odell – drums (1980–present)<ref name=odell_1>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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Keith Winter – guitar, backing vocals (1980–1989, 2023–present)
George Anderson – bass (1981–present)<ref name=anderson>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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