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Incognito
From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist
Incognito is a British band from London that counts as acid jazz. The group was founded around 1979 by Jean-Paul Bluey Maunick and Paul Tubbs Williams, as an offshoot of the funk band Light of the World. Maunick is the constant frontman: guitarist, singer, composer and producer. The debut album Jazz Funk appeared in 1981. The idea behind the group was a formation that combines jazz, soul and funk, with changing musicians and above all changing singers.
Music and breakthrough
The breakthrough came in 1991 with Always There, an adaptation of a song by Ronnie Laws from 1975, sung by Jocelyn Brown. It was a hit in the United Kingdom and was also important for the label Talkin' Loud. In 1992 followed a version of Don't You Worry 'bout a Thing. In the Netherlands Always There reached the Top 40. Among the male and female singers who have worked with the band are Carleen Anderson, Maysa Leak, Imaani and Tony Momrelle. In 1994 the band contributed to the album Stolen Moments: Red Hot + Cool, which raised money to fight AIDS. The song Need to Know is the theme tune of the news programme Democracy Now!
Influence
Incognito's music sounds warm and danceable, with horns, tight bass lines and a supple vocal part. Remixers such as Masters at Work, David Morales and Jazzanova liked working with the material. In 2021 an expanded reissue of Jazz Funk appeared to mark the fortieth anniversary.
Listening
Discography
Studio albums
- 1981Jazz Funk
- 1991Inside Life
- 1992Tribes, Vibes and Scribes
- 1993Positivity
- 1995100° and Rising
- 1996Beneath the Surface
- 1999No Time Like the Future
- 2001Life, Stranger Than Fiction
- 2002Who Needs Love
- 2004Adventures in Black Sunshine
- 2005Eleven
- 2006Bees + Things + Flowers
- 2008Tales From the Beach
- 2009Upward Mobility
- 2010Transatlantic R.P.M.
- 2012Hop to It
- 2012Some Like It Hot
- 2012Surreal
- 2014Amplified Soul
- 2016In Search of Better Days
- 2019Tomorrow’s New Dream
- 2023Into You
- 2025Music. Magic. Ironic.
In School of Rock
The chapters, maps and magazine stories of School of Rock are currently available in Dutch only.
- After Hours: Session 4NL Reader
Mentioned in other articles
- Acid jazz Genre
Around those labels bands formed that played real instruments in the spirit of the old records: The Brand New Heavies, Galliano, Young Disciples, Incognito and Jamiroquai, whose first single appeared on Acid Jazz in 1992.