Song:Always There
Album:20th Century Masters: The Millennium Collection: The Best Of Incognito
If you are a fan of R&B and funk, Incognito may be the best band you never heard of. They have been successful mostly in their native England. Always There was their breakthrough hit in 1991. Incognito leader Jean-Paul "Bluey" Maunick and Paul "Tubbs" Williams were members of the 70s band Light of the World. They had success in England especially with their 1980 cover of I Shot The Sherriff. The band split and Maunick and Williams recorded an album as Incognito in 1981. For the rest of the 80s, Maunick concentrated on producing, most significantly Maxi Priest. In 1990, he decides to restart Incognito. This is around the time Acid Jazz was beginning in London clubs. DJ Gilles Peterson started Talkin' Loud Records with Polygram distribution. Incognito was one of his first signings. Inside Life was their first album in 1991. Maunick is the main producer. Many musicians have gone through Incognito. He also uses a lot of guest singers. The guest singer on Always There is veteran session singer Jocelyn Brown. She started out as lead singer of Musique (In The Bush-1978). But she does a lot of guest shots for Inner Life, Cerrone and many others. Jocelyn is from North Carolina but she has lived in England since 1980. Always There was written and first recorded in 1975 by sax player and smooth jazz pioneer Ronnie Laws and Side Effect scored a dance hit with their 1976 cover. Incognito's cover was a dance hit across Europe. Since then, Incognito has released many albums with plenty of guest singers, most significantly Maysa Leak. This budget comp is a good intro to Incognito's music. Incognito's latest CD In Search Of Better Days was released in 2016 on the German label Ear Music and on Shanachie in the US. They are always on tour so check them out if they are coming your way. Here's the video for Always There by Incognito featuring Jocelyn Brown.
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