Caution! Do not let yourself be deceived by the band name! The Souljazz Orchestra, from Ottawa, Canada, has existed since 2002 and plays neither soul nor jazz and is also a rather small orchestra for a sextet. The musicians, who grew up with the soul and jazz, started out as politically aware fans of funk, Nigerian and Rwandese Afrobeats and Latin rhythms. In 2007, the Canadians had an international club hit with “Mista President” and not only did Gilles Peterson become aware of them, but also opened the door to the sought after “Strut” label. A dream! Now the fans of analogously produced grooves have been label-mates with Ebo Taylor, Mulatu Astatke and Idris Ackamor & The Pyramids for years – and release albums t hugely successful worldwide like “Rising Sun”, “Solidarity” and most recently “Resistance”. They are always ready to expand their eclectic sound laboratory with new sounds like Ethio jazz, spiritual jazz, Caribbean-Cuban elements or grooves from Francophone Africa like Zouk or Coupé-Décalé.
