The James Taylor Quartet have set the standard for funky acid jazz and are largely responsible for the resurgence of the Hammond B3 in popular music. Their strong reputation as a live band remains to this day and their live sets focus on accessible rhythm-driven music, including plenty of improvised solos.
The James Taylor Quartet’s first single, Blow-Up (a funked-up version of Herbie Hancock’s main theme from the seminal 1960s film of the same name), was released in 1987 on the Re Elect The President label, which later became the Acid Jazz label. The track was championed by the NME and John Peel, appearing in Peel’s Festive Fifty chart for 1987.
The band’s debut Mission Impossible (1987) followed and predominantly comprised covers of 1960s film themes such as “Alfie”, “Mrs. Robinson” and “Goldfinger” in a rough, up-tempo, almost punk-like style, that was primarily focused on Taylor’s Hammond organ playing. Their second album, The Money Spyder (1987), was the soundtrack to an imaginary spy film, applying the band’s distinctive style to Taylor’s own compositions.
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