James Taylor Quartet Returns With People Get Ready (We’re Moving On)

A bona fide legend of the acid jazz and jazz funk scene, James Taylor returns with a stunning new James Taylor Quartet record, People Get Ready (We’re Moving On). An absolute sonic marvel of a record, particularly when listening on vinyl, it ties together the effortless melodic funk of the quartet, the fullness of sound that only an orchestra can bring, high quality commercial song-writing and the staggering vocal talents of Noel McKoy and Natalie Williams. Undoubtedly one of the best sounding records of 2020.

In the Artist’s words: – “Along with a desire to develop the breakthrough sound of JTQ + orchestra debuted on Soundtrack of Electric Black, I also wanted to make a record to showcase outstanding soul voices. Reaching back and re-examining the crossover work I did thirty years ago with the UK’s finest soul singer Noel McKoy, combined with the discovery of the stunning soulful vocal talent in the form of Natalie Williams,  I was drawn to write a funk vocal album for these outstanding voices, but now incorporating these new orchestral ideas.

With JTQ still gigging heavily, we have developed our sound and matured to become rhythmically stronger than ever. Coupling this with the supercharged support of Audio Network which gave us access to Abbey Road Studios, we had the perfect recipe for creating something special. I hope you enjoy this album half as much as we did making it! People….Get Ready….We’ve moved on!“ ~ James Taylor, 2020 

A British jazz funk icon and renowned for his Hammond organ sound, James Taylor recorded this “dream project” at London’s Abbey Road Studios with a string orchestra and two UK soul sensations in Natalie and Noel, the latter with who he previously worked when helping to carve out the Acid Jazz sound back in the early 1990s. For those of you hearing James Taylor Quartet for the first time, his career as JTQ  – of which the group is most fondly known – dates back to the late ’80s. Take a quick glance at the labels he’s recorded for – Gearbox, Acid Jazz, Ubiquity, Freestyle Records and Record Kicks – some of the most revered in the wider jazz and funk categories, and it gives you an idea of the level of respect he has garnered over a career that places him in a category all of his own.