01-Oct-2020 | Jersey Street - Love Rising Up

Jersey Street - Love Rising Up

Ubuntu Music is proud to present an album of incendiary new music from Manchester band Jersey Street: a 9-piece powerhouse led by eminent vocalist Dawn Zee and multi-instrumentalist producers Neil Reid and Matt Steele, alongside a collective of highly skilled musicians who have for many years been the ‘go to’ players for a wide range of internationally renowned creative projects.

Individual accolades include Matt Steele’s 17-year stint as long-standing keyboard player for Brit-Funk icons The Brand New Heavies, as well as being an integral live touring member of post-punk stalwarts A Certain Ratio, gaining songwriting credits for the likes of Angie Stone and Siedah Garrett along the way. Dawn Zee, who has been compared with the likes of Erykah Badu, Jill Scott and Lauren Hill, is best known for providing lead female vocals for the legendary New Order, most prominently lending her harmonic excellence to their worldwide hit ‘Crystal’. Founding member Neil Reid has carved a respected path between the worlds ofDeep House and Nu-jazz, working with luminaries including Larry Heard and releasing music on leading labels such as Defected, Junior Boys Own and Hed Kandi.

Rounding off the roster are some of the UK’s best jazz and funk musicians, whose playing captures the energy of Jersey Street’s live shows and the true essence of the group’s powerful and impressive sound. Names such as Steve Washington (Hugh Masekela), Dan Carpenter (Incognito, Chaka Khan), Mike Wilson (Lianne La Havas), Errol Rollins (The Human League, Corrine Bailey Rae) The Haggis Horns (Amy Winehouse, Mark Ronson) and Jasper Wilkinson (Young Jazz Composer Of The Year) cement Jersey Street’s reputation as an unstoppable force to be reckoned with.

Co-founder Dawn Zee says: “We began this process a couple of years ago as something very pure, based on the desire to make the record that we’d always wanted to, musically and sonically, without any reference to anything apart from our own taste. It ended up sounding better than we could have imagined, probably because of that very approach. It’s heavily song-based and draws on a wide range of influences. We’ve got some wonderful musicians on the album and we wanted to give all the players the freedom to bring their own vision of how it should sound. We’re really proud of it, and we hope it can bring a bit of happiness to all our fans and listeners. Hope everyone is irie. Stay blessed Xx.”

Jersey Street have undoubtedly made a huge contribution to the global success of every project that they have been involved in and continue to make a uniquecontribution to Manchester’s musical legacy. Now with Love Rising Up, the group are ready for their turn in the limelight, with a new body of work that perfectly showcases their energy, skill and quality. The jazz-funk album release of the year has arrived!