GROOVE COLLECTIVE - For more than 15 years, this legendary group of musicians has improvised and refined he fusion of funk, jazz, house, Latin, hip hop, rock and every party-inducing sound in between. Their 2007 Grammy nomination for “Best Contemporary Jazz Album” is an acknowledgement of the band's pioneering sound. The members of Groove Collective are fluent in the international language of “groove,” and transcend musical category with one goal in mind: to move listeners' minds and feet.

Billboard Magazine says that they “erase musical borders” and are “jazz/funk fusion at its most sublime.”

“Impressive” does not adequately describe Groove Collective's accolades. They have toured Japan with BB King, Europe with Fred Wesley, Canada with the Dave Matthews Band, and recorded with Grammy winning Cuban pianist Chucho Valdez.

The have backed the likes of Tupac Shakur (voted #2 all time live Hip Hop performance on MTV), Morcheeba, Don Cherry, Pharcyde and Natalie Merchant, and shared stages with some of the biggest names in music, including James Brown, Maceo Parker, Erykah Badu, Tito Puente, Issac Hayes, The Roots, Dave Matthews, Guru, Widespread Panic, Ben Harper, Bela Fleck, Roy Hargrove, Michael Franti, Hiram Bullock, and the list goes on. They have spread their New York City vibe across the globe, performed in over 25 countries, and made special stops at Switzerland's Montreaux Jazz Festival, the Netherland's North Sea Jazz Festival, Newport Jazz Japan, New Orleans' Jazz Fest, and New York's own JVC Jazz Fest.

Groove Collective's impressive history began in the early 1990's as they fueled the growth of New York City's acid-jazz scene. They quickly became a staple of a budding underground club scene known for pairing DJs with live performers. This groundbreaking enterprise was run under the media and event production mogul that would eventually become Giant Step. Groove Collective crafted and popularized the fusion of jazz and funk, pioneering what is now referred to globally as “groove” music. Jon Pareles of The New  York Times says, “Groove Collective's identity lies not in one fixed style, but in its capable hospitality to whatever might keep hips swaying.”

Groove Collective is:
Jay Rodriquez (saxophones, flutes, bass, clarinet) Genji Siraisi (drums, programming, vocals) Curtis Fowlkes, (trombone)
Chris "Ifátóyè" Theberge, (congas, bata drums, percussion),
Barney McAll, (Fender Rhodes, ynthesizers, piano),
Jonathan Maron (bass)