Jamiroquai
| On Monday 18th June four of the pivotal members of funk band Jamiroquai hosted a very special masterclass for the Institute and Music Man! |  |
Paul Turner (Bass), Derrick McKenzie (Drums) Sola Akingbola (percussion) and Rob Harris (Guitar) performed a very special gig at the Luminaire which also featured the Institute's very own vocal tutor Susan Blair!
Paul Turner
Paul Turner, bass player and newest member of Jamiroquai joined the band in April 2005. Born in Sunderland, England, he's been a full time professional musician since 1987. After auditioning with the band earlier in the year, Jay offered Paul the gig.
Before joining Jamiroquai Paul spent two years recording and touring the world with Annie Lennox. He's also played gigs with Omar, Mica Paris and urban jazz funk band "Down To The Bone", which has had great success in the States.
Derrick McKenzie
Lynchpin band member and drummer supreme Derrick McKenzie joined the band in 1994 for the recording of Jamiroquai's sophomore album Return Of The Space Cowboy. Derrick was born on 27th March 1964, with drumming in his blood. After a succession of jobs to support his drumming, Derrick became a full time and sought after session drummer with bands such as Urban Species. When Jay was looking for a drummer in 1994 he knew straight away that Derrick was the man. Influenced by classic soul artists like Patrice Rushen, virtuoso musicians like Prince and his drumming hero Billy Cobham, Derrick fitted right in to the Jamiroquai family. His favourite Jamiroquai show so far has been Wembley Arena 1999 and visiting Buenos Aires with the band in 1997 was also one of the highpoints of his career.
Rob Harris
Rob Harris joined as guitarist of Jamiroquai in 2000. Born 27th August 1971 in Cambridgeshire, he started playing at the tender age of 7. He quickly mastered acoustic and electric guitar and was inspired to become a musician whilst listening to The Beatles. Rob has been playing professionally since he was 21 (the same year he married his wife Stephanie) and has toured with many artists. His main musical influences are The Crusaders, and George Benson amongst others, but the biggest inspiration for him was Jimi Hendrix. When Rob was brought in to audition for Jamiroquai, he sat up until the early hours every night beforehand learning all the old Jamiroquai tracks. Impressed by his talent and getting on with him really well from the outset, Jay asked Rob to join the Jamiroquai family permanently and they soon started work recording A Funk Odyssey.
Sola Akingbola
Sola joined Jamiroquai in 1995 as percussionist. Born in 1965, Sola only really started to take his percussion playing seriously some 10 years ago having spent his time before that DJ-ing around London's funkier clubs. Sola was born in Nigeria and came to the UK with his parents as a young child. He has now raised his own family here in London. Africa and African music is still a very strong influence in his life - the Nigerian language itself has an intrinsically musical and rhythmic feel. Sola aspires to musical excellence like his hero Miles Davis, but his tastes are wide, ranging from Earth Wind and Fire to classical composers like Bartok. Having played percussion with artists such as jazz guitarist Ronnie Jordan, Sola met Derrick and was soon asked by Jay to join Jamiroquai. His work on stage with the band is awesome to behold and his percussive licks and vibes can also be heard on both Travelling Without Moving and Synkronized.
