01. Down on the Street
02. Holding On
03. Summer Sky
04. Hypnotised
05. Don’t Blame It on Love
06. Photograph
07. Watching You
08. Fire Dance
09. Lady (To Billie Holiday)
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10. Down on the Street (Dance Mix)
11. Don’t Blame It on Love (Extended Mix)
12. Down on the Street (Extended Mix)
13. Holding on (Extended Mix)

Gill Saward - Vocals
Keith Winter - Guitar
George Anderson Junior - Bass Guitar
Bill Sharpe - Keyboards
Simon Morton - Percussion
Roger Odell - Drums
Chris White, Martin Dobson - Saxophone, Flute
Bill Eldridge, Stewart Brookes - Trumpet, Flugelhorn
Tracey Ackerman - Backing Vocals

Containing their last sizeable UK hit single (the title track peaked at No 17 in August 1984), Down On The Street was also Shakatak’s final Top 10 UK album and marked the start of a slide in the collective’s commercial fortunes. With radio programmers now largely ignoring the band’s output, this reissue comes as a refreshing excursion to that decade’s dancefloor, now largely remembered for brasher, more cutting-edge acts.

Ethereal, soprano-pitched vocals and melodic, jazz-influenced piano riffs are largely the order of the day here, so, even back then, Shakatak was considered something of an oddity in the pop charts, despite their enjoying six UK Top 40 hits over a three-year run. Reissued here with four bonus 12” mixes, including should-have-been-a-smash Don’t Blame It On Love, this is the latest in the act’s reissue programme and complements their continuing success on the touring circuit and the more recent On The Corner release. Nothing here will likely win any new converts, but this is a polished, hard-to-characterise collection that demonstrates why the band deserved its slice of mainstream success – and continues to find an audience to this day. --- recordcollectormag.com

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1 	To Be Loved 	
2 	Making My Dreams Come True 	
3 	Back To The Heart Of It 	
4 	Ready To Take A Chance
5 	High Town 	
6 	The Blue Zone
7 	Soul Paradise 	
8 	Love Light 	
9 	While The City Sleeps 	
10 	Kyoto Dreaming 	
11 	Forever Rio 	
12 	Breathe 	
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13 	Dance In Your Eyes 	
14 	Slinky

Backing Vocals – Debby Bracknell
Bass – George Anderson
Drums – Roger Odell
Guitar – Alan Wormald
Keyboards – Bill Sharpe, Jamie Odell
Saxophone – Derek Nash
Vocals, Lead Vocals – Jill Saward
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Trumpet – Till Brönner(4)
Vocals - Liane Carroll (6)

Great new album from Shakatak, quite how they manage to remain so prolific and produce a consistent quality of new material whilst combining recording with a hectic touring schedule never ceases to amaze me.

In the Blue Zone has a laid-back feel with lots of great solos and some adventurous vocal overdubs, Jill Saward is on fine form as ever, along with the rest of the band and guest musicians.

Two songs stand out for me - 'Dance In Your Eyes' which is a contemporary twist on their early 80s sound, and the radio-friendly 'Making My Dreams Come True', both of which should be on all soul/jazz radio station playlists.

A lovely album for chilling late at night, on a Sunday afternoon or any time at all. Not to be missed! ---In the Blue Zone, amazon.com

UK group Shakatak has recorded a number of top twenty singles and enjoyed a long career performing around the world, with regular stops in UK, Europe and the Far East. Because of the nature of their music, their fan base is one that is far reaching while always retaining an ‘underground element’. This paradox sees the band, who are known primarily as serious jazz/funk musicians, enjoying both high ‘cult’ status and instant recognition as a household name. ---thebeijinger.com

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01. I Will Be There [04:29]
02. Times And Places [04:16]
03. Check In [03:30]
04. Heads To The Sky [05:40]
05. Haunting [04:25]
06. Carry On [03:38]
07. Coralie [03:43]
08. Capetown [04:48]
09. Goodbye To The City [06:46]
10. Wonderful [04:29]
11. Sand And The Sea [04:26]
12. Open Skies [02:02]

13. How Do You Sleep At Night [03:51]
14. Mr. Fanatical [03:42]
15. Movin' On [03:37]

Jill Saward - Vocals
George Anderson - Bass
Bill Sharpe - Keyboards, Flute (13)
Roger Odell - Drums
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Alan Wormald - Guitars
Jacqui Hicks - Backing Vocals
Debby Bracknell - Backing Vocals
Derek Nash - Saxes
Ron Burgundy - Flute (8)
Jaime Lee - Spoken voice (4)

Shakatak have enjoyed a level of success and career longevity rarely paralleled in contemporary music but then Shakatak is a particularly unusual group. Because of the nature of their music their fan base is one that is far reaching while always retaining an “underground” element. This paradox sees the band, who are known primarily for their musicality, enjoying both high “cult” status and instant recognition as a household name due to their numerous hit recordings.

Recent festival performances include headlining at the Bratislava Jazz Day in October ’10 which was filmed for Slovakia NTV, the Kutchan Jazz Festival in Japan, the Hua Hin Jazz Festival in Thailand and the Cape Town International Jazz Festival. Previously the band played two headlining nights at Jakjazz, the Jakarta International Jazz Festival plus an appearance at the Bangkok International Jazz Festival. Shakatak have also played at the UK’s Wigan International Jazz Festival and the Midsummer Music @ Spencers Festival.

In the past 4 years the band have performed concert dates in the UK, Azerbaijan, Russia, Latvia, Lithuania, Bulgaria and Slovakia plus club dates at the prestigious Billboard, Blue Note & Cotton Clubs in Japan. Shakatak also headlined at the Penang Island Jazz Festival and played a concert date in Almaty, Kazakhstan.

In 2012 there were a number of headlining Shakatak dates in the UK supported by Alexander O’Neal & Aswad and in the summer the band played at both the Sapporo White Rock and Hayama Festivals in Japan. After further dates in the Tokyo and Osaka Billboard clubs they performed at a concert in Kaliningrad, Russia and in the Autumn/Winter period Shakatak played concert dates throughout the UK.

April 2013 saw the release of a new CD “Once Upon A Time – the Acoustic Sessions” on JVC Records and there were numerous UK dates with concerts in Keiv and tours of Japan in July and Germany in October. In 2014 the band released the CD “On The Corner” and toured in Mexico for the first time. There were various other tours around the world.

The latest album “Times & Places” is now available world-wide and during 2016 the band have toured in Holland, Germany, Lithuania, Japan, Bulgaria, Serbia, Mexico and throughout the UK.

Throughout their 31 year career Shakatak have released over 50 CDs plus 3 DVDs and most of the band’s extensive back catalogue is now available world-wide on iTunes.

For live performances the band consists of the four original members Bill Sharpe (keys), Jill Saward (lead voc, perc & flt), Roger Odell (drs) & George Anderson (bs gtr), augmented with a guitarist and a backing vocalist/saxophonist, producing a musically dynamic and entertaining show from the 6 piece line-up. --- shakatak.com

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Disc 1
01. Steppin' (Full Lenght Version) 5:53
02. Killing Time (Full Lenght Version) 5:31
03. Feels Like The Right Time (Full Lenght Version 4:50
04. Living In The UK (Full Lenght Mix)6:32
05. Espirrito (Full Lenght Mix)4:19
06. Brazilian Dawn 7:04
07. Easier Said Than Done (Special Mix Long Version 6:12
08. Night Birds 6:25
09. Streetwalkin' (Full Lenght Version)5:32
10. Go For It (Full Lenght Version) 6:54
11. Invitations 6:13
12. Stranger (Extended Version) 5:25
13. Dark Is The Night (Extended Version) 6:26

Disc 2
01. I Lose Myself (Remix)5:21
02. If You Could See Me Now 6:55
03. Fly The Wind (Remix) 4:19
04. Out Of This World (Extended Version) 5:48
05. Down On The Street (Dance Mix) 6:36
06. Don't Blame It On Love 4:39
07. If You Want My Love (Come And Get It)4:20
08. Watching You (Extended Version)6:38
09. Day By Day (Full Version)6:12
10. Don't Push Me 4:56
11. Something Special (Extended Club Version) 5:25
12. Mr Maniac And Sister Cool (Cool Mix) 6:37

Shakatak:
Bill Sharpe, George Anderson, Jill Saward, Roger Odell

Awesome funk from all eras of Shakatak's career! This double CD collects the extended 12" mixes for 25 of Shakatak's greatest hits, many of which are no longer available or extremely rare. --- mvdb2b.com

British jazz-funk combo Shakatak formed in London in 1980. Originally comprising keyboardists Bill Sharpe and Nigel Wright, guitarist Keith Winter, bassist Steve Underwood, and drummer Roger Odell, the group quickly scored an underground hit with its debut single "Steppin'," cracking the British Top 50 the following year with the singles "Livin' in the UK" and "Brazilian Dawn." Their debut LP, Drivin' Hard, was also well-received, and with the 1982 follow-up Nightbirds, Shakatak (which replaced Underwood with bassist George Anderson) scored their first Top 20 hit in "Easier Said Than Done"; the disc's title track also rocketed into the Top Ten. Nightbirds also introduced singer Jill Saward, who emerged as Shakatak's lead vocalist with the band's fifth album, 1984's Down on the Street, which notched the hit "Watching You"; 1985's Live preceded the release of the group's next studio effort, Day by Day. A series of largely instrumental albums including Into the Blue, Golden Wings, Da Makani, and Niteflite were then issued exclusively in Japan, where Shakatak enjoyed immense popularity; in the meanwhile, 1988's Manic and Cool was released internationally, highlighted by the singles "Mr. Manic and Sister Cool" and "Something Special." After 1992's Open Your Eyes topped Billboard's Contemporary Jazz chart, the band supported 1993's Street Level with a tour of South Africa, while the following year's Full Circle expanded into hip-hop beats. In 1997, Shakatak -- by then consisting of Sharpe, Odell, Saward, and Anderson -- resurfaced with Let the Piano Play, followed by both Let the Music Play and Magic in 1999, and Under Your Spell in 2002. --- Jason Ankeny, Rovi

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