Jean-Paul “Bluey” Maunick is the leader of Incognito, the multi-voice British R&B band. Though its first recording was an instrumental acid-jazz disc, subsequent releases featured a plethora of both male and female vocalists in a setting equal parts funk and R&B, influenced by jazz, Brazilian music and other groove-heavy genres.
Critics have called the music sleek and soulful, with grooving guitars and big horns, with a feisty mix of retro soul, brass, funk, and jazz. Today, with as many as a half dozen vocalists in the studio and onstage, the voices may be the focal point of Incognito, but the whole is greater than the sum of its many talented parts.
Like virtually every musician on the planet, Maunick and his cohorts were stymied by the novel coronavirus, snafuing any touring or performing. So he wrote a song celebrating the selfless work of the members of the UK’s National Health Service. Like other such efforts, the various parts were recorded by the band members in isolation, then both the audio and video were stitched together. But unlike many other such efforts, not only was the video for “We’re In This Thing Together” engaging, so was the song, as funky and grooving as anything Incognito has recorded.
Now Bluey Maunick is looking forward to hitting the stage again: “Going back on the road is essential to us. I do the projects so the band can earn money and stay alive. Gigs equal wages and feed our soul – and feeds other people.” He joined us to discuss a handful of career-turning albums:
MARVIN GAYE – WHAT’S GOING ON (1971): This is probably on your list – everybody’s list. This was long before One Nation Under a Groove. People everywhere have a right to life. The concerns of the Vietnam War. I was brought up in a home where I was told to be careful. It’s OK for me to stand up for others.
STEVIE WONDER – TALKING BOOK, INNERVISIONS, FULFILLINGNESS FIRST FINALE (1972-74): Take your pick. They’re all Top 3 (for me), all the voice that is Stevie. He knows no limits. These came to me as a trilogy, a body of work that is probably the most concise body of work. I like the growing aspect, the experimental aspect. Jeff Beck, his blues and soulfulness. For Stevie to make that connection – to me Jeff Beck is one of the most soulful guitarists in the world.
EARTH WIND AND FIRE – THAT’S THE WAY OF THE WORLD (1975): I saw Earth Wind and Fire in 1975. I knew nothing about them. I went to see Santana, I liked the rock/Latin feel. I was wearing my Abraxas T-shirt. Suddenly Earth Wind and Fire was on stage and left me gobsmacked for the entire show. I don’t think I closed my mouth. They planted the seed. My God, they were so exciting. Maurice White’s kalimba – it was otherworldly, mystical. I’m a very pragmatic bloke, and at that moment Earth Wind and Fire opened my mind to all possibilities. Growing up in England, [everyone] was playing Eric Clapton licks, Peter Green, Jeff Beck. To see these guys made me play what I’d play in my career, with horns, percussion. That recording opened me to do what I’m doing. Tower of Power, Average White Band – these bands were an education. I love it when we do a gig and the audience starts to dance. Then I’m doing my job. With Earth Wind and Fire, I was on my feet. I didn’t need them to tell me.
WHAT I’M LISTENING TO NOW: Everything. “I’m a DJ for Apple music with my own show. Every week, I have to find a balance.” Bluey then goes on to name everyone from Richard Bailey, Jeff Beck, the Delfonics and Fleetwood Mac to Tigran Hamsayan and STR4TA, a project between himself and Gilles Peterson. Seems Bluey is never at a loss for procuring or producing music.
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