| |
This text will be replaced by the flash music player.
The Skamonics are a seven strong London band of jazz musicians who play ska, and ska musicians who can play jazz. With an irreverent repertoire and a proven ability to fill dance floors across the capital their musical roots go back to the birth of ska.
You can hear tracks from the Skamonics first cd Hello Pork Pie Hat on the player on this page. or buy a copy.
When Jamaica's sound system owners wanted to end their reliance on US imports in the 1960s they turned to the island’s jazz musicians. From a blend of New Orleans rhythm and blues, mento - Jamaica's own calypso style, Rastafarian drumming and the musicians’ own jazz and swing roots came forth ska.
The unique combination of offbeat guitar chops - the ska - and a driving drum rhythm could take almost any tune and use it fill to fill a dance floor.
The pioneers of ska were a horn-led instrumental band - the Skatalites. They wrote their own tunes, reworked jazz standards, borrowed pop songs and even raided the classical repertoire. Anything was fair game.
The Skamonics fast-forward the same attitude 45 years. They play some of the classic ska tunes - such as The Guns of Navarone - and season them with two-tone favourites from Britain’s 1980s ska revival - such as an instrumental version of Gangsters.
But they have the advantage of 45 extra years of popular music to raid, ensuring that they are no simple 60s tribute band.
So alongside the ska evergreens such as Chinatown, Man in the Street and Alley Cat Ska, all originally recorded by the Skatalites, you may hear covers ranging from Kratftwerk's The Model to Fly me to the Moon, from Tainted Love to Gary Numan's Cars.
The Skamonics were formed by pianist Leo Hornak in 2005 and have gigged across London at venues such as the 100 Club, Gaz's Rockin' Blues, a regular spot at Ginglik and the Borderline. (Leo has since moved to India - where he has already made his mark as a member of the band winning South India's version of Pop Idol.)
With members from their 20s to their 50s the Skamonics can draw on a wide range of influences and experience, and have got audiences from West End clubs to East End pubs, summer festival stages to private functions on their feet.
The Skamonics appeal is the same that first filled 1960s Jamaican dance floors – a driving rhythm section underneath, with tight arrangements, thrilling horns and quality improvisation on top.