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robotscantadlib
Joined: 28 May 2005
Posts: 242
Location: san francisco
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 Posted: Thu Apr 30, 2009 02:07 |
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| teecheedeedee wrote: |
Jay is an excellent showman and band leader, but as to his singing talent... I think thats debatable. He certainly doesnt have an unpleasant voice, but it seems that in concerts especially his notes are often off.
I've pretty much just commited jamiroquai heresy, so I'll see what others have to say.  .
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I think it's fair to say that after the TWM tour things got a bit hairy in terms of Jay's vocals because his drug use and smoking began to catch up with him, as well as his style of singing, which can be damaging to the voice. I think it became noticeable during the AFO/Dynamite tours. Sounding a little smoother these days.
Before that, he was 99% spot on..Half the Man at Paradiso '94, for instance, is absolutely amazing. And yes, singing while dancing around and being out of breath while is very tough. |
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manub
Joined: 08 May 2009
Posts: 100
Location: Rome, Italy
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| Posted: Fri May 08, 2009 10:36 |
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Stuart Zender.
Pure genius. I still can't believe that he recorded EOPE when he was only 17 and playin' for less than 2 years. I read somewhere that sometimes Jay told him what to do on bass but... he cannot told him how to hold the groove. And Stu did it. Perfectly.
(ok, you can tell me I'm a bass player... and it's true, but these are only my 2 cents).
Apart Stu, I also like a lot the live work of Simon. He really got the funk!
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Vintage73
Joined: 17 Dec 2009
Posts: 169
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| Posted: Fri Oct 29, 2010 21:50 |
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Toby Smith definitely.
People keep giving credits for zender on the "jamiroquai classic sound", yet don´t realize that was 90% Toby Smith plus 10% of jay and zender under the influence of toby smith.
The jamiroquai writing process was always the same: toby created the "body" of nearly all the songs, jay sang over it and stu puted a bass line. And to finalize, some funky guitar and the horns and flutes for the transitions.
So toby was the "creator" of the sound and jay and zender were somehow good "fillers". I am not saying these 2 bandmembers were essential in the way the band sounded, but it is very easy for you to design something over a great sound already created than creating something from zero.
Adding to the fact of him being the main creator, the simple and stylish way he played the rhodes and his taste for synths was another huge factor for that sound.
I am absolutely convinced Toby Smith was jamiroquai. |
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John Doggett
Joined: 22 Jan 2010
Posts: 545
Location: France
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| Posted: Mon Nov 29, 2010 23:46 |
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Definitely Jason Kay.
The Boss, The Brain, The Soul, The Creator of the band.
Toby Smith was genius but check what the hell he's been doing with the Hoosiers (Where's the Toby's groove?  )
and I highly doubt about his 90% influence on Jamiroquai!40% is more reasonable (45% Jay and 15% the others: its the ratio on all 3 first Jamiroquai album).
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FunkyVibes
Joined: 28 Oct 2009
Posts: 364
Location: Eugene, Oregon
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| Posted: Tue Nov 30, 2010 01:21 |
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Toby Smith
He was the master craftsman of jamiroquai's music. Stu's departure is important to fans, because by removing himself from the band, Zender upset the delicate balance of jamiroquai. If you take one ingredient out of a recipe, the end result will never be the same as the original.
And now JK had to make an entirely new recipe for jamiroquai to work.
Oh well, life goes on. |
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Jamirocat
Joined: 29 Feb 2004
Posts: 282
Location: deeper underground
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| Posted: Wed Jun 29, 2011 05:15 |
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Did you mean our favorite member other than Jay? His voice is what drew me to the band in the first place. |
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ophone
Joined: 31 May 2005
Posts: 2191
Location: Lëtzebuerg
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| Posted: Wed Jun 29, 2011 12:07 |
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Derrick McKenzie!
Not that I dislike the other bandmembers, but it's with Derrick I had the longest chats so far!
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Funk Fiction
Joined: 07 Nov 2010
Posts: 128
Location: Los Angeles, CA
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| Posted: Sat Aug 27, 2011 00:19 |
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I have to agree with those behind Toby. Jay may be the voice and surface melody of Jamiroquai, but Toby is the music of Jamiroquai. He practically did the arrangement for everything. All of the chords, rhythmic accents, non-vocal melodies/secondary melodies (and i bet even writing melodies to some of jay's lyrics), and the overall body of all Jamiroquai songs are results of Toby's genius.
Jay NEEDED Toby and Jamiroquai would never have been without him. Toby's knowledge of the keyboard, jazz harmony, clever songwriting, analog synths and how to use them in the most funky/charming manner, along with his held-back/non-overpowring style and tasteful fills/inputs are a colossally integral part of Jamiroquai. Jay is the front image, the surface, the cherry on top, and of course... his voice/singing/attitude/melodies are perhaps the MAIN ingredient, which is arguably just as important.
But it's like talking about the ingredients of a cake. Jay would be the "sugar" ingredient as sugar is the main ingredient of a cake, but you need flour, eggs, etc... Toby was essentially the real deal. It's nuts how much respect I have for Toby and how illustrious he has become now that he isn't with JMQ anymore and taking a backseat as a producer for a pop/rock band.
Stu is easily the 2nd most important bandmember after Toby. Jamrioquai is and has always been super BASS DRIVEN. In fact, all you need for some genuine funk is a drum beat with a groovin' bass line. Stu always, ALWAYS delivered the funkiest and tastiest bass grooves. He immediately had his own distinct sound and was the supporting foundation of all the songs. Bass drives all music and without the bass, the harmony becomes ambiguous and the melody becomes less defined. Therefore, most expert musicians would unanimously credit the bass as the most integral part of any ensemble... the bass is in charge.
3rd I love Simon Katz. Everyone here has already mentioned great things about him which I agree with. His laid-back style perfectly and snugly fit the small, otherwise empty pockets of JMQ music.
4th is a tie with Wallis and D-Zire. Those guys could arguably be considered the most "signature" sound of Jamiroquai. Didgeridoo and scratching??! That IS Jamiroquai innovation and pioneering right there! No band has ever had such a spicy combination! I totally love their cover of Roy Ayers' "Our Time Is Coming" on Funky Paradise.
5th is a tie with Derrick and Sola. Derrick is a masterful drummer and underrated in the mainstream world (I'm assuming). He is so in the pocket and precise.. If I dare say kind of a new almost as good version as Billy Cobham. Sola's percussion just fit with Jamiroquai so much.. he seemed to have an immediate, natural and magical understanding of their sound.
Core Jamiroquai, I think it's widely accepted that it's Jay, Toby, and Stu. Those 3 guys... that's it.. THAT is Jamiroquai.. at least in the most true sense. Sure Jay created the name and concept but the fruition of that concept is largely owed to those 2 other guys... moreso Toby.
You'd have an authentic Jamiroquai experience with just those 3 and some decent funk drummer and guitarist... although I prefer Derrick and Simon to be those extras. 
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Guly from Argentina
Joined: 04 Jan 2007
Posts: 632
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| Posted: Tue Nov 15, 2011 15:23 |
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Jay & Stu |
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funk4
Joined: 25 Aug 2010
Posts: 130
Location: Antwerp, Belgium
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| Posted: Fri Nov 25, 2011 08:48 |
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I think Jay doesn't get enough credit in this topic. I was thinking, of all the JMQ-covers you can hear on youtube, not one of all those singers can sing a Jamiroquai-song properly. It is almost impossible to hit the notes like Jay does (or did  ). All those singers sing either very bad or sound very "gay" because they have to try too hard(if u know what I mean).
His unique voice-sound, his dancing skills, his charisma and his true feeling for funk make him one of the best frontmen in the world. Of course, he is nothing without good musicians behind him, but that's quite logical. Neither was James Brown, Michael Jackson and so on.
A frontman like Jay Kay is very rare these days, and I'm very happy he is still leading the band after all these years. |
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Guly from Argentina
Joined: 04 Jan 2007
Posts: 632
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| Posted: Fri Nov 25, 2011 09:12 |
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| funk4 wrote: |
| I think Jay doesn't get enough credit in this topic. I was thinking, of all the JMQ-covers you can hear on youtube, not one of all those singers can sing a Jamiroquai-song properly. It is almost impossible to hit the notes like Jay does (or did ). All those singers sing either very bad or sound very "gay" because they have to try too hard(if u know what I mean). |
Well, In the case of a cover, I always said that If a band want to play a cover, they have to make it in their own form, not "trying" to copy every sound or the voice. So, It always happen that when you listen to a cover that is a bit different from the original version Is better that If you listen to one which just try to imitate it. A cover with your own music creativity, that's a real cover for me... |
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