|
 |
|
The band
|
|
Incognito, pronounced in-cog-neee-toe, means something that is unknown; something with a disguised identity. And today it doesn't seem like a chance that Bluey once picked that name for his musical project. Incognito is like a big family of musicians, lead by the little man in blue...
If you are interested, you can get a complete record-by-record listing of the appearing musicians.
Not much is known about Incognito, but I've tried to gather the things I know about them. If you have any additional information that you would like to share, please send it to me! Anyway, here goes...
 Jean-Paul 'Bluey' Manunick
(Writing, Guitars, Keyboards, Vocals)
Bluey founded Incognito more than 15 years ago, and he has written, or co-written most of their songs. But he does not only write and play, he also helps Simon with mixing and recording. Bluey was born on Mauritius, hence his French name. He got his nickname in school, after his parents moved to London. Not many people might have recognised that Bluey actually sang lead vocals back in 1991 on 'Inside life'!
 Maysa Leak
(Vocals)
From the age of three, Maysa demanded to 'perform' for family and friends much to her mother's initial consternation. It was her grandmother who said stoutly, "Let her sing. She's going to be a singer anyhow." Previously, she has worked as a background singer together with, among others, Stevie Wonder. And it was also with the old classic "Don't you worry 'bout a thing", that Maysa and Incognito made history, in one of their perhaps most played songs. Born and raised in Baltimore, Maryland, now living in London, Maysa is a very talanted singer, mixing soul, jazz and a hint of blues in her very own way. In 1995, she left the band to release her solo album, on which she co-wrote several of the songs. Her resignation from Incognito shook the fans around the world. But in early 1996, Bluey announced that the new album would feature Maysa on vocals, and the world was happy again! :-)
 Peter Hinds
(Keyboards, Writing)
Peter is a close friend of Bluey and has been involved with Incognito since the making of 'Jazz Funk', back in 1980. He even calls Incognito "his family"! Unfortunately, he was not able to work as much with Incognito in the making of the new album, due to the fact that he also played with Desree on her tour.
Simon Cotsworth
(Recording/Mixing engineering, Programming)
Simon was "discovered" by Bluey in 1990 and has been working with Incognito ever since. Even though Incognito is his favorite band, he also helps other artists with recording and mixing, for instance R. Kelly, INXS, Jodeci, Whitney Houston etc. He loves to work, but every now and then, he likes to take a break and go away somewhere for vacation. Not surprisingly, Simon is responsible for much of Incognito's sound. Normally, Bluey and Simon work together after recording is done, to polish the songs. But it is interesting to note that Simon, alone, did the mixing of their latest record, 'Beneath the surface'!
 Randy Hope-Taylor
(Bass, Writing)
Randy began playing drums, but switched to guitar after a while, and ultimately picked up bass at a pretty late 21 years old. He has had no
formal musical training, which is to say he's playing by ear and feel. He
plays Moon basses, which are customized, handmade Japanese Fender Jazz style basses. Although he was once spotted changing to a Yamaha TRB5 string to play "Don't you worry 'bout a thing" live :-)
 Avi Leibovich
(Trombone)
 Christopher Ballin
(Vocals)
Chris was on tour already in '95 although he didn't sing on '100 and rising'. He also has his solo album out, called 'Do it right'. As you should know his voice is amazing and he was compared to Barry White and Luther Vandross (and in his earlier day to the young Stevie Wonder!). Another interesting fact is that Imani (who sings lead and background on the new album), is his nice (daughter of his eldest brother)!
 Alexander Pope Norris
(Trumpet, Flugel horn)
Alex comes from New York and got to know Bluey because of Bluey's girlfriend, who knew somebody who knew someone who knew Alex... or something like that! He is a close friend of Avi's, back to the time when they were flatmates in NY. He already played in different jazz projects and would like to do his own music sometime in the future.
 Ed Jones
(Saxophone)
 Imani
(Vocals)
...and some more musicians that I don't have photos of...
Fayyaz Virji (Trombone),
Thomas Dyani (Percussion),
Patric Clahar (Saxophone),
Richard Bull (Writing, Programming, Keyboards),
Maxton Beesly Jr. (Percussion),
Julian Crampton (Bass, Writing),
Andy Gangadeen (Drums),
Gary Sanctuary (Keyboards, Programming)
Kevin Robinson (Trumpet, Flugel horn)...
|
|
Graham Harvey
Richard Bailey
Chris DeMargary