The Souljazz Orchestra

A multi-cultural, high-energy collective from Ottawa, Ontario, the Souljazz Orchestra — featuring keyboardist Pierre Chrétien, alto saxophonist Zakari Frantz, baritone saxophonist Ray Murray, tenor saxophonist Steve Patterson, and percussionist Marielle Rivard, all of whom are also vocalists — took root in 2002 and debuted with a fully developed sound that fused Latin and African jazz, funk, and Afro-Beat. The group’s first album was Uprooted, released in 2005 on the Funk Manchu label, but it was the overtly political 2006 single “Mista President,” off second album Freedom No Go Die (Do Right!), that really increased their audience, voted to the number nine spot in the 2006 Top 30 of BBC DJ Gilles Peterson's Worldwide program. Manifesto, the third Souljazz Orchestra album, was released in 2008. Two years later, they moved to the higher-profile Strut label for Rising Sun, another Peterson favorite.