RedazioneOne of the most beautiful surf spots in the southwestern Algarve is the beloved beach of Zavial. Not far from the recording studio of the Bahama Soul Club. Giant waves are given and the breathtaking pictures of the tough wave riders are never out of your mind.
‘Surfing Zavial‘ is the soundtrack to one of these dynamic surf sessions and musically illustrates the magical co-play of surfers, waves, boards and sunshine. A driving Bossa with a daredevil surfing alto sax.
A charged field of pure energy and chilled company. Close your eyes and you have the full scenery in a flash. The song is dedicated to a lax collective of cool surfer dudes at the beaches of the Algarve and the funny people around.
The Bahama Soul Club are a German-based group whose unique blend of soul, jazz, funk, bossa nova, afro and Caribbean influences has firmly put them on the map of the black music scene as one of the most exciting contemporary outfits.
The band led by Oliver Belz started in 2005 under the former name of The Juju Orchestra. The first single releases became a huge worldwide success, going straight to N.1 on the German Club Charts and staying there for more than 12 weeks. The album “Bossa Nova Is Not A Crime” with guest vocals from soul-jazz crooner Terry Callier RIP and Carolyn Leonhart from Steely Dan was released in 2007 and became a smash hit in the worldwide club jazz scene and again reached the official media control Jazz Charts #2.
In 2008 the band’s name was changed to Bahama Soul Club and their first album “Rhythm Is What Makes Jazz Jazz” amazingly following up on the outstanding success of The Juju Orchestra. They hit the mark once again with guests like Isabelle Antena from Nouvelle Vague and Mrs. Pat Appleton from DePhazz, with whom they also established a 9-piece live orchestra and played all famous jazz festivals elsewhere in Europe.
2010 marks the release of the second Bahama Soul Club album, “Bossa Nova Just Smells Funky” with guest singers Xantoné Blacq from Amy Winehouse Band, British shooting star John Turrell, Kojato and again Pat Appleton, just to name a few. It soon became the band’s biggest success with radio features on ALL German public radio stations and countless “CD of the month” / “Album of the year” features worldwide, along with many Chart entries. With this album BSC became one of the most important contemporary European Jazz projects and were finally invited to the big German Groove Festival in Sao Paulo/Brazil.
2013 sees the band release their third album, “The Cuban Tapes”, an exotic blend of Cuban rhythms and tropical flavors executed with the trademark Bahama Soul Club style. This full-length once again features a host of talented vocal guests such as Danay Suarez, Arema Arega & Telmary Diaz from the contemporary Cuban scene, 3 generations of american soul singers Bessie Smith, Spanky Wilson and Ruthie Foster, and Anna Luca from Club Des Belugas. It’s the most successful album today with 25.000.000 streams on Spotify.
2015 the track „Kind Of Latin Rhythm“ was placed in a Hollywood movie with George Clooney and Sandra Bullock.
In 2016 they delivered the 4th full-length: “Havana ’58″: A homage dedicated to Cuba’s roaring years before the revolution. An huge release, critically acclaimed worldwide and featuring Cuban singer Sexto Sentido, Arema Arega, Olvido Ruiz and the famous Brenda Boykin.
2017 bandleader Oliver ‘The Uncle‘ Belz moved to Portugal’s south coast and started working in the tranquil and inspiring environment of their new Portuguese recording studio located in an idyllic Algarvian countryside setting between Lagos and Sagres.
2020, now 4 albums deep and with fans worldwide clamoring for more, the time had come for the 5th full-length, which Bahama Soul Club promptly deliver in the form of “Bohemia After Dawn″. The soundtrack of a lifestyle compiled in 12 sun-soaked songs, recorded at the band’s new residence in Algarve, Portugal.
Again no compromises with guest singers. They had John Lee Hooker, Billie Holiday, Sister Wynona Carr, Arema Arega and also an eclectic selection of local talent with Portuguese artists Josephine Nightingale, Taly Minkov-Louzeiro, Mr. Cutty Wren and Hedvig Larsson. Artist friends from the neighborhood, quite literally across the lane. What a blessing, what a discovery!
With today 60 Million streams on Spotify, there is no doubt Bahama Soul Club are officially claiming their rightful spot at the forefront of the international club jazz scene for many years to come!
So what’s the difference between BSC and other Nu-, Latin-, Bossa-, or whatever Jazz projects? Bahama Soul Club is better! Simply put, it’s an original combination of afrolicious Bossa-Jazz with 60s Soul and 70s Funk. The positive vibes and contagious rhythms transcend boundaries, language and race, for a timeless sound that nobody can resist!
