Photo Courtesy of myspace.com/helenrogersmusic

Life After "The Jazzmasters"

Longtime Lead Singer Helen Rogers Explores New Musical Ventures Out On Her Own

by Mike James
smoothjazzandmore.com

May 15th, 2009

Her voice is synonymous with a sound that personifies smooth jazz. 

Helen Rogers enjoyed success as the lead singer of the hugely popular smooth jazz group, “The Jazzmasters”.  They produced 5 albums total, all of them reaching success on smooth jazz album charts worldwide.

Her association with musician Paul Hardcastle goes back to the early 80’s, when they performed with the British funk-based band, Direct Drive.

They enjoyed initial success, hitting the top 10 on the Black Echoes Soul Chart with music with tracks such as, ‘In the Middle of Spring’ and ‘Pass the Paper”.  In 1984, they hit no. 1 on the UK Soul Chart with the track ‘Anything’, which held the top spot for 8 consecutive weeks.   

After leaving the group ‘Direct Drive’, Rogers and Hardcastle collaborated together on numerous tracks, such as the Third World classic ‘Now That We Found Love’.  It was their work on the track, ‘Walk in the Night’ which laid the foundation for the hugely successful ‘Jazzmasters’ series.

In 1992, ‘Jazzmasters I’ debuted on Smooth Jazz radio stations in the United States with incredible success.  Most requested tracks from their albums included "Northern Lights", "Lost Summer", "Shelbi" & "Desire".  In addition to Rogers, the group was assisted by saxophonist Gary Barnacle.  Other musicians who contributed to future Jazzmasters albums included saxophonist Snake Davis, Phil Todd and Tony Woods. The album became influential in developing smooth jazz as a popular genre during the 90's and the early part of the new century.

After 5 successful releases, the Jazzmasters may be at its end. Helen replied during our interview, “Paul & I always said that 5 would be all we would progress in the project.  And we’ve done the 5 albums and it’s time to move on. ”

Now Helen has decided to go on her own with an E.P recorded last year entitled, “Eyes Like Midnight”.  Written, arranged and produced by Helen herself, she showcases her unique vocal style and songwriting talents in Jazz, Funk and Lovers Rock.  

She’s also involved in another project.   Her forthcoming release with the group, Exkapade, will have listeners reminding them of her Funk-based roots.  Speaking about the track "Luxury of Time", she said, “...it’s quite smooth and chilled out and I’m very curious of how listeners think of it.”

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