Heavy Shift
Heavyshift (Sometimes Heavy Shift) is the name of a British acid jazz trio composed of William South (piano) and John Wallace (saxophone) and Julian Fenton (drums), who first met and started gigging together around 1994. They have so far released four albums (The Cocktail Years not officially representing Heavy Shift but rather Wallace/South) .
Their debut album, Unchain Your Mind, featured the hit single "90 Degrees in the Shade" and went to the Top Five on the new adult contemporary charts and Billboard jazz charts being named "Album of the Year" by Jazz FM.
Heavyshift music has been used for various soundtracks including Baywatch and 9½ Weeks 2. A new version of Say Hello to Teddy (which was released on Jazz FM's label in 2004) is to be taken up by respected US jazz imprint Instinct Records.
South & Wallace have also lent their recording talents to a wide range of individuals, including David Bowie, Tom Jones, All Saints, and James Taylor.
Biography
Having met on the London jamming scene of the late 1980s, a hot bed of talent which was to produce much of the best funky action of the next few years, John Wallace and William South soon became firm friends and started to work on demos which would eventually lead, via a couple of low key singles, to their first album, Unchain Your Mind which was a worldwide hit on its release in 1995. The lead track "90 in the Shade" went top three in the USA, Jazz FM pronounced it their album of the year and a world tour swiftly followed.
The next album, The Last Picture Show, sold less well, perhaps due to the band's refusal to stand still creatively, but the title track found its way on to the seminal chill out album series Café del Mar and brought the band many new converts as a consequence. After a couple of years[when?] of relative inactivity, when both Wallace and South were engaged in extracurricular musical activities, Heavyshift re-emerged in 2000 with Say Hello to Teddy on Jazz FM's Onion label.
This more straight forward live funk outing sold very well in the UK, and its American release (retitled The Conversation on Instinct Records) is still enjoying healthy airplay today, as is "90 in the Shade", which is now regarded as a classic of the genre.
Again looking for the creative rather than fiscal way forward, the band slimmed down in 2003 to a power trio (South handling bass duties with his left hand, Doors style) only retaining the services of loyal drummer Julian Fenton, now an integral part of the band sound.[citation needed]
Increasingly distracted by other calls on their individual time, including writing TV/film music/adverts for South, touring his various retro jazz/r 'n b projects for Wallace, and being the regular drummer for 1980s legends ABC for Fenton, Heavyshift have been less active for the past couple of years.
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