John Turrell performing as Smoove & Turrell, during the 2016 OnBlackheath Music Festival
Smoove & Turrell are a British group hailing from Gateshead in the North East of England. They play a style of music they describe as "Northern Funk" - a contemporary fusion of funk, soul, northern soul, hip-hop and electronica. The band is composed of Jonathan Scott Watson (known as Smoove) and singer / songwriter John Turrell. The studio and touring band also includes founder member Mike Porter (Keyboards), Lloyd Wright (Guitar), Neil Harland (Bass) and Oscar Cassidy (Drums). Previous members include Athol Cassidy (Guitar), Andy Champion (Bass), Lloyd Croft (Drums), Dave Wilde (Sax) and Tim McVicar (Bass). They have released six studio albums: Antique Soul (Jalapeno Records, 2009), Eccentric Audio (Jalapeno Records, 2011),[1] Broken Toys (Jalapeno Records, 2014), Crown Posada (Jalapeno Records, 2016), Mount Pleasant (Jalapeno Records, 2018) and Stratos Bleu (Jalapeno Records, 2020). The story of Smoove & Turrell began in the post millennium North East of England with a group of working class lads and a shared passion for soul. Smoove had met keyboardist Mike Porter through the local music scene in Newcastle and recruited him for his ‘Smoove Live’ project for the label Acid Jazz. Around Mike’s house one day they overheard a neighbour singing sublime melodies in his garage with friends which turned out to be none other than a young John Turrell practising in a band called ‘The Stevies’. After a couple of further sessions ‘scouting’ him they finally knocked on the door and had a chat and hit it off straight away. A man of many facets, John Turrell was a skilled carpenter, working and teaching the trade to apprentices at a local college as well as his musical endeavours. After the trio performed several gigs together with various other guest musicians it was agreed they would create some new material and so they started to write and arrange a clutch of tracks that Smoove would record and produce. 'I Can't Give You Up' 7" single, Club Tikka (2007)
Size: 5616px × 3744px
Location: Blackheath, Lewisham
Photo credit: © John Gaffen / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
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