Party Starting Energy
Incognito
Incognito was founded in 1979 by Jean-Paul “Bluey” Maunick and Paul Williams and got off to a flying start shortly afterwards with the hit single “Parisienne Girl”. Their first album, “Jazz Funk”, released in 1981, was an instrumental masterpiece featuring, among others, Hugh Masekela’s horn section members Peter Segona and Claude Deppa, the legendary British saxophonist Ray Carless, and the Jamaican trombonist Vin Gordon.
Bandleader Bluey explains their sound: “When I compose and produce, I respect the spirit of the musicians and singers 100 per cent. I keep them in mind, take their style and personal musical background into account, and give them the space to bring out their individuality. I try to bring out the best in them, and in return they give their best to my songs and productions. This exchange is the foundation of the Incognito sound and the band’s philosophy. We work with and for one another!”
Brand New Heavies
The Brand New Heavies are an absolute highlight of the genre, and not just for acid jazz connoisseurs. The British band have had countless hits that have brought them worldwide fame. Twenty years after the band was formed, the Heavies are back on the road with their original line-up.
For decades, The Brand New Heavies have been synonymous with a sound that blends funk, soul and jazz with apparent ease — warm, elegant and full of groove. What once became world-famous as acid jazz seems astonishingly timeless today.
For the band’s strength has never lain solely in following trends, but always in their unmistakable sense of rhythm. The Brand New Heavies don’t put on a nostalgia show, but deliver precisely that ‘party-starting energy’ that instantly gets clubs, festivals and concert halls moving.
Urban elegance meets powerful basslines, virtuoso nonchalance meets danceable precision.
Part of: Leverkusener Jazztage 2026.
More info in the Lust auf Leverkusen event calendar.
