Saturday Shifting

The Gene Dudley Group represents an outpouring of deep soul and funk music from the obscenely talented 27 year-old multi-instrumentalist; Gene Dudley.

The debut album, Saturday Shifting, was recorded in a cupboard in Muswell Hill, North London, and features the man himself on; trumpet, saxophone, drums, bass, guitar and piano. On a couple of occasions, though, Gene had to budge over to allow fellow musicians Ewan Whyte and Tom Jackson to fit in and play a solo or two, but other than that, everything you hear on this album comes from the mind, mouth, fingers and heart of Mr. Gene Dudley Esq.

Fans of labels like Truth & Soul and Daptone will relish these sonorous soulful offerings, but the influences on this album are wide ranging. Tracks like When The Gorilla Get Grip and The New Lots Of Cooperstown conjure up 60s spy soundtracks, but elsewhere there are afro-beat influences on The Hilo Bay Halfway and more easy, introspective moments on Minnie and Do The Stanley Weinberger. Just when you think you've got Gene Dudley's sound pinned down, the album culminates with a real game changer in the shape of the brilliantly titled Waxing Unwaxed Lemons, a quirky, electronic tinged nugget that should please many a dance floor.

In the live arena, rather than trying to play all the instruments himself, Gene deploys a quartet of top notch young musicians to help him out (whilst Gene mixes it up between bass and keys throughout the set) as witnessed at the recent Hot 8 Brass Band gig in London, The Gene Dudley Group's debut live show.

Since that first outing, the group have played to much acclaim at venues such as London's XOYO, and will be celebrating the release of Saturday Shifting with a live album launch, in support of label mate Henri-Pierre Noel, at London's Jazz Cafe on 13 July. A night, and an album, not to be missed.