Brother Strut, a new funk-soul band whose line-up has collectively performed on records that have sold over half-a-billion copies, will release their debut album ‘First Strut Is The Deepest’ in the USA on Woodward Avenue Records in May, 2014. The band was formed in 2012 by producer & sax player Stevie Jones, after previously been pitching pop songs to satisfy A&R men, who he felt were just churning out the same old stuff. This, Jones soon learnt, was not the route to happiness and decided to abandon all other music production projects and work on something that was driven solely by his love of funk, blues and, in particular, American soul music of the 1960’s and ‘70’s. “The X-Factor generation were getting on my tits,” says Jones. “Their desire to be famous ‘for anything’ really didn't connect with me, so I knew I wanted to make Brother Strut about real music with musicians that were awe inspiring and who could deliver the goods live” With this basic concept in his head, Jones set out to find some of the best, and certainly the funkiest players in the world to make an album - and he succeeded spectacularly, recruiting Steve Pearce (bass), Frankie Tontoh (drums), Otha Smith (electric guitar), Melvin Duffy (electric guitar/pedal steel) and Andrew Murray (piano). Not only has this line-up played on numerous hit singles and albums, they’ve also worked for the likes of Van Morrison, Stevie Wonder, Herbie Hancock, Madonna, Elton John, Sting, George Micheal, Robbie Williams, Al Green, Level 42, Amy Winehouse, George Michael and Don Blackman. The Temptations, Phil Collins, The Supremes, Ramsey Lewis, Detroit Spinners, Tina Turner, Robbie Williams, Jools Holland, UB40, Elkie Brooks, Chris Difford, KT Tunstall, The Waterboys, Joe Cocker, Christina Aguilera, Alicia Keys, Leona Lewis and Natasha Bedingfield. Between them, these artists have sold somewhere approaching one billion records - and the members of Brothers Strut have collectively played on over half of these. Co-written with BBC award-winning songwriter Megan Henwood, Jones is keen to point out that ‘First Strut Is The Deepest’ isn’t an album of self-indulgent musical ego, “It’s not about playing a million notes a second, but sitting in the pocket of the groove and playing with taste and feeling.” Jones purposely didn’t want to use only one vocalist on the album, as he explains, “The idea was that the musicians were the main focus, so I could chop and change the vocalists from album to album.” As a result, ‘First Strut Is The Deepest’ features five emerging talents on vocals; Megan Henwood (BBC2 award-winning artist), John James Newman (The Voice 2012 Finalist), Ben Lee (vocalist/guitarist with Joe Brown), Mike Davies (guitarist/singer for Eliza Doolittle and Jessie J) and Sam Tanner. Jones was also acutely aware that in 2013 people discover new music as much with their eyes as they do their ears, so there is now a video to accompany each track on the album. “I filmed all the takes at the various studios, and where there were edits in the audio, I had to splice the videos together to match the takes.” although he admits, “It was a massive pain in the arse!” Steve Jones’ introduction to the members of Brother Strut: Steve Pearce: Bass – “Steve has probably played with more people than anyone I've ever met - he's certainly one of THE go to guys for bass guitar. The big names he's worked with are: Van Morrison, Stevie Wonder, Herbie Hancock, Madonna, Elton John, Sting, George Michael and Robbie Williams.” Frankie Tontoh: Drums – “Frankie is awesome, he's worked with some seriously inspirational and respected artists, but the big names are Al Green, Level 42, Amy Winehouse, George Michael and Don Blackman.” Otha Smith: Electric Guitar – “I actually saw Otha play when I was a nipper, and remembered this when I saw him at a gig 20 years later. I asked him to join Brother Strut, and he has co-written a lot of the album with me. Originally from Chicago, he moved here about 20 years ago. He used to be a session guy working directly for the record label and in that time he toured a lot and worked with The Temptations, Phil Collins, The Supremes, Ramsey Lewis, Detroit Spinners.” Melvin Duffy: Electric Guitar/Pedal Steel – “Melvin is one of the most in demand Pedal Steel players, known for providing the 'just right' texture to give records that little bit of magic. Despite coming from a strong Irish musical background, Melvin is all about the feel. He’s worked with Tina Turner, Robbie Williams, Jools Holland, UB40, Elkie Brooks, Chris Difford, KT Tunstall, The Waterboys and Joe Cocker.” Andrew Murray: Piano – “I met Andy while playing Saxophone for Elkie Brooks. Andy is a talented music producer as well as what I call a ‘real piano player ‘with a strong gospel and blues influence. Over the years he has made and played on numerous records and worked with artists such as Christina Aguilera, Alicia Keys, Leona Lewis, Natasha Bedingfield.” Stevie Jones: Saxophone/Piano/Producer of Brother Strut – “I'm the sax/keys player …and the guy that put it all together. This project has totally been driven for my passion for funk & soul and music with a GROOVE that makes folks happy. For the past 9 years I have been touring with Elkie Brooks, but also have worked with Rick Wakeman, Humphrey Lyttleton, Martin Taylor, as well as co-founder of the band The Velvet Hearts. I’m as much in love as the writing/recording process as I am performing live, and I LOVE playing with these guys”