Jill Saward

Jill Saward (born 9 December 1953) is a British singer, musician and composer, best known for being the lead voice of the English jazz-funk band, Shakatak.

She began her musical career at the age of 16, with the British progressive jazz rock band Fusion Orchestra, from 1969 to 1972.

Jill Saward and the Fusion Orchestra gained a following of fans who secured a record deal with EMI music to produce their first album Skeleton in Armour, an album that immediately received critical acclaim upon its debut, and is now considered a collector's item which is highly sought after.

After the band Fusion Orchestra split, Saward became involved in a new all female group, called Brandy. The band, produced by Polydor, was active for about three years in the UK and Europe, before disbanding in 1976.

Saward was spotted later by the band leader Nicky North who invited her to perform in the 'Cats Whiskers' with his own big soul funk band. She also made a name for herself as one of the UK's session singers at that time. Saward also had a brief stint with a musical group of all women, called Citizen Gang, built by a French manufacturer of Orpheus Productions, and still managed to collaborate with the Nicky North Band. It was in this period she met band, Nigel Wright and Roger Odell, who are still components of jazz-funk band Shakatak.

It was through Shakatak that Saward was able to record some vocals on an experimental track of a song called "Steppin'", and after nine top ten hits Saward was invited to be a permanent part of the group and started to tour worldwide.

She became the leading voice of Shakatak sharing success for more than 35 years. The band is still touring and recording and still popular around the world, especially in Europe and the Far East. They usually publish a new album every two years for JVC Records and Secret Records.

Despite constant touring and recording, Saward has always managed to find time to develop new projects, and still continues to write and record new material.

She has been married with the bass player George Anderson, also a member of Shakatak, with whom she had two sons, Luis and James. They divorced in 2001.

In 2008 the Shakatak frontwoman starred in the reality TV show Living TV's Pop Goes The Band, a show which sees former musical stars such as Bucks Fizz, Bananarama, Visage, Cleopatra, 911, Chaka Khan and more, undergoing surgery in a bid to relaunch their careers.

In addition to her music career, Jill is an abstract impressionist artist who specializes in photographic prints.

Jill Saward (solo albums)

• 1999: Just for You
• 2016: Just for You (remastered with three bonus tracks)

Jill Saward: all lead and BV voices

Jason Rebello, Neil Drinkwater, and Chris Ingham: keyboards

Snake Davis, Aaron Liddard, Matt Sibley, Derek Nash: saxophone

Fridrik Karlson: guitar

George Anderson: bass

• 2016: M Is for Manhattan
• 2016: Endless Summer

Jill Saward: lead voice

Aaron Liddard: saxophone

Chris Ingham: keyboard

Chris Johnson: vocals

George Anderson: bass

James Saward Anderson: vocals

Mornington Lockett: saxophone

Patrick Hartley: trombone

Roberto Tola: guitar

Simon Allen: saxophone

Steve Dee: bass

Teresa Green: backing vocals

With Fusion Orchestra

• 1973: Skeleton in Armour – recorded at Abbey Road Studios

With Brandy

• 1977: Ooh Ya

With Citizen Gang

• 1979: Citizen Gang
• 1979: "Womanly Way"

With Shakatak

Albums

• 1981: Drivin' Hard
• 1982: Night Birds
• 1982: Invitations
• 1983: Out of This World
• 1984: Down on the Street
• 1984: Shakatak Live in Japan (live)
• 1985: Live! (Febbraio 1985) (live)
• 1985: City Rhythm
• 1986: Into the Blue (pubblicato in Giappone)
• 1987: Golden Wings (pubblicato in Giappone)
• 1987: Never Stop Your Love
• 1988: Manic and Cool
• 1988: Da Makani (pubblicato in Giappone)
• 1988: The Very Best of Shakatak
• 1989: Niteflite (pubblicato in Giappone)
• 1989: Turn the Music Up
• 1990: Fiesta (pubblicato in Giappone)
• 1990: Christmas Eve (pubblicato in Giappone)
• 1991: Bitter Sweet
• 1991: Utopia (pubblicato in Giappone)
• 1993: Street Level
• 1993: Under the Sun
• 1993: The Christmas Album
• 1994: Full Circle
• 1997: Let the Piano Play
• 1998: View from the City
• 1998: Live at Ronnie Scott's
• 2001: Under Your Spell

• 2003: Blue Savannah
• 2005: Easier Said Than Done (live album)
• 2005: Beautiful Day
• 2007: Emotionally Blue
• 2009: Afterglow
• 2011: Across the World
• 2014: On the Corner
• 2016 Times and Places

Compilation albums

• 1988: The Coolest Cuts
• 1990: Perfect Smile (Issued in the US only)
• 1991: Open Your Eyes (Issued in the US only, with one track, "Hungry")
• 1991: Remix Best Album
• 1991: Night Moves
• 1996: The Collection
• 1996: Jazz Connections Volumes 1–6 (Six compilation albums of their exclusive Japanese albums from the 1980s and early 1990s)

• 1998: Shinin' On
• 1999: Magic
• 1999: Jazz in the Night
• 2000: The Collection Volume 2
• 2002: Dinner Jazz
• 2003: Smooth Solos
• 2008: The Best of Shakatak
• 2008: The Ultimate Collection
• 2009: The Coolest Cuts 12" Mixes Volume 1
• 2009: The Coolest Cuts 12" Mixes Volume 2
• 2012: The 12 Inch Mixes
• 2013: More 12 Inch Mixes
• 2014: Snowflakes & Jazzamatazz
• A three-part compilation album set, compiled by Roger Odell:
  • Sunset Jazz
  • After Dark
  • Drive Time

Singles

Videos

• 1984: Twilight Sensation [Laserdisc]
• 1986: The Purely Music Concert Series [Laserdisc]
• 2004: Live at the Playhouse [DVD]
• 2004: In Concert [DVD]
• 2005: Live at Duo Music Exchange [DVD]