Maxwell Pastor (Diggers Dozen) & Gavin Povey (Jazz Detective Records) kick off their new monthly jazz session ‘Feelin’ Good’ at the Servant Jazz Quarters. Expect an eclectic musical journey of worldwide vibes with jazz, funk and soul influences.

For this first special event Feelin’ Good presents a live performance from hugely acclaimed psychedelic Sudanese Afrobeat band.

The Scorpios are a ten-headed group and their unique musical meltdown of hypnotic Arabic rhythms, psychedelic Sudanese Afrobeat and eastern funk is simply mind-blowing.

The core of the band consists of five Sudanese musicians who have played around the Horn of Africa as well as Arab states. The main singer Regia Ishag comes from a musical family which include such greats as the guitarist from the 70’s Sudanese band The Scorpions. The other four members have been playing in traditional settings for many years, such as weddings and religious festivals. They left Sudan in the 80’s when the situation became very bad, so when they initially came to the UK they were refugees. The music they are influenced by is old traditional songs, 60’s songs and 70’s pop songs, which had reggae, funk and soul as well as Latin leanings.

The UK guitarist Adam Bulewski got to meet some musicians via some community work he was doing in London with the local Sudanese community and began recording sessions. It was a musical project to reduce stigma around mental health. One of the percussionists became a very good friend and through him he managed to assemble the beginnings of the Scorpios. At present the Sudanese members are supported by an international backing band of guys from Ghana, Jamaica, Poland, Japan and the UK.

The music was put on YouTube and picked by Fredrik Lavik, label owner of Afro7 records, who asked the Scorpios to do a whole album. So they did. It was recorded in a deliberately rough and raw manner, very live. So much so that some people thought they were original recordings from tape. Adam Bulewski: “That was the definite vibe we were going for.” The Album was very well received and immediately reached album of the week on BBC 6 Radio show “Worldwide” hosted by Gilles Peterson. They have played a number of festivals in the UK including Tusk and the Port Eliot festival as well as various festivals and gigs in Belgium and Switzerland.