Afrodizz

Formed in 2002 by Gabriel Aldama, Afrodizz is an eight-piece, multi-lingual afrobeat ensemble from Montreal, Canada. Inspired by soul, funk, West African music, and American jazz, the band also includes vocalist Vance Payne, bassist François Plante, drummer Jean-Philippe Goncalves, percussionist François Vincent, trumpet player David Carbonneau, saxophonist Frèdé Simard, and baritone saxophonist François Glidden, with Aldama serving as the band's guitarist and main composer. While still an independent act, Afrodizz released a four-song EP in 2003 and played the Montreal International Jazz Festival that summer. The resulting attention earned the group a contact with the British label Freestyle Records. Afrodizz traveled to London to record Kif Kif, which marked Afrodizz's full-length debut in 2004. The sophomore album Froots was released in 2006, earning Afrodizz a pair of awards from the Quebec Independent Music Awards and the Montreal International Music Initiative Awards. Meanwhile, the band's eight members began splitting their time between Afrodizz and several side projects, with Goncalves receiving national praise for his work with the acid-jazz band Plaster (which also featured Plante) and the electro-rock duo Beast. Even so, Afrodizz remained active, both in the recording studio and on the road. The group's third album, From Outer Space, was recorded during a series of live sessions in a Montreal studio and released in July 2011, the same month that Afrodizz returned to the Montreal International Jazz Festival.