Soul Enterprise

The Soul Enterprise is often described as more of a fraternity than a band per se. It was founded in 1990, by vocalist Bob Manning from the USA, with other American musicians based in Sweden, such as Jair-Rohm Parker Wells and Bill Bryant. It featured the sounds of old-school Soul music, with an emphasis on jazz improvisation.

In the beginning years, the group's founding members were busy freelancing for other acts such as Dr. Alban and Jennifer Brown. A period of instability followed, with many different substitute musicians playing in the band. The group went through major reforms and a complete change of members followed under the leadership of guitarist Zak Keith in 1992. The new line-up was a fraternity of Stockholm's world-class jazz musicians, including members such as Anders Johnsson (bass), Micke Wennergrund (drums), Lasse Pollack (keyboards), Magnus Lindgren (Saxophone), Micke Sörensen (trumpet), Mia Gejrot, Anna Sandberg-Häll and Tonja Hedtjärn (voc). The Soul Enterprise proved to be a training ground for several upcoming stars, such as Magnus Lindgren, who went on to play with Herbie Hancock at age 18; Micke Sörensen, who went on to work with former Supremes member Mary Wilson; and Lasse Pollack, who went on to play with Glenn Hughes, after their tenure with the Soul Enterprise.

The Soul Enterprise was voted best Soul band of Scandinavia by Fasching Jazz Club in 1998. Dagens Nyeheter (a major Swedish newspaper) credited Bob Manning and the Soul Enterprise as a major influence in keeping Soul music alive in Scandinavia. Its musicians work as sessionists and have appeared on numerous records, together and individually.

Discography

* Dance Beat, Shine On You, EMI Dancebeat Records, 1996
* Scrappy G, Mobbin Trow da City, MCA Music Entertainment, 1996
* André De Lange, A Friend, BIEM/NCB/GEMA, 1996
* Jazz On The Corner, Various Artists, Arietta Disks Musikprod. AB, 1995
* Chicago Express, Permanently Blue, Amigo Musik, 1995
* Totally Wired, Sweden, Soul Sister, Acid Jazz, 1994
* Blue Connection, Live at Clipper Club, Dragon Records Sweden, 1993
* All That Blues, From Sweden, Jefferson Rec, 1993
* En Blå Timme, That's Entertainment, TER Records 1993

References

Swedish newspapers
* "Colorful Start to Jazz Festival" - DAILY NEWS. Jul 2, 1994
* "A Reason to Dance" - Aftonbladet, Feb 1994 (Swedish)
* "Klent intresse för Cozmoz Rox" - Dala-demokraten, Sep 25, 1998 (Swedish)
* "Cozmoz fylldes av Blues" - Falun Kuriren Aug 26, 1998 (Swedish)
* "Svängig, färgstark, soulig Blå tisdag" - Falun Kuriren Jan 28, 1998 (Swedish)
* "Soul for Both Body and Soul" - Vestmanlands Länstidning Oct 3, 1998 (Swedish)
* "Blues för Taj Mahal" - Vestmanlands Länstidning Oct 3, 1998 (Swedish)

Web
* http://www.soulent.com/bobm2.htm
* http://www.soulent.com/Info.htm
* http://www.soulent.com/bobmanning.htm
* http://www.epitonic.com/index.jsp?refer=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.epitonic.com%2Fartists%2Fbobmanning.html
* http://www.dancebeat.net/html/artists/manning.shtml