Mazarati

Not to be confused with Maserati.

Mazarati
Origin	Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States
Genres	R&B, funk, soul, new wave, pop, rock
Occupations	Band
Years active	1986–1989
Labels	Warner Brothers, Paisley Park, Motown
Associated acts	Prince, Brown Mark, The Revolution, The Time, Klymaxx, Bernadette Cooper
Past members
Sir Casey Terry (Vocals) Jerome "Romeo" Cox (Bass) Craig "Screamer" Powell (Lead guitar) Kevin Patricks (Drums) Tony Christian (Rhythm Guitar) Marr Starr (Keyboard) Aaron Paul Keith (Keyboard) Marvin Gunn (Keyboard & vocals)

Mazarati was an American R&B band formed in the mid-1980s by former Prince and The Revolution bassist Brown Mark. Originally hailing from Minneapolis, they are now defunct as a group. The band's sole hit was a song called "100 MPH", which was written and co-produced by Prince.

Debut at Paisley Park

The band is notable for some of the songs that they did not release. They were originally given the song "Kiss" by Prince in demo form. They transformed the brief bluesy track into a unique funk number. After hearing their work on the demo, Prince took the song back, added a guitar break and his trademark falsetto vocals and released the song on his Parade (1986), where it became a No. 1 hit single and Grammy Award winner. Mazarati's background vocals are even kept intact and were credited on the album. Another song given to Mazarati was an out-take from The Time called "Jerk Out". Their take on the song never made the album, but the track was redone in 1990, once again with The Time who scored their biggest hit with the track, which reached number nine on the Billboard Hot 100. Mazarati's backing vocals were also kept on the released version. On July 1, 1986, the group performed "Player's Ball," "I Guess It's All Over," and "100 MPH" live at the premiere party of the movie Under the Cherry Moon, held at the Centennial Theater of the Sheridan Convention Center - Holiday Inn, Sheridan, Wyoming (population 10,369).^[1] A few other live concerts took place that year.

After Paisley Park

The band continued after its association with Prince and signed with Motown Records releasing their second album , Mazarati 2 (1989) , including the singles "The Saga Of A Man" and "The Woman Thang". This project reflects the music of that era which was directing to the New Jack Swing-genre. Brown Mark and former Klymaxx-founding member Bernadette Cooper both worked as producers on this album. The project experienced little success, and since the distribution of the LP and CD seems to be limited in quantity and exclusively released as a promo in Canada (before it was withdrawn), these original copies are in demand by collectors.

Reunion Concert

The Prince Family Reunion at the Cabooze was the venue where they reunited and performed again. The tickets were being sold for $2 and they dedicated Christian's house for rehearsals of their live performances.^[2]

Mazarati Revisited

As of the summer of 2011, original members Craig "Screamer" Powel and Marvin Gunn have begun piecing together a new group based upon Mazarati's back catalogue with the hope to bring back the sound and soul of the original band, while still letting it evolve with the time. The duo have title the band "Mazarati Revisted". A debut show, tour and album are in the works. ^[3]

Discography

Albums

• Mazarati (1986), Paisley Park
• Mazarati 2 (1989), Motown ( Canada )

Singles

• "Players' Ball" / "I Guess It's All Over" (1986), Paisley Park
• "100 MPH" / "Don't Leave Me Baby" (1986) #19 U.S. R&B , Paisley Park
• "Stroke" / "Champagne Saturday" (1986), Paisley Park
• "The Saga Of A Man" (1989), Motown
• "The Woman Thang" (1989), Motown

References

1. ^ "http://www.princevault.net/index.php/01_July,_1986". 
2. ^ "The return of Mazarati". Jay Gabler. http://www.tcdailyplanet.net/article/2009/05/31/return-mazarati-yall-dont-think-theyre-funky-youre-wrong.html. Retrieved 2011-06-20. 
3. ^ http://www.myspace.com/mazaratirevisisted

External links

• Mazarati on Myspace
• Mazarati at Allmusic