The Return Of The B.B.&Q. Band

“Are you ready or not, it’s only up the street, everybody’s dancin’, and everybody’s on the beat”. The famous and most popular song by The B.B.& Q. Band from their 1981 debut album, produced by Jacques Fred Petrus, still ranks high among my all-time favorite soul/funk tunes. And with “Time For Love” and “Starlette”, there are two more moster tracks on this classic LP. In 1982, the group even went one step further with releasing the 8-track “All Night Long”, creating that special keyboard-and drum-heavy sound that sometimes almost veered towards wave music, never losing touch of the R&B world, though. With pieces like “Imagination”, the title track, or “Children Of The Night”, the group fostered their claim to become a legendary act. The second album already had a new line-up, which continued on the 1983 “Six Million Times” and included Kevin Robinson on lead vocals and guitar, Kae Williams on keys, Tony Bridges on bass, and Bernard Davis on drums.

The group released one more album in 1985. “Genie” included a few great tunes, didn’t really ignite at first but has a few amazing tunes like the title cut and “Ricochet”, for example, though it was quiet successful commercially. The group completely disappeared after Fred Petrus was murdered in 1987 and now, seem to be back together, at least with a few of the original members. Kevin Robinson, Tony Bridges, and Bernard Davis are still with the group, added by Percival Prince on guitar, Lenny Underwood on keys (from Unlimited Touch), and Curtis Styles on keys. The Brooklyn, Bronx & Queens Band will play two concerts in Europe this fall: On December 1st, please check them out in Amsterdam (Paradiso) and Camden’s Jazz Café in London will host them on December 2nd.