Wake up Amie Street and stop sleeping on the Grammy nominated Groove Collective. This New York City jazz outfit was nominated for Best Contemporary Jazz Album for their 2006 studio effort People, People, Music, Music. That album is great, but to hear the Collective at their best you really need to scope their live tracks, courtesy of Kufala Recordings. Grab Live and Hard to Find and Live at PS1 Warm Up, Brooklyn, NY 7/2/05 today!

The acid jazz outfit Groove Collective was formed in downtown New York City in 1990 by flutist Richard Worth, DJ Smash, and rapper Nappy G, all three staples of a nomadic dance club called Giant Step. In time, the trio was joined by keyboardist Itaal Shur, drummer Gengi Siraisi, and bassist Jonathan Maron, earning a growing cult following and eventually attracting the attention of Steely Dan vibist Bill Ware, who soon signed on along with saxophonist Jay Rodriguez, trombonist Josh Roseman, trumpeter Fabio Morgera, and percussionist Chris Theberge. Groove Collective's self-titled debut LP appeared on Reprise in 1993, followed three years later by the GRP label release We the People. The group resurfaced in 1998 with Dance of the Drunken Master. It's All in Your Mind was issued in 2001 with People People Music Music following in 2006. [Jason Ankeny, allmusic.com]