Anyone paying attention to the upper echelon of soul music's ever changing face knows the name Incognito - a guaranteed one-stop for sophisticated, uplifting U.K.-spun soul-jazz, stamped by a cavalcade of top-notch vocal talent, sweeping arrangements, horns and strings, under the unflagging leadership of guitarist/songwriter Bluey a.k.a. Jean-Paul Maunick. Over a 27 year career, Incognito made stateside strides with "Deep Waters," "Still a Friend of Mine," as well as jazzy horn-kissed club jams like "Everyday" and "Always There." Fans will be glad to know that all four of those songs can be found on their latest album, 'Bees + Things + Flowers' - only they'll sound nothing like the arrangements to which they've grown accustomed.

The largely acoustic and meditatively downtempo 'Bees + Things + Flowers' takes its name from Roy Ayers' '76 classic "Everybody Loves the Sunshine." Says Bluey, "I was looking for something that said 'new beginning' or 'circle of life,' but didn't want to be so obvious about it. Then Roy's words hit me - bees and flowers - that's the circle of life right there!" In addition to two new songs, "You Are Golden" and "Raise," Incognito also does four choice covers: John Sebastian's "Summer in the City" (with nods to Quincy Jones and David Axelrod), America's "Tin Man," Earth Wind & Fire's "That's Way of the World" and the aforementioned Roy Ayers track. Featuring a legion of Incognito vocalists including Maysa, Carleen Anderson and Jocelyn Brown, the album is nothing short of inspirational and genuine. As Bluey points out, “I believe we're on this planet to use language and music to set moods and emotions. Part of that is to strip things down. That was the beauty of doing 'Bees + Things + Flowers.' It shows how we really feel about music."

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