英国Jazz+Funk运动先锋组合成军于1980年，最开始由键盘手Bill Sharpe、Nigel Wright，吉他手Keith Winter，贝司手Steve Underwood，以及鼓手Roger Odell组成。乐队甫建的首支单曲“Steppin’”立即登上全英Top 50，同时，首张LP《Drivin’ Hard 》获得骄人成绩。82年紧随其后的专辑《Nightbirds》令其直接打入全英Top 10，乐队领唱女孩Jill Saward也首次在专辑中亮相。
历经20余载历史，无论乐坛怎样风云变幻，Shakatak始终如常青树一般保持着惯有的风格——清新、积极、明快、优雅。虽然在界定他们音乐时将其划为Acid Jazz范畴，但当我们听的时候一点没有感觉像Brand New Heavies、Us3等乐队那样偏重节奏与黑人韵律，甚至比Incognito（英国另一支著名Acid Jazz组合，其音乐融入大量Soul及南美乐风）的音乐要柔和的多（可能是因为Shakatak所有成员都是白人的缘故吧，呵呵），将其作为Smooth Jazz来听是最合适不过的了
by Jason Ankeny
British jazz-funk combo Shakatak formed in London in 1980; originally comprising keyboardists Bill Sharpe and Nigel Wright, guitarist Keith Winter, bassist Steve Underwood and drummer Roger Odell, the group quickly scored an underground hit with its debut single "Steppin'," cracking the British Top 50 the following year with the singles "Livin' in the UK" and "Brazilian Dawn." Their debut LP Drivin' Hard was also well-received, and with the 1982 follow-up Nightbirds, Shakatak (which replaced Underwood with bassist George Anderson) scored their first Top 20 hit in "Easier Said Than Done"; the disc's title track also rocketed into the Top Ten. Nightbirds also introduced singer Jill Saward, who emerged as Shakatak's lead vocalist with the band's fifth album, 1984's Down on the Street, which notched the hit "Watching You"; 1985's Live preceded the release of the group's next studio effort, Day by Day. A series of largely instrumental albums including Into the Blue, Golden Wings, Da Makani and Niteflite were then issued exclusively in Japan, where Shakatak enjoyed immense popularity; in the meanwhile 1988's Manic and Cool was released internationally, highlighted by the singles "Mr. Manic and Sister Cool" and "Something Special." After 1992's Open Your Eyes topped Billboard's Contemporary Jazz chart, the band supported 1993's Street Level with a tour of South Africa, while the following year's Full Circle expanded into hip-hop beats. In 1997, Shakatak -- now consisting of Sharpe, Odell, Saward and Anderson -- resurfaced with Let the Piano Play, followed by both Let the Music Play and Magic in 1999 and Under Your Spell in 2002.