Jamiroquai

The name of the group is its leader and founder, an Englishman of Portuguese origin, Jason Kay, invented in his youth, smoking marijuana (for which, by the way, he was kicked out of a private school) and dreaming of what his own ensemble could be. Jamiroquai is a combination of the words jam (jam session, collective music making) and iroquai is a variant of the self-name of the Iroquois Indians (apparently, in his youth, Jason, like any decent child of the 70s, was fond of Indians). Having started making music at home, by the end of the 80s, Jason became interested in a new music that appeared in London clubs at that time called acid jazz, "acid jazz", mixing jazz arrangements with hip-hop beats and funky rhythms. Jason first went to work as a singer with one of the founders of the genre, Brand New Heavies, but failed and instead assembled his own ensemble.