After highly distinguished separate careers that collectively included collaborations with Holland-Dozier-Holland, The Supremes, Force MD’s, Jon B., Al B. Sure and New York’s Black Rock Coalition, brothers Jonathan (guitar) and Stafford (keyboards) pool their melodic and rhythmic genius as JS Floyd.
Their dazzling, stylistically expansive debut “Check the Forecast” blends tasty Smooth Jazz and funk with touches of everything from rap and hip-hop to jazz fusion, and includes a rousing twist on a Ramsey Lewis classic. Their success at spreading musical joy in so many ways truly makes the case for their desire to be known as “The New Distinguished Gentlemen of Smooth Jazz.”
The talents of Jonathan and Stafford Floyd have been honed through years of playing every imaginable musical genre. They’ve managed to come up with a unique blend of jazz, blues, rock, funk, gospel and R&B and, that combination creates the foundation of their musical expression.
They come from the suburbs of New York and from the beginning their thirst for “truth of expression” as taken them on a musical journey that spans the globe. As players, singers, producers and composers they’ve experienced the heights and the depths of musical expression. Creating an amalgam of the traditional and the modern has wrought a contemporary and captivating sound.
They’ve played keyboards, guitar, bass, drums and trombone but, after moving west found their calling for keys and guitar. Stafford has collaborated with famed songwriting team Holland-Dozier Holland which brought him hits with N.Y.P.A., Donny & Marie Osmond and a Billboard Music Award for his work with the Supremes. He’s toured with the Force MD’s, Durrell Coleman, Brownstone, Immature and served a stint as musical director for Jon B. and Darius Shipp. Having scored productions for prominent L.A. theaters, The Mark Taper Forum, Pasadena Playhouse, the Bradley Theater and the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, he’s also heard on commercials for Coca Cola, General Motors and the foreign market special “Jazz from The City”.
Jonathan’s guitar styling is prominently displayed on Al B. Sure’s hit “Right Now (Remix)” and he’s an original member of New York’s Black Rock Coalition. He has toured with Living Color and he’s been an executive at VAP Records, Malibu Records and Jon Ray Music Publishing Company. Jon Floyd’s business savvy and eclectic musicianship culminated when he became Musical Director for the group Forecast which is now the umbrella enterprise of JS Floyd Music.