GOING INCOGNITO UNDISGUISED DIVERSITY AT PASADENA JAZZFEST.

Byline: Fred Shuster Music Writer

The U.K.'s soul-r&b outfit Incognito prove that name-calling on the dance floor is as futile as trying to duplicate James Brown's moves.

The ensemble mixes so many elements with such panache, they've been able to make friends in camps as far apart as jazz, rock, house and hip-hop. At the root of the music is band leader Jean Paul ``Bluey'' Maunick's appreciation of the funky rhythms being created on both sides of the Atlantic in the '70s.

That syncopated soul music informs Incognito's 11 albums as well as side projects like Bluey's acclaimed anthology, ``Brothers on the Slide: The Story of U.K. Funk (1969-75),'' which unearths smile-inducing gems from Cymande, Kokomo, Joe Cocker, Average White Band and others.

``That was the real link to Incognito because these were the bands that lived in your town and walked your streets -- and you went and heard them play every weekend,'' said Bluey, who has produced or arranged for Chaka Khan, George Benson and Philip Bailey. ``There was a very healthy scene, plenty of places to play and people who wanted to hear original music night after night.''

Local audiences can get a sense of that convivial spirit when Incognito, with featured vocalist Maysa in tow, slip into town Saturday for an 8 p.m. slot at the Old Pasadena JazzFest, held this year at the L.A. County Arboretum in Arcadia. The two-day event also sees Saturday sets from Rachelle Ferrell, Candy Dulfer and Jody Watley, plus Sunday performances by Teena Marie, Rick Braun and Hiroshima, among others.

< `It's not about playing the tune just to get applause -- it's about communicating, making sure people get it,'' Bluey said. ``It's knowing everyone shares a strong feeling of wanting to be together and wanting to experience something that's not in our daily lives.''

In a review of the band's latest album, ``Eleven'' (Narada Jazz), the Washington Post described the music as ``rife with disco beats, funk horn charts, wah-wah guitar tones, sweeping backdrop harmonies and a batch of newly penned romantic ballads that should sound more than faintly familiar to anyone old enough to know who (`Soul Train' host) Don Cornelius is.''

Bluey, who writes, sings and plays guitar, was born on Mauritius Island near Madagascar, moving with his mother to London at age 10.

First coming together in the early '80s, Incognito was one of the key components of the acid jazz movement, which fused vintage jazz-funk with contemporary beats for listening and dancing audiences throughout Europe.

Bluey's accomplices have included r&b singers Jocelyn Brown and Carleen Anderson, and virtuoso jazz-funk drummer Richard Bailey, who played on Jeff Beck's ``Blow by Blow'' and will be on stage with Incognito on Saturday.

< `My desire to explore and travel the world with my music comes from being an island boy, looking at the horizon all around me, watching ships disappear and wondering where they'd taken off to,'' Bluey says. ``Sailors visiting would tell me great stories about the Amazon, Bali and the Nile, and these places filled me with a sense of wonder. Music has allowed me to transport myself to these places and more, both literally and metaphorically.''

Fred Shuster, [phone]

fred.shuster(at)dailynews.com

INCOGNITO

Where: Old Pasadena JazzFest, L.A. County Arboretum, 301 N. Baldwin Ave., Arcadia.

When: 8 p.m. Saturday (festival runs noon to 10 p.m. Saturday and Sunday).

Tickets: $50 adults, $13 kids, per day. [phone]; omegaevents.com/oldpasadena.

CAPTION(S):

photo

Photo:

``It's not about playing the tune just to get applause -- it's about communicating, making sure people get it. It's knowing everyone shares a strong feeling of wanting to be together,'' says Incognito's Jean Paul ``Bluey'' Maunick.