Artist / Band

Mood Jga Jga

Origin Winnipeg, Manitoba

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Biography

Mood Jga Jga formed in 1971 in Winnipeg, Manitoba just after Greg Leskiw had left The Guess Who. Greg and Gord Osland signed Hermann Fruhm after just six days of starting the band. The name Mood Jga Jga came from Gord Osland's son Sam, who mumbled the words while Osland and Leskiw were under the influence. Sam Osland went onto play with Vancouver indie band Imbrue Huzza, who released a cassette in 1993.

Mood Jga Jga features the fine writing of Greg Leskiw and is the finest funky jazz country blues rock album ever released in the province of Manitoba. The music is timeless. It could have been released last year, or 10 years ago, or 20 years ago, and you wouldn't know it.

The song "Turn Around" was on the Canada Gold LP compilation in the mid-seventies.

Mood Jga Jga gathered again in 1991 and made a recording for a CBC compilation Variety Recordings 6 on CBC VRCD 1006 (Gimme My Money/ Fine Time/ If You Ever Leave Me/ Sensible Lover/ Better Place, Better Time/ Why? Why? Why?). They re-isssued their album privately on CD, with the help of k.d. lang's manager Larry Wanagas, in 1994 in a limited pressing of 1000 copies. They re-formed a few times afterwards, appearing at The Winnipeg Folk and Jazz Festivals. They also got together again in 1997 and released "Boys Will be Boys", pressed privately on MJJ 0001 (Sensible Lover - Krautsuppe Song/ Better Place Better Time/ Dancing With Comrade I/ Boys Will Be Boys/ It's Gonna Get Better/ Desert Rain/ Herm's Toon/ Ma Cherie/ Forgive Him/ Dancing With Comrade II/ Be My Champion/ Interlude/ Universal Blues).

Greg Leskiw (Brother, Shags, Logan Avenue, Dianne Heatherington & the Merry-Go-Round, Gettysburg Address, The Guess Who, Crowcuss, Wild Rice, Kilowatt, Les Q, SwingSoniq): guitar and vocals
Herman Fruhm (Dianne Heatherington & the Merry-Go-Round, Gettysburg Address, Crowcuss, Pete Silvester & the Zambonies): guitar
Bill Merritt (Rocki Rolletti): bass
Gord Osland (Graham Shaw, Fred Penner): drums

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