JJ Whitefield

JJ Whitefield is the alias used by guitarist, composer, producer, and bandleader Jan Weissenfeldt. Since the '90s, the German musician has relentlessly pursued his muse across numerous styles, bands, and recordings. He initially explored '70s street funk with Poets of Rhythm on 1999's Practice What You Preach. He also founded the Whitefield Brothers with drummer/brother Max to explore psychedelic R&B and Afrobeat. He created the ethno-funk outfit Karl Hector & the Malcouns, whose 2008 debut, Sahara Swing, which resonated on dancefloors from Germany to South America, India to the U.S. They issued a handful of singles and the albums Unstraight Ahead in 2014 and Non Ex Orbis in 2019. In 2023, he released his debut solo set, Brother All Alone, and Ethio Meditations/Drama Al Dente. The following year he explored connections between spiritual jazz and underground R&B on The Infinity of Nothingness with his big band, JJ Whitefield & Forced Meditation.