Golden-Pavilion Rec. 
Plus -LP- (B,1972,re.2011)****
Plus was announced as having members of Marc Moulin’s Placebo, and when saying this one must see how of some these creative minded people have been involved in the music business with at least as much commitment as Marc Moulin himself. Just remember how Marc Moulin became a rather legendary figure in Belgium. He was part of Aksak Maboul in 1977 and formed the pop group Telex and later Placebo, became a producer and jazz man, for the biggest part of the public he will be remembered as a radio producer. He was always into the new grooves and rhythms, and produced songs in his own way into some of the hip styles of the moment. Plus was one of the albums with associations to funk-jazz with a touch of soul but also here you can notice the progressive music roots from before, especially noticeable on the last track of side A, and on some of the more improvised open structures on side B, mixed with a touch of jazz. Some tracks begin in a funky was, -the early tracks also reveal Afro-rhythms and a sensitivity to black music-, with brass arrangements that work well with the funky grooves. Plus’s singer is capable of some variations of styles, from real soulful songs to more rock. These combinations make the album a still rather unpretentious, just like Moulin’s contributions always are, an effective time document with enjoyable and tasteful combinations of the aforementioned styles. 700 copies only.
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Thanks to Ralph Benatar I now also have a bit more background info about the band Plus :
“There were 7 musicians in it, and we performed in 1971 & 1972. The band was a follow-up to an R&B/Soul group called "The JJ Band", which was called "Jess and James & the JJ Band" before that. The latter was very successful in '67 -'68, with our biggest hit "Move". We parted when Jess & James decided to pursue a solo career. After the JJ Band, we decided to shift to a more jazz-funk direction. "Plus" was the resulting concept. We were produced by Roland Kluger. The musicians were firstly Leslie Kent, singer/lead-guitarist (deceased). He was originating from Luxemburg. Great voice! Second was Francis Weyer, also lead-guitarist, who went on to become Francis Goya (a semi-classical successful guitarist). He currently lives in Marrakesh (Morocco), and we still see each other regularly. Then we have Yvan "Ket" De Souter, bass player. I have not heard from him the past few years. He lives in Sint-Amandsberg, near Ghent. Bruno Castellucci, the drummer has become an internationally renown jazz musician and plays with a lot of big names. (like in the Count BASIE Orchestra. See more info here http://www.jazzinbelgium.com/person/bruno.castellucci). Then we have Douglas Lucas, trumpet player (deceased), an Afro-American from Chicago. Very talented, he was greatly influenced by Miles Davis. The sixth member was Mike Lovell, trombone player. He currently lives in Blackpool, England. He has gone back to his first musical love : New Orleans & Dixieland. Ralph Benatar, tenor sax & flute. I also arranged for the band. I have lived in the U.S. from 1978 to 1990, where I worked amongst others with Billy Preston.
Unfortunately the group didn't last very long, due to a lack of recognition. We all went our separate ways in a friendly and respectful manner. What could I add to this episode? It was a great chapter in my life, and I think of it as an exercise in the pursuit of quality.”
From an earlier interview with Ralph Benatar by Gerd De Wilde I have learned how before Plus Ralph played funk and soul (they were the musicians in the movie “The Commitments). The JJ band must have had other commissions too. Chicken Curry had some of JJ band members. The band also had accompanied for a while Jess and James (the two Portuguese brothers Wando and Tony Lam), with “Move” as their big hit. After a couple of years, Jess and James decided to go their own way, without the J.J.Band. With the J.J.Band they did record another album afterwards in England with producer Brian Bennett. This band existed from ’68 until about ’72. Besides that chapter there were a lot of studio projects, most of them around the Madeleine studios. First is mentioned the Brussels Black band Black Blood with one 45”, the hit single “ça plane pour moi” by Plastic Bertrand, a real studio band. Ralph also made arrangements for some Flemish singers, like most of the Ann Christy arrangements, or more arrangements for the studio band The Loveletts, something Ralph didn’t find a too interesting commitment. When the JJ Band changed name to “Plus” so did their music. Plus, he said in that interview “was more rockjazz or souljazz, much like the early Chicago Transit Authority output. We were a really heavy band, we had Bruno Castelluci on drums. You know, in those days he was one of Europe’s best drummers! We also hired a singer-guitarist from Luxembourg: Leslie Kent. I loved to perform with them, Plus was really a live band. We only did one album called “Plus”, we did concerts for a year or two but that was more or less the end of Plus.” In the late 70s Ralph Benatar also made disco with S.S.O. (Soul Sensation Orchestra), and produced many disco groups in LA in the 80s before returning to Belgium, being disappointed having been used for one’s own purposes so much.
