Fertile Ground is an American soul jazz

Soul jazz

Soul jazz is a development of jazz incorporating strong influences from blues, soul, gospel and rhythm and blues in music for small groups, often an organ trio featuring a Hammond organ.- Overview :Soul jazz is often associated with hard bop. Mark C...

 band led by James H. Collins Jr. The group was founded in Baltimore

Baltimore

Baltimore is the largest independent city in the United States and the largest city and cultural center of the US state of Maryland. The city is located in central Maryland along the tidal portion of the Patapsco River, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay. Baltimore is sometimes referred to as Baltimore...

, Maryland

Maryland

Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...

 and is based in Atlanta, Georgia

Georgia (U.S. state)

Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...

.

History

James Collins founded Fertile Ground in 1998 as a three-piece band with vocalist Navasha Daya and Drummer Marcus Asante. The band represented soulful song writing over world rhythms. By 1999, the band added percussionist Ekendra Das, veteran trumpet player Freddie Dunn and woodwind virtuoso Craig D. Alston.

Collins created the record label Blackout Studios and the band self-released Field Songs (1998) and Spiritual War (1999). In 2000, label owner Jake Behnan of Counterpoint Records became enthused about the band and licensed the band's first two albums for a compilation entitled Perception. The Japanese label P-Vine Records agreed to release the band's music throughout Asia. By 2002, the band had sold 85,000 copies of their first two albums. Poised to release their third album, Seasons Change, they switched drummers adding Howard University

Howard University

Howard University is a federally chartered, non-profit, private, coeducational, nonsectarian, historically black university located in Washington, D.C., United States...

 alum Mark Prince. Still in his 20s, Prince had extensive touring experience.

Fertile Ground had sold more than 200,000 albums and embarked on a 42 date tour with stops in Baltimore, Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....

, LA, Paris

Paris

Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...

, Tokyo

Tokyo

, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...

, London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

. Led by the single "Higher", written by Collins, the band licensed music to more than 35 different labels including several motion pictures, commercial ads and television shows. In 2004, the band released the studio project entitled "Black Is..." Officially a sextet consisting of the original members, Fertile Ground continued touring for more than 5 years in support of the "Black Is..." album until talking a short hiatus in late 2009.

In early 2010, the members of Fertile Ground decided to take a break from touring as a unit and concentrate on individual projects. Mark Prince released his debut album A Fraction of Infinity. Freddie Dunn hit the studio to record for his debut funk/jazz hip hop project and Craig Alston started a unit called the Syndicate. After a decade with the band, lead vocalist Navasha Daya also decided to embark on other career goals and has been doing spot projects with various artists.