Helmy More Funker's Band

About Us

The Helmy More Funker’s Band was formed in 2008. Since then, it has been regularly working on establishing a complete repertoire dedicated to funk.

The repertoire mainly consists of original compositions written by saxophonist Moreno HELMY (B.Connected, Soul Syndrom, Urgent Feel) and Robin Pitts, as well as covers of Tower of Power, among others.

After one year, a repertoire of compositions, and concerts, after two years a first CD, "FUNKY SKY," and after three years an international opening with a tour in China: the band performed at the Daning Theater in Shanghai, at the Grand Theater of Yangzhou, and outdoors in Suzhou Dushu. After a second CD recorded in 2012, "MAGIC LAND," the group returned to the studio for a third album in 2016, "Roller Jump," released in September 2017.

Moreno Helmy

Moreno Helmy is a well-known saxophonist in the Romandy jazz scene. From 1983 to 1986, Moreno Helmy performed throughout Europe with the ensemble Argentina 73. This experience as a saxophonist in a variety band was a first step towards jazz, leading him to form 2ND Version with four other musicians. The ensemble played from 1987 to 1991, recording a 33 RPM record. Moreno Helmy then collaborated with guitarist Bertrand Gallaz in the Soul Syndrom project, which enjoyed some success from 1988 to 1990 with nearly a hundred concerts in Switzerland and a CD. He then formed the group Urgent Feel in 1990, which became Urgent Feel Soul Project in 1996, with which he opened for Keziah Jones at the Montreux Jazz Festival in 1998. He is the co-founder, along with guitarist Eugène Montenero, of the ensemble B.Connected, with which he played from 1998 to 2008, recording five albums, including two live in Asia, and undertaking three tours in Asia, North Africa, and throughout Europe.

In 2008, he founded the Helmy More Funker’s Big Band, bringing together eighteen musicians that he leads in exploring a funk repertoire. Following a tour in China in 2011.

Currently, the Helmy More Funker's Big Band has been renamed HMF BAND, with 8 musicians, and with the addition of Robin Pitts (vocal and rap), the band has taken a more Urban Funk direction.

Robin Pitts (Bobby Surround)

The eldest son of a genius African American singer and drummer, Bobby has been immersed in American black music since a young age. Indeed, as a teenager, he formed his first band "Power Funk Family" with his father Vic Pitts, his brother, and his cousin, and then The Crib, with which he performed on the stages of the Miles Davis Hall at the Montreux Jazz Festival, among others.

Music is therefore a family affair for the Pitts. Coming from a long line of musicians, from his great-grandmother, a trombonist, to his grandmother, a jazz pianist in Wisconsin clubs, and his father, the leader of the group Vic Pitts and The Cheaters, Bobby is now in tune with his generation. He combines all the talents of a rapper, singer, drummer, beat-maker, author, and composer, making him a complete and charismatic artist.