Virginia-based saxophonist James Plunky Branch is a prolific improviser, producer, and bandleader, whose career has straddled avant-garde jazz, funk, and R&B. Branch first emerged with his socially conscious African fusion ensemble Juju, releasing A Message from Mozambique on Strata East in 1973. In the '80s, he scored a Top Ten hit in England with his track "Every Way But Loose," featuring his group Plunky Oneness. Branch eventually founded his own Name Brand Records and has continued to release albums, including 1992's Spiritual Sounds Within My Soul, 2001's Got to Be Phunky, and 2006's Cold Heat. Along with performing, Branch has lectured and taught at various institutions and in 2012 was named one of the Richmond Public School system's Living Legacies.

Born in 1947 in Richmond, Virginia, Branch attended Columbia University in New York City before relocating to San Francisco in the early '70s. It was there that he formed his Afro-fusion group Juju, bringing together John Coltrane-influenced avant-garde jazz and African percussion rhythms. The group debuted with 1973's A Message from Mozambique on Strata East. Over time, Branch relaunched the group as Oneness of Juju, and followed with ever more soul- and R&B-infused albums like 1975's African Rhythms and 1976's Space Jungle Luv.

By the late '70s, Branch had moved back to Richmond, where helped establish the Richmond Jazz Society and continued performing with his funk ensemble Plunky Oneness. They released an album, Make a Change, which spawned the single "Every Way But Loose." The track caught the ear of DJs and in 1982 it reached the Top Ten of the British soul charts. Also in the early '80s, Branch founded his own Name Brand Records, releasing albums like 1984's Electric Juju Nation/Keep It Moving, 1988's Tropical Chill, and 1993's Spiritual Sounds Within My Soul.

Branch moved into education, working as an artist-in-residence at public schools. He also directed the jazz ensemble at Virginia Union University and lectured on Afro-American Music History at Virginia Commonwealth University. Accolades followed, including two NEA Jazz Fellowships and an appointment to the Governor's Task Force for the Promotion of the Arts in Virginia. In 2012, he was named one of the Richmond Public School system's Living Legacies. He continued to perform and record, releasing numerous albums including 2001's Got to Be Phunky, 2006's Cold Heat, and 2008's Drive It. An archival Juju album, Live at the East 1973, arrived on Black Fire Music in 2019. ~ Matt Collar, Rovi