Falsetto-equipped singer/guitarist Zee Desmondes and drummer Teddy Powell crossed paths skateboarding in Manhattan's Lower East Side. Bonding over a mutual affinity for R&B artists such as Curtis Mayfield, the Delfonics, and Bobby Caldwell, as well as rugged '90s hip-hop, they partnered as the Jack Moves and eventually based themselves out of Newark. In 2010, Desmondes and Powell offered a dusty version of the Ledgends' "A Fool for You," and two years later returned with the twilight ballad "Kiss in the Dark," issued on 7" with "A Fool for You" on the B-side. The single appeared on the duo's imprint Fulltime -- the name of the label, like their stage name, presumably a reference to Ice Cube's "Jackin' for Beats." A few years later, the musicians connected with the record label extension of Wax Poetics magazine and released another 7" single, "Doublin' Down." The elegantly finessed and aching ballad set up the October 2015 arrival of the duo's self-titled, self-produced debut album.
The Jack Moves toured and wrote more material, and struck a deal with Everloving Records. Working closely with label co-founder J.P. Plunier, they put together the full-length Free Money, a comparatively brighter set highlighted by the frisky single "Nasty." Between albums, the duo toured extensively, and in 2020 recorded "Horror Games," a social justice-themed single (with all proceeds donated to the ACLU) that took their sound closer to Parliament-Funkadelic. Desmondes and Powell resumed their Everloving affiliation in 2022 with their self-produced third album, Cruiserweight, assisted by arranger Paul Kyser. ~ Andy Kellman, Rovi