The Sure Fire Soul Ensemble are a nine-piece instrumental funk and soul-jazz band from San Diego, California, formed in 2012 by keyboardist and songwriter Tim Felten. The group's music combines funk, soul, jazz, Afrobeat and hip hop influences, with artists including Isaac Hayes, The Meters, James Brown, Herbie Hancock, De La Soul and Wu-Tang Clan among their stated influences.
The band's first recordings appeared on the limited-edition “Layin' Low / I.B. Struttin'” 7-inch, released in 2013 in an edition of 500 copies. A second 45, “City Heights / Strollin' Adams,” followed in 2015, the same year as their self-titled debut album on Colemine Records.
Their music is largely instrumental and has been described as cinematic soul, combining heavy funk grooves with soul-jazz, breakbeats, Latin and African influences. Their second album, Out on the Coast, was released in 2016 and continued this approach, with the band drawing on both classic funk and jazz traditions while developing their own West Coast sound.
The group continued their relationship with Colemine Records with Build Bridges in 2019 and Step Down in 2022. Build Bridges reached number one on the Billboard Contemporary Jazz Albums chart, while Step Down debuted at number 14. They released the live album Live at Panama 66 in 2023.
In 2025, The Sure Fire Soul Ensemble released their fifth studio album, Gemini, on Colemine Records. The album continued their combination of jazz and funk while incorporating influences from library music, spiritual jazz, Black Jazz and Tribe Records, and exotica, alongside the group's established breakbeat-heavy sound.
The band have shared stages with artists including Kamasi Washington, Quantic, Lee Fields, Monophonics, Jungle Fire and The Family Stone, and in 2024 members of the group toured the United States as the backing band for hip hop legend Big Daddy Kane.
With their combination of heavy instrumental funk, soul-jazz, breakbeats and cinematic arrangements, The Sure Fire Soul Ensemble have become part of the modern funk revival and contemporary jazz scene, with a catalogue that spans limited 45s, studio albums and live recordings.
