Think you might like this Pacific 707 | Cruisic (bandcamp.com) / Jazz Carnival/Pacific 707 | Cruisic (bandcamp.com)
That looks great. Thanks. I’ll find a copy to read. I used to have a thing for Snowboy. Got 3 of his own CDs with The Latin Section, tracks on compilations, and his own comp The Hi-Hat The True Jazz Dance Sessions, which I played yesterday and must admit that, as previously, I was a little underwhelmed. Can’t win ‘em all I guess. His own material is ferocious.
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You’ll love it, I couldn’t put it down. Definitely check out the Colin Curtis comps Colin Curtis | Discography | Discogs and his podcast Colin Curtis Podcast (podomatic.com) for a great mix of old, reissued and current artists. Anything with the names Russ Dewbury Russ Dewbury | Discography | Discogs and Paul Murphy Paul Murphy | Discography | Discogs is generally a safe bet. Apologies if I’m preaching to the converted!
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Played Jazz Juice 6 (for myself) last night. Crackerjack selection, no great rarities that I’m aware of but solid tunes. Was always a sucker for the sleeve, which looks much better irl than on Discogs.
Also found the first Snowboy LP, Ritmo Snowbo, buried deep. Great record, spicy sleeve notes, very enjoyable and musically impressive.
When it comes to compilers, I’m a follower of Dean Rudland. The Mod Jazz series absolutely hooked me.
I suppose my tastes run a little bit more towards R’n’B than straight ahead true jazz, but there’s plenty of crossover.
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Yup, got a few Russ Dewbury comps and even his Beyond The Rains album with his Mitchell & Dewbury setup.
Yes I only recently recognised Dean Rudland as one to look out for…and of course Baz Fe and other BGP compilations (as per your pic).
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All I need now is the time to listen to them all. I was a little surprised by how good they generally sounded. A youth well spent collecting such things!
Some great stuff on several of those comps. I always used to rate Dean R’s selections, both as compiler and DJ. Baz Fe Jazz really was one of the unsung heroes of the nascent funk and jazz scenes in London (and ultimately the UK). If I remember correctly, he jacked it all in to become a minister in the 7th Day Adventists. I think that was in about 1990 just as the scene was really taking off, at which point he sold all his records for a pretty meagre sum, the purchaser being a certain Mr G Peterson (who else?!).
I haven’t read Snowboy’s book yet, been meaning to for a while so thanks for the reminder!
Wrt that Hi Hat True Jazz Dance Sessions 2LP - I quite like it. I’ve played Dionne’s version of Caravan quite a lot, and the Grupo X and the Jon Lucien. The only limp track for me was the version of Watermelon Man (surprising, as I normally love pretty much ALL versions of it).
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In case someone somewhere doesn’t know it, this was released on Paul Murphy’s Jazz Room label in 2022, so I’m guessing he played it out and people danced to it. Laurence Mason’s lockdown project. “Golden Brown” in the style of, and edited to film of Dave Brubeck’s “Take Five”.
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I went and my legs are still aching. Marc Mac played a blinder.
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Can you remember any of the tunes he played? Would love to hear more (God bless shazam etc).
Blimey, it’s a while ago now, the only thing I can remember was his version of Les Fleur, shazam was useless or rather there was no signal on site which was a bit annoying. If I think of anything else I’ll let you know.
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Just stumbled on this thread. After going to the Dingwalls reunion last year I did a mix remembering the scene from way back when that may be of interest, along with a blog with some memories:
- Wind Chant – SWISH
- Samba De Sausalito – Santana
- Tombo in 7/4 – Airto
- Celebration – Eric Kloss
- La Pasionara – Michel Legrand & Co.
- Mr P. C. – John Coltrane
- Te Caliente – Patsy Gallant
- I’ll Bet You Thought I’d Never Find You – Jon Hendricks
- Boss Tres Bien – Quartette Tres Bien
- Ran Kan Kan – Tito Puente
- House of Bamboo – Earl Grant
- Work Song – Oscar Brown, Jr
- Right Now – Mel Torme
- Psychedelic Sally – Eddie Jefferson
- Bring Down The Birds – Herbie Hancock
- Wiggle Waggle – Herbie Hancock
- Roforofo Fight – Fela & The Africa 70
- Higher Ground – Doug Carn
- Sausalito – Grover Washington, Jr
- On The Red Clay – Mark Murphy
- Cool Out – Leroy Hutson
- Everybody Loves The Sunshine – Ramp
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That was nice to wake up to and has got me in the (NYE) mood…sadly my IRL event won’t be half as much fun. Whilst we are on the subject I’m largely aware of the big hitters thanks to the Snowboy book and many comps listed in this thread but what I’m really interested in, and as mentioned in the book, is the slower tunes that were played to keep the ladies happy. Do you know hat “warm-up” tunes were played before the “battles” started in earnest.
off the top of my head, here are a few that would appear in these types of set:
All Because of You - Leroy Hutson
Can’t Hide Love - Creative Source
I’m Gonna love You Just A Little Bit More - Kellee Patterson
Come Into My Life - The Supremes
Call Me - Nancy Wilson
Summer In The City - Quincy Jones
Would You Believe In Me - Jon Lucien
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When I think of jazz-dance warm-up tunes, I think of stuff like this…
Or this…
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I’ll listen to pretty much anything arranged by Richard Evans or Charles Stepney!
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More recollections of jazz-dance warm-up tunes:
As the serious side of the dancefloor was typically uptempo fusion, hard bop, and percussive jazz or Latin jazz, the build-up was often mid-tempo funky versions of the same or similar.
This got spins, features a host of top players iirc:
This was an old funky-fusion classic, which I think still sounds interesting:
I don’t recall this one being on any specific playlists, but I think it fits the mood. Been covered by various different bands, but the Fania All-Stars is my preferred version:
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Zaius is amazing. I’d put that as more of midnight tune though - I remember playing it out a few times and it was the one that really sent the crowd wild.
Love Viva Tirado, I think you’re right that’s the best version. But I also like the El Chicano version I mixed in here:
Johnny Pearson’s is good too:
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Yes, you’re probably right about Zaius being a good peak-time spin - I should trust my instincts more!
Thought about a few more pre-‘battle’ tracks that got played at jazz-dance gigs:
A UK cabaret band’s version of the Amancio da Silva track Jaipur - has a great kitsch sleeve:
Part 2 of the Jimmy Smith classic:
More Jimmy Smith, this time the title track of a movie of the same name:
Funky fusion, this one often gets overlooked because everyone tends to associate the album with Turn Off The Lights:
Ramsey Lewis and EWF - another Richard Evans arrangement! Once again, not the ‘big’ track off this album.
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