JazzDJ™ | Explorations in jazz

Exploring the many essences of that jazz juice groove!

News…

19.01.08

Happy New Year 2008…

Hope you all had an excellent Christmas and New Year!!!
Life changes and sometimes when we least expect it!!!

So 2008 is here, a new year, a new beginning and a new chapter in the life of JazzDJ… hopefully we will have many many more live dates for you this year, as the bookings are slowly on the increase at prestigious events, festivals and private funktions, from all around Europe!!! Still waiting on that sponsor for jazzdj.co.uk so we can take it back to a free jazzcast…

This year i really hope to achieve…

Nova Lujon @ the Sun Rooms died a sudden death of sorts last year due in part to a sudden personal change in my life… but we are moving on, remembering the good times [funky people session, Snowboy session...] and hopefully we will be finding a new home for this excellent night in London, where a new select crowd of more funky people can get with it all over again!!! It almost feels like a [re]birth is waiting to happen, a funky eclectic people dancing and gettin down to the beat of a new drum… [re]discovering underground soul funk jazz latin brazilian cuban disco nujazz breakbeat afrobeat bailefunk fusion and dance music gems from the 60’s to now and beyond… Like so many peeps have said to us, “this is such a funkin good night!” . See you at the [re]birth ;-) Peace!

10.11.07
Well… oops, for the last Nova Lujon i was asleep… apologies to Paul & Esther. Apparently it was a good and busy night! My hopes for the future of Nova at its current venue are slim (under new management)… will keep you posted on novalujon.com.

We some new jazzcasts enroute - some funky ones + more cinemaphonics…

Ok, after 3 weeks of sleepless nights and beard growing, the new feed has arrived… now you can subscribe to ‘Explorations in jazz’ again via iTunes. To listen, you will need a paid subscription to gain access to the feed and jazzcast downloads. Follow the instructions found on the ‘how to listen’ page. Peeps who have registered and never paid will soon be deleted. The free Exposé feed will come along soon.

We also have the beginings of a “forum” where we can discuss anything… members only.

More improvements coming along soon, after some music… some funk music!!!

Big thank you to all you jazzers from all over the world (UK, USA, France, Japan, Canada, Germany, Australia, Netherlands, Brazil, Belgium, Switzerland, Greece, Czech Republic, Hungary, Sweden, Iceland, Ukraine, Norway, Poland, Indonesia, Mexico, Denmark, Sao Tome, Thailand, Italy, Morocco and South Africa, to name a few) who have registered, your support is very well appreciated ;-)

Register now for £20 a year and get full access to all ‘Explorations in jazz’ jazzcast session downloads, or listen online!!! Read this post for more information. Our newest user is kalli2000

10.09.07
Well i did play at the Havana Club at the recent Bestival on the Isle of Wight, but in the end it was by proxy only in the form of 8 CD’s i entitled Cuban Caravan… the reason being was rain (there would have been no protection for the DJ’s (myself and Esther were going to make the trip!!!)) - i said there would be no rain!!!

As a nice consellation to this turn of events, JazzDJ (along with Esther), may be booked for the entire Havana Club tour next season, which includes Glastonbury, Connect and of course Bestival!!!

At the very last minute, i did manage to secure 2 passes for the Bestival so we still managed to go along and enjoy all the festivities… including the excellent Mr Scruff, the astounding Cuban Brothers (who did a funkin James Brown tribute too), the superb Rizzla Bar with Tim “Love” Lee, and the Havana Club!!! and… it never rained once!!!

JazzDJ and Tim “Love” Lee

29.08.07
Snowboy playing at Nova Lujon was excellent, too good!!! With a select crowd of friendly groovy jazzers, some coming down from London specially, the place rocked ’till closing time!!! And i danced my ass off ;-) BIG thank you to Snowboy, all at the Sun Rooms and everyone who made this exceptional night possible.

23.07.07
well well well… i hope you are. we have the most popular downloaded session so far ever on jdj eij with 031 Dance Jazz : no room for squares… 1000+ in just 10 days… so we like the true mixed nu jazz sessions then? some more on the way then! close behind is the bar session, more nujazz flava’s similar to the set i played for the channel five gig! i have loads of this stylee of stuff but jazz is such a vast spectrum of an audio landscape that we cannot ignore the other genres… or maybe jdj is just getting into the groove, now we are getting most of the vinyl collection onto the Mac, at last!!! some sessions are actually getting played soon at the Virgin Media party in London! JazzDj… remote dj ;-)

we have some other new sessions en route including fusion, exposé and reggae… yes i like all music which i find authentic and i did use to shuffle along at the Jah Shaka and associated sessions too ;-)

if you can check this Saturday’s Nova Lujon with our first ever guest dj Chris Powell funkin’ the stables… and next month with guest dj Snowboy, to be followed in September with the Tracksuit Awareness Campaign… it’s ALL good ;-)

Peace.

07.06.07
Have been quite productive with the jazzcasts of late… hope you are enjoying them ;-)

In July and August we are going to see the first gust DJ’s at Nova Lujon. In July we have the local legend Chris Powell. To be followed in August by the famous (also local) Snowboy… the first time he will have DJ’d in the area for 3 years! Make sure not to miss these nights!

Please leave comments or feedback anywhere on the site you like… essential for growth!

05.06.07
BIG thanks to QEM and Mr Phipson for the kind comments of the sessions i put together for them ;-) Check their sites for Quality musica (if you haven’t already)!

BIG sadness though at lack of comments and feedback from you listeners, only takes a minute, come on people spread the love ;-)

Going to be a few jazzcasts coming along shortly [as one says in Latin, proficuus! so JDJ will go on the back burner for a while!!!] so stand by…

Thanks to you brave souls who ventured out on Saturday’s cold wet night for some Brazilian chic groove… we actually started on time for once and had no technical difficulties… and we kept them dancing to the end!!! Us Nova crew have also noticed, with each night we do, whatever the genre, we always get some groovy people breakdancing on the floor ;-) Keep on! Nice to see some golfer’s at this one too!

Next Nova Lujon session is going to be a rare-groove-funk orgy, so get the flares ready… rewinding and playing homage to the good old days of Waves which was hosted by Dj’s Gary Dennis and Horace at the legendary friday night club in Southend, where I first discovered jazz-funk, circa 20 years ago!!!!!
Be there or funk off!!!

When you see this logo you’ll be able to listen live to an event via Radio Nova Lujon

31.03.07
Well the last Nova Lujon went well, apart from the late start, the few technical hiccups with my new laptop, the vj laptop and the streaming audio getting too loud from about midnight!!! apart from all this (gosh) it was a good night. Hopefully the Funky People session will go smoothly!!!

Played at this channel five funktion on Thursday and they seemed to like it. I did the intro set before Beverly Knight (who i had not heard before) came on stage and swung the crowd for thirty minutes, during which time i had the priviledge of meeting [and complimented on my set by] Alex of Bugz In The Attic, [a BIG thank you for that :-]

and I got to meet the Norman Jay MBE himself and he shared with me some wise words while i was warming the crowd (actually the stage was being taken apart at the time - but i got a few shuffling on the floor with a Willie Colon & Ruben Blades number ‘Plastico’, which Norman followed with a remixed version of Sergio Mendes ‘Mas Que Nada’). BIG Respect!

[yes the trademark JDJ fatman suit was out again and this IS a bad photo of me]!!!
See some more photo’s here

12.03.07
Ok, the streaming server is all set-up and ready to go for this coming Nova Lujon at the Sunrooms on the 24th… if you can’t make it listen in to this live session! About 5 hours worth of Quality groove, with everything from funk to disco, jazz dance to salsa! Come on you funky people, get involved ;-) Hopefully in the months to come we gonna get hold of some Quality guest DJ’s like Snowboy etc…

Have the next few sessions ready for recording and uploading, just finding the time these daze…

First ever competition is over and the winner is… watch this space!

Peace! JDJ

29.01.07
Happy New Year to one and all!
Have been taking a little time off from JDJ this new year! Would appreciate some feedback to inspire me!!!
Soon (next few weeks) we will have some new jazzcasts for your listening pleasure… a special in memory of JB, Alice Coltrane and Sivuca; a new Exploration session with a very brothers Mizell feel; also a Nova Lujon sampler session, to give you a feel for this new monthly Saturday night vibe! Plus we are going to have another extended jazz session!!! Someplace amongst all this we are going to have our second Exposé session, listening to some of the mass of music that has been sent in by you, the listener and pr rep!!!
Hope you are having a good year thus far, Peace be with you, JDJ.

PS. Congratulations to Paul Murphy::: (still after that session for Eij ;-)

PAUL MURPHY WINNER JOHN PEEL AWARD BBC WORLDWIDE SHOW 2006

PAUL MURPHY was first bitten by the DJ bug in the late 70’s when he was promoting a club night “ The Kingswood Club” and the DJ did’nt turn up due to inclement weather.

A string of Chitlin Circuit gigs followed till the big moment finally arrives with the opening “JAFFAS” at “The Horseshoe” ,Tottenham Court Road W1. The club was the first to mix jazz with the infant Jazz Dance scene. Guests included British acts such as Morrisey Mullen, Paz, Breakfast Band, Gonzalez and USA legends Former Weather Report drummer Alphonse Mouzon, Vibes player Jay Hoggard & The Heath Brothers (on the night of the Brixton Riots!!).

Further mishaps and adventures followed including a year running a shop (Fusion Records) in Clerkenwell and promoting a concert at the “YMCA” featuring Brazilian singer/pianist Tania Maria.

Other gigs and clubs Paul Murphy has played include: “The Electric Ballroom” Camden Town, also Paul started the now legendary “Jazz Room” Brighton,(still going after all these years!) , “The Wag Club” Soho W1, “The 100 Club”, Oxford Street, London W1, “The Comedy Store”, London W1 and The “Sol Y Sombra”, Charlotte Street, London W1. Paul also dj’d with such luminaries as Tito Puente & Celia Cruz, Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers, Jimmy McGriff, Lonnie Smith, at this time as well as being (somewhat mysteriously) the dj at the first London concert for Mancunian miserablists The Smiths

In 1984 to 1986 Paul ran Palladin Records which released the now seminal Venceremos by London based collective Working Week & was also the first WIRE Magazine DJ of the Year in 1985.

Eddie Piller of Acid Jazz rediscovered Paul in Ireland after his mysterious disappearance from the
club scene at the beginning of the 90’s. Paul took up his offer ofa residency at the much missed Blue Note club in London’s Hoxton Square.
This put Paul right back in the spotlight and Paul is now managing and A & R’ing and also a recording artist at Afro Art Records, the London based label founded by the X-Press 2’s Ashley Beedle.
Paul has remixed and produced many varied projects including Neon Heights, Solar Apple Quarktette, Robin Jones ,Tito Heron, Kid Loco for the Cocteau Twins label and Ashley Slater formerly of Freakpower and his remix of Mod’xs The Quest was a club smash in 2004 and watch out for his definitive remix of “Rock This” by DJ Angola being released in 2007.

Pauls single “JAZZ ROOM” THE SPIRITUAL SOUTH MIX was number One in Gilles Peterson’s chart (BBC RADIO ONE WORLDWIDE) and was the summer of 2004’s smash hit! Paul was also (heavily) featured on a recent 3 part documentary on the British Jazz scene “Jazz Brittania” as the instigator of the Jazz Revival of the 1980’s , which is still going strong and has now reached a “Worldwide” audience.

Paul has worked constantly for the last five years & has re-established himself as one of the most popular & in demand dj’s in Europe. Pauls album “The Trip” was released to great acclaim at the end of 2006 where it not only was voted into the top 5 of the Gilles Peterson show but Paul also won the Prestigious JOHN PEEL AWARD from the BBC WORLDWIDE SHOW .

Paul’s next project is AFRO ARTHOUSE , which is funky themes from his favorite Art House movies. So far there are tracks from Kid Loco, Glyn Bigga Bush, Diesler, Paul Murphy, Mod’x, Jung Collective, Origami, Peak, Buscemi, Gerardo Frisina& Fort Knox Five. Some of the films included are 2001, Goodbye Lenin, Wicker Man, Seven Samurai, Withnail & I , Ghost Dog , Amarcord, Underground, Z and Get Carter.

What they say about Paul Murphy.

Gilles Peterson: “Paul Murphy is the original Jazz Messenger. He opened the door to an alternative way of Djing. The rest is history.”

Ashley Beedle: “One of the biggest influences on the music I play today. A true innovator. Good to see him back.”

Rainer Truby: “A true legend and a major key figure in this whole jazz/dance and beyond-movement. I wish him good luck for his future productions and I’m curious to hear them ….”

Norman Jay: “Probably one of the most respected and influential freestyle jazz DJ’s of his generation …. Period!”

Eddie Piller: “I) the unsung hero of the British Jazz, ii) the originator of the British Jazz rebirth, iii) a nice bloke etc. etc.”

Paul “Trouble” Anderson: “Paul Murphy is a “JazzieFunk Double Disco” It is great to have you back man, long overdue. Respect in the musik from me to you.”

Bob Jones: “I love the idea of the combination of Paul Murphy’s jazz roots brought bang up to date for the new millenium for the whole new audience that’s just waiting out there.”

Jonathan More: “When Paul played at the Meltdown parties I ran he would play the most frantic fantastic out there funky jazz I ever heard. A revelation in revolutions.”

15.12.06
Enjoyed fully the last ever session of Baddabing the other night - thanks to all of you who came down for a fully enjoyable set. Maybe is was the 4.5 Hoegaardens but i loved playing the music this night, found myself shimmying in the dj booth. Played some serious Brazillian and funk numbers…
Pulling out some serious grooves for the Nova Lujon night @ the Sunrooms… check out the “sampler session” soon to be broadcast on SkintStream internet radio on Thursday 21st December. A little taste of what to expect on the 30th…
Planning an “other” set for the next Exploration session, this will be “other” tracks off of albums which have famous tracks on them - the ones that always get played. Check this out and see why you should always buy the original albums of artistes… An album (for me) is like a book (ex-school friend Scott Pack might agree here), you can’t get the full flavour by reading just one chapter, “How does it begin? How does it end?” Imagine never having listened to all of Marvin Gaye’s ‘What’s Going On’ album or Pharoah Sander’s ‘Karma’ album or John Coltrane’s ‘A Love Supreme’ album… etcetera etcetera…
Also hopefully slip in a “Lounge” session before Christmas.

29.11.06
Have had a request for a JDJ guest mix from the masters over at Quincy Essential Music which is a honnor! Gonna dust off some of the rare vinyl crates for this exclusive session.
Also will be creating a new monthly 2 hour session for istation www.skintstream.net which is starting soon. My schedule will be the third Thursday of every month, beginning December 21st 2006, 2100-2300 (GMT). Gonna call them “session77″ and play rare jazz + funk + brazillian…

14.11.06
JazzPod 020 in production but proving difficult, my first spoken jazzcast after-all! Will get there soon…

New iPod Nano RED specifically purchased for my new Nike+ system. May create some “running, workout” sessions…
Purchasing the RED version also makes a donation to the charity, feels good.

07.11.06
Venue has been confirmed for first ever Nova Lujon night! Saturday 30th December @ The Sunrooms, Southend-on-Sea.
Put this date in your diaries for an evening of Quality Jazz Dance & Lounge + first class visuals from Blonde Films. More news coming soon.

10.10.06
Baddabing with The Girl from Ipagelsham, Kim Glover and trio.

28.09.06
Requested guest mixes from Dr Bob Jones, Gilles Peterson, Paul Murphy and Snowboy - still waiting to hear… still hopefull ;-)

Coming up…
JazzPod 020 Exposé : still time to send in your mp3, CD or vinyl for inclusion, see JazzDJ Contact for submission routes.

20.09.06
played my first official night under the new “JazzDJ” name last night and enjoyed it ;-) thus securing a residency at the Baddabing Nite weekly event, warming up for the bands and alternating with other Guest DJ’s. Benjamin of blonde supplied the VJing with some seriously good jazz clips etcetera. good practice us working together for the future Nova Lujon collaberation…

01.09.06
little late for the August session as have just returned from well deserved holiday, so next sunday is the day!
also realised while away that i have repeated one tune in two jazzcasts, Right On (Boogaloo Joe Jones) appears in jazzpod 002 and jazzpod 017… apologies but it is a good tune and just goes to show how one track call fall under numerous genres. i dislike genres anyway which is why the new jazzcasts are going to be a little more eclectic, more like a radio show minus the chat ;-)

13.08.06
http://www.bbc.co.uk/1xtra/tx/documentaries/shape_of_jazz_to_come.shtml interesting…

10.08.06
looking into possibility of broadcasting: Nova Lujon Radio [ www.novalujon.com ] 24/7
would be playlists mainly with live sessions once a week, maybe…

09.08.06
new website… better on the eyes ;-) still in construction…

coming up…

JazzPod 019 Ambient set live @ festival in the countryside
JazzPod 020 Exposé (Send in your CD or MP3’s - see JazzDJ Contact - Deadline August 28th)
JazzPod 021 NEW STYLE JDJ SESSIONS COMING! Now the 20 session warm-up is over, we are going to get-down to business, exploring, mashing it up, off the beaton track ;-) Stay tuned!

+++ Guest Mixes ;-)

+++ The JDJ Vanguard Interviews !!!

NEW! Audio Comments: record your comments or say something groovy and it may get included in-the-mix!!! See comments audio