Acid jazz is a music genre that combines elements of funk, soul, and hip hop, as well as jazz and disco. Acid jazz originated in clubs in London during the 1980s with the rare groove movement and spread to the United States, Western Europe, Latin America and Japan. Acts included The Brand New Heavies, Incognito, James Taylor Quartet, Us3, and Jamiroquai from the UK, and Guru, Buckshot LeFonque and Digable Planets from the U.S. The rise of electronic club music in the middle to late 1990s led to a decline in interest, and in the twenty-first century, acid jazz became indistinct as a genre. Many acts that might have been defined as acid jazz are seen as jazz-funk, or nu jazz.
Gilles Jérôme Moehrle MBE, better known as Gilles Peterson, is a French broadcaster, DJ, and record label owner. He founded the influential labels Acid Jazz and Talkin' Loud, and started his current label Brownswood Recordings in 2006. He was awarded an honorary MBE in 2004, the AIM Award for Indie Champion and the Mixmag Award for Outstanding Contribution To Dance Music in 2013, the PRS for Music Award for Outstanding Contribution to Music Radio in 2014, and The A&R Award from the Music Producers Guild in 2019.
Roy Ayers is an American vibraphonist, record producer and composer. Ayers began his career as a post-bop jazz artist, releasing several albums with Atlantic Records, before his tenure at Polydor Records beginning in the 1970s, during which he helped pioneer jazz-funk. He is a key figure in the acid jazz movement, and has been described as "The Godfather of Neo Soul". He is best known for his compositions "Everybody Loves the Sunshine", "Lifeline", and "No Stranger To Love" and other that charted in the 1970s. At one time, he was said to have more sampled hits by rappers than any other artist.
Fred Wesley is an American trombonist who worked with James Brown in the 1960s and 1970s, and Parliament-Funkadelic in the second half of the 1970s.
Ian Carr was a Scottish jazz musician, composer, writer, and educator. Carr performed and recorded with the Rendell-Carr quintet and jazz-fusion band Nucleus, and was an associate professor at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London. He also wrote biographies of musicians Keith Jarrett and Miles Davis.
Jazz-funk is a subgenre of jazz music characterized by a strong back beat, electrified sounds, and analog synthesizers. The integration of funk, soul, and R&B music and styles into jazz resulted in the creation of a genre that ranges from pure jazz improvisation to soul, funk or disco with jazz arrangements, jazz riffs, jazz solos, and sometimes soul vocals. Jazz-funk was popular in United States and United Kingdom. Similar genres include soul jazz, jazz fusion and acid jazz.
Randall Bramblett is an American musician and singer-songwriter, whose career as a solo artist, session player, and touring musician, has spanned more than three decades. He has worked with Gregg Allman, Bonnie Raitt, Goose Creek Symphony, Robbie Robertson, Elvin Bishop, Steve Winwood, Bonnie Bramlett, B.J. Thomas, Widespread Panic, Jay E. Livingston and Roger Glover. He plays keyboards, saxophones, flute, guitar, mandolin, and harmonica, and his songwriting is influenced by blues, folk, and gospel music.
Confessions of a Pop Group is the fourth full-length studio album by English sophisti-pop band the Style Council, released 20 June 1988 by Polydor. After the critical failure of The Cost of Loving (1987), tensions between Polydor and lead singer Paul Weller intensified, but Polydor paid Weller a hefty advance for the recording of Confessions. Backing vocalist Dee C. Lee became an official member during the sessions, while drummer Steve White left the group. The sessions were engineered by "Jezar" using two 24-track digital recorders, which allowed the group to experiment in ways they had not previously engaged before.
Eugene McDuffy, known professionally as "Brother" Jack McDuff or "Captain" Jack McDuff, was an American jazz organist and organ trio bandleader. He was most prominent during the hard bop and soul jazz era of the 1960s, often performing with an organ trio. He is also credited with giving guitarist George Benson his first break.
Bernard Lee "Pretty" Purdie is an American drummer, and an influential R&B, soul and funk musician. He is known for his precise musical time-keeping and his signature use of triplets against a half-time backbeat: the "Purdie Shuffle." He was inducted into the Modern Drummer Hall of Fame in 2013.
Hammondbeat Records is an American record label dedicated to bands and fans of the organ sound. Hammondbeat finds its origins in 1997 as the fan website JTQgroove for the Hammond organ led Acid Jazz band. Over the first five years, JTQgroove grew as a fan collective that moved well beyond the constraints of one artist, and soon attracted many next-generation organ-centric bands, leading to a recording project with The Link Quartet. The Link Quartet were greatly influenced by the sound established by JTQ 15 years earlier. Beat.It was the project, and while JTQ influences can be heard, The Link Quartet found themselves leaders with 10 years or more professional experience from each founding member, and Paolo Negri on keys.
John Robert "Johnny Hammond" Smith was an American soul jazz and hard bop organist. Born in Louisville, Kentucky, he was a renowned player of the Hammond B-3 organ so earning "Hammond" as a nickname, which also avoided his being confused with jazz guitarist Johnny Smith though this could lead to him being confused with Jimmy Smith (musician), another Hammond great.
Lonnie Smith, styled Dr. Lonnie Smith, was an American jazz Hammond B3 organist who was a member of the George Benson quartet in the 1960s. He recorded albums with saxophonist Lou Donaldson for Blue Note before being signed as a solo act. He owned the label Pilgrimage, and was named the year's best organist by the Jazz Journalists Association nine times.
Frank Ricotti is an English jazz vibraphonist and percussionist.
John David Prior is an Australian musician, composer and producer recognized for his work with Matt Finish, Adrian Belew, Mick Taylor, Roy Buchanan, Champion Jack Dupree, New Theatre, Coca-Cola, The Great Outdoors, Iota, Wicked Beat Sound System, Kevin Borich and Dale Barlow.
Lara Rose is a British singer, songwriter and recording artist with gospel, soul, funk and R&B roots. Her early singing experience started in school and church where she sang in the choir and performed with various gospel artists.
Mother Earth were an English acid jazz outfit based in London. The band members were Matt Deighton on guitar and vocals, Bryn Barklam on Hammond organ, Chris White on drums and Neil Corcoran on bass. Shauna Green was the lead singer on the first album. Prior to their debut live performance, where they played alongside another debutant band Jamiroquai, they started out as a studio project in 1991 with Paul Weller, James Taylor of the James Taylor Quartet and Simon Bartholomew from the Brand New Heavies as contributors.
The Craig Charles Funk and Soul Show is a British radio programme, broadcast on BBC Radio 6 Music on Saturdays, between 6 pm and 9 pm, and from 2016 until 2022 between 10 pm and 12 midnight on BBC Radio 2. The Radio 6 Music show is presented live by Craig Charles and produced by Simon Hodge, Ben Appleyard and Ellen Orchard for TBI Media. All varieties of funk and soul music are played, from classic tracks to contemporary releases. It is the longest-running show on BBC Radio 6 Music.
Smoove & Turrell are a British group hailing from Gateshead in the North East of England. They play a style of music they describe as "Northern Funk" - a contemporary fusion of funk, soul, northern soul, hip-hop and electronica.
The Filthy Six are a British jazz group encompassing funk, acid jazz, and soul jazz, involving the use of Hammond organ.
