TOP 40 JAZZ FUNK 1975-1981

[Forrrce]

Well, Quinny - until JP turns up, I'll give my take on your last few points - with which, by the way, I concur. The deliberate 'esoterica' factor of jazz-funk - the obscure imports, unpronouncable names and general kudos associated with such things, could give the scene (as with real jazz) a high 'wanker' factor. Because my tastes have 'hardened' considerably since then and with the general passage of time, the term 'jazz-funk' describes a lighter side of the genre - Ramsey Lewis, Shakatak, etc., - are what my peer group are more likely to refer to as jazz-funk, whilst edgier, more progressive stylings (Dave Liebman, Terumasa Hino, Steve Grossman, et al) we simply class as fusion. Maybe because of Robbie Vincent's "Jazz-Funk 40", which became the "Fusion 40"!
What I'm getting at is when the dust has settled, you find your own way - jazz-funk and fusion worked for me to the point that I got heavily into '50s and '60s jazz, which is where a lot of my money goes 'til this day.
I do see some parallels with the old jazz-funk scene and what's going on today. There's that 'emperor's new clothes' factor (no pun intended) which kept the acid jazz alive longer than its .5 deserving minutes and currently there's a lot of trip-hoppy nonsense that gets passed off as 'jazz'. Something like that Koop LP is perfect for those who don't want to listen to Coltrane, but don't mind if he's (unimaginatively) sampled. And the broken beat, west London / Jazzanova stuff - the odd not-bad tune abounds but this seems to be classed as some sort of new jazz. It has a high trendy/esoteric factor but lacks any substance the jazz-funk scene may have had, but I think this is like a modern-day version of the same thing.

[QUINNY]

Jazz: Dear Limmertz was probably my favourite Azymuth track, but seriously now, how could it be placed above Jazz Carnival in the context of danceability? The sheer vivacity of 'Carnival' was exhilirating. This split to some extent epitomises the Radio vs. Club play aspect of Jazz Funk. Limmertz was danceable but probably with a small 'd' for most people, eh?
Jazzy Postman Pat....intrigueing. Let us not forget the other heavy slice of funk rap that had toddlers up and jammin' (in '84 this time)
'Woodpeckers from Space' (forget who by...... aha found it 'Video Kids') as featured in a Pingu episode. I fell out of my chair when that aired!!

[jazz_pilgrim]

Quinny - Jazz Carnival was definitely the more danceable of the two and I really used to love dancing to it. it was anexhilarating track, but I also thought it had an unusual beat to it, and I was surprised (and pleased) that it made the Top 20. I still play it from time to time. Dear Limmertz was all about atmosphere - it has a nice "autumnal" feel about it. For me it was in the "Summer Madness" groove. A great listening track ... but the bass was pretty decent for dancing as well. I have Latin jazz 2 and there is another Azymuth track on that (Can't remember the name) - a 10 min mid tempo track that also chugs along very nicely...

[Greg Wilson]

As Forrrce pointed out, when Jazz-Funk's popularity began to wane many people got into Fusion. From 1982 I limited the Jazz I played to a couple of spots per night, running 3 or 4 records at a time for the Fusion crews. Although Electro-Funk took over as the dominant style during 82/83 (at least in the North), the Jazz spots continued to be a popular part of my nights until I stopped deejaying in 1984.

I've just come across a couple more lists from the early 80's, which reflect the Jazz stuff I was playing at Wigan Pier and Legend:

TOP 10 JAZZ OF 82
1.BOBBY McFERRIN dance with me
2.LESSETTE WILSON caveman boogie
3.RAY BARRETTO pastime paradise
4.GROVER WASHINGTON JNR little black samba
5.TOKI & SAMBA FRIENDS brasil
6.DOM UM ROMAO braun blek blu
7.PETER MAGADINI samba de Rollins
8.STUDIO TRIESTE malaguena
9.BAYA a vegas kind of guy
10.COCONUTS CREW sambolero

25 FEATURED JAZZ ALBUMS 1983:
BOY KATINDIG midnight lady
BOBBY ENRIQUEZ the wild man
MASURU IMADA andalusian breeze
SWAMP CHILDREN so hot
TANIA MARIA come with me
CAYENNE roberto who?
RARE SILK new weave
VICTOR FELDMAN secret of the andes
LONNIE LISTON SMITH dreams of tomorrow
RICHIE COLE return to alto acres
WEBSTER LEWIS touch my love
EARL KLUGH low fide
SERGIO MENDES sergio mendes
WAR the music band jazz
CHIC COREA return to forever
CHIC COREA light as a feather
NAYO MATSUOKA daybreak
PAULHINO DA COSTA agora
GERRY MULLIGAN little big horn
ART PEPPER today
BRAZILIA brazilia
ROLAND VALQUEZ urban ensemble
ART BLAKEY the jazz messenger
ART BLAKEY a night in tunisia
DIANNE SHUUR pilot of my destiny

[SandraDee]

I love that Lesette Wilson 'Caveman Boogie' track; I've recently bought the CD re-issue of 'Now That Ive Got Your Attention' which is brilliant.

I know I'm probably alone here but as well as liking much of the stuff mentioned above, being into 'disco' as much as the jazz-finkier stuff, I actually liked alot of the disco that jazz artists made such as 'Disco Land' by Norman Connors, 'Ill Never Forget My Favourite Disco' by Dexter Wansell & 'Disco Dancing' by Stanley Turrentine. These type of tracks were fun & unpretentious which is why the media hated disco so much & terminated it ASAP. :evil:

[zeca azevedo]

Hey,

almost all these jazz/soul tracks are great , but I'm listening to QUARTERFLASH's HARDEN MY HEART right now :lol:

zeca azevedo, wrong place, wrong time

[Greg Wilson]

Sorry to be such an sad anorak! This is how the two charts look combined:

1. CHIC COREA central park 49+41+90
2. LONNIE LISTON SMITH expansions 40+49=89
3. B. BAKER CHOCOLATE CO snowblower43+44=87
4. CEDAR WALTON latin america 34+47=81
5. ROY AYERS running away 30+27=57
6. LEE RITENOUR marketplace 50
- MIROSLAV VITOUS new york city 50
8. BENNY GOLSON the new killer joe 48
- AZYMUTH dear limmertz 48
10.MONGO SANTAMARIA watermelon man 47
11.EARL KLUGH amazon 46
- CHARLES EARLAND over and over 46
13.JOE SAMPLE there are many stops... 12+33=45
- LEON HUFF latin spirit 45
- IDRIS MOHAMMED could heaven ever be like this 45
16.JUDY ROBERTS never was love 44
17.BOBBY LYLE the genie 43
18.BOB JAMES snowbird fantasy 42
- WILLIE BOBO always there 42
20.WAR the world is a ghetto 41
21.HARVEY MASON till you take my love 40
22.MARK SOSKIN walk tall / caribbean party stomp 39
- NEIL LARSEN sudden samba 39
24.EDDIE HENDERSON prance on 38
- WEBSTER LEWIS el bobo 38
26.RICHARD TEE first love 37
- FREDDIE HUBBARD little sunflower 37
28.JEFF LORBER FUSION the samba 36
- DONALD BYRD places & spaces 36
30.GEORGE BENSON the world is a ghetto 15+20=35
- MASS PRODUCTION shante 35
- WILBERT LONGMIRE black is the color 35
33.SEAWIND he loves you 34
34.PAULHINO DA COSTA love 'til the end of time 33
35.GEORGE DUKE brazillian love affair 18+14=32
- RONNIE LAWS youngchild 32
- DAVID BENOIT life is a samba 32
38.HERBIE HANCOCK I thought it was you 31
- WILTON FELDER inherit the wind 31
40.EDDIE HENDERSON say you will 30
41.ROY HAYNES vistalite 29
- JOHN KLEMMER Brasilia 29
43.DONALD BYRD dominoes (live version) 28
- NED DOHENY to prove my love 28
45.AL DI MEOLA roller jubilee 27
46.BLACKBYRDS rock creek park 26
- RODNEY FRANKLIN the groove 26
48.CHICO HAMILTON the strut 25
- FUNKADELIC one nation under a groove 25
50.RICHIE COLE hi-fly 24
- RUBEN WILSON got to get your own 24

[jazz_pilgrim]

Greg,

With such a list, where could I hope to begin? Suffice to say, I am sure that I and my fellow Jazz Pilgrims still have many great memories of dancing to most of those tunes.

Here are the tracks that were particularly special to us

2. LONNIE LISTON SMITH expansions 40+49=89 8)
3. B. BAKER CHOCOLATE CO snowblower43+44=87
4. CEDAR WALTON latin america 34+47=81
5. ROY AYERS running away 30+27=57 8)
8. BENNY GOLSON the new killer joe 48
- CHARLES EARLAND over and over 46
- IDRIS MOHAMMED could heaven ever be like this 45
- WILLIE BOBO always there 42 8)
20.WAR the world is a ghetto 41
- WEBSTER LEWIS el bobo 38
- FREDDIE HUBBARD little sunflower 37
- DONALD BYRD places & spaces 36
30.GEORGE BENSON the world is a ghetto 15+20=35
- MASS PRODUCTION shante 35
- WILBERT LONGMIRE black is the color 35
35.GEORGE DUKE brazillian love affair 18+14=32
- RONNIE LAWS youngchild 32
- DAVID BENOIT life is a samba 32
40.EDDIE HENDERSON say you will 30
- JOHN KLEMMER Brasilia 29 8)
43.DONALD BYRD dominoes (live version) 28 8) 8) 8) 8)
- NED DOHENY to prove my love 28
46.BLACKBYRDS rock creek park 26 8)
- RODNEY FRANKLIN the groove 26
- FUNKADELIC one nation under a groove 25
- RUBEN WILSON got to get your own 24 8)

Dominoes was the Jazz Pilgrims' ANTHEM 8)

A lot of the others I know and love as well! But ironically enough, though, I don't recall the Chick Corea track at #1!

Could heaven ever be like this ? I think I've arrived! :D

Cheers for the memories!!

:)

[NickNack]

Hi all you Jazz-sters,

I finally got to read this thread form beginning to end. Wow --- so many names I don't know but quite a few I do. What interests me is your discussion about playing these in the clubs. Were you using them with your disco sets or were you guys working clubs exclusive for this type of music? I ask because a few on your list were club hits here but I don't remember anyone taking the time to break the music down as "jazz-funk" or "fusion". I mean, yes, those terms, especially 'fusion', were getting a lot of radio talk shall I say, but a good dance record was simply that, a good dance record. The perfect example would be Charles Earland's "Over and Over". I would bet that a good deal of us who got this promo 12" at the time had no idea Earland was a jazz musician. I know I didn't.

Others in your list like "Street Life", "Always There", the Idris Muhammad cuts, Richard Tee... yeah, we knew they were 'jazzy,' but who cared. They got people on the floor. EVERYBODY played "Street Life", it was too hot to ignore. "Summer Madness" was simply a <very> serious groove from a bunch of guys I'd been listening to since I was a teenager.

I guess what I'm getting at is back then, when you were all working these records, were you also as big on the categorization of what you were using? You talk about the "jazz-funk scene" as if it was an entity of it's own in the clubs. As if people came out to dance to this and only this in their favorite night spot. Have I misunderstood? The appreciation of black-rooted music appears much deeper on your side of the world and I thought maybe something had taken place there that hadn't here.

[Greg Wilson]

Hi NickNack,
The Jazz-Funk movement was specialist or 'upfront', with its own nights seperate from the mainstream scene (although popular Jazz-Funk tracks might eventually find their way onto mainstream playlists). Many of the records played were new releases, but others were tracks that the DJ's had unearthed on obscure albums (in a similar way to how Northern Soul DJ's might have dug out old 45's).

It was a huge underground movement in the UK during the late 70's / early 80's, which attracted enthusiasts nationwide. In the South, the Soul Mafia DJ's had many big weekly nights, as well as All-Dayer and even Weekender events. In the North, Colin Curtis was the best known DJ on the Jazz-Funk scene (Colin had been Ian Levine's partner at the famous Northern Soul venue, Blackpool Mecca). The North also held regular All-Dayers to compliment the club nights. In 1981 I became a regular on the North's All-Dayer circuit, which meant I'd joined the premier league of Jazz-Funk specialists in the region.

Here's something I once wrote to someone by way of an explanation:

JAZZ-FUNK

Jazz-Funk had emerged during the late 70’s, as a result of American Jazz musicians going for a funkier vibe. Names like Roy Ayers, George Duke, Herbie Hancock and Lonnie Liston Smith we’re all held in high regard on the UK club scene. Specialist DJ’s took things a stage further and also began playing Jazz of a purer variety, usually the more uptempo tracks that would suit the dancers. These were often by South American musicians, adding a Latin flavour into the equation. Many of these tracks were only available on albums, and artists including Chic Corea, Lee Ritenour, Dave Valentine, Al Di Meola, and Al Jarreau, would fill the floor at specialist Jazz-Funk nights nationwide. Many of these tracks were never released as singles and some weren’t issued at all in the UK, so if you wanted to be taken seriously as a Jazz-Funk DJ you had to be prepared to fork out a fair sum of money each week on expensive US imports. By the early 80’s an ever-growing wave of 'British Jazz-Funk' groups had begun to make an impact in the charts, including Light Of The World, Level 42, Linx, Shakatak, and Freeez. To confuse matters further, ‘Jap Jazz’ was also in vogue, with labels like Flying Disk and Electric Bird releasing digitally mastered albums by both Japanese and International artists, which cost a small fortune to buy!

Add into the melting pot the latest US Soul, Funk and Disco, and you had yourself a Jazz-Funk night playlist circa 1981.

Greg