DJ Jazzman Gerald @ The Hawaiian Bop!

This Saturday 14 December 2013

Spinning all kinds of sounds from latin, funk, ska, popcorn, RnB, tittyshakers, Northern Soul... you know the deal :)

TWO New Jef Gilson Releases - previously unreleased work - OUT NOW

JEF GILSON

ARCHIVES

JMANCD/LP.063

‘A collection of previously unreleased recordings, rehearsals, demos and alternate takes from the personal archive of the brilliant French jazz innovator’

Since his passing in 2012, we have surveyed the substantial personal archive of Jef Gilson’s acetates, test pressings and reel to reel tapes with the kind permission of his widow, Geneviève. The task has not been easy, it’s taken numerous trips to France and the generous assistance of a small army of translators, advisors, musicologists, amateur enthusiasts and record collectors, as well as the surviving members of Gilson’s musical entourage, for us to gather together the information required to make this album. In it you will find music we‘ve chosen from having listened to literally hundreds of hours of alternate takes, rehearsals, live recordings, unissued sessions and personal recordings made from the ‘50s to the ‘70s; none of which has been officially released before. Despite the limitations afforded by mastering some of these recordings from anonymous reels of twisted, buckled tape and scratched, dusty old acetate discs, we hope that the music contained herein affords a fascinating and otherwise impenetrable insight into the workings of one of the great unsung creative forces of European jazz.

THE MUSIC

Early experiments in Oriental and Ethnic Jazz with Lloyd Miller. Unissued alternate takes of Gilson’s classic repertoire. Long-lost live performances from 1960s European jazz festivals. Rehearsals and jam sessions that developed into a lifelong creative obsession.

·         All tracks previously unissued, fully licensed and digitally restored from their original source

·         Comprehensive and detailed liner notes with information on each track and original stories direct from our interviews with the musicians involved

·         Liner notes in English et en français

·         CD with 24 page colour booklet with in-depth liner notes and previously unpublished photographs

·         Deluxe double vinyl LP pressing with thick, glossy gatefold sleeve

JEF GILSON

CHANSONS DE JAZZ

JMANCD/LP.064

‘A collection of little known chansons - with a twist of jazz – produced by French jazzman extraordinaire, Jef Gilson’

The French chanson is a song that’s as inextricably linked to French culture as crêpes, croissants and cognac. Their poetic, romantic lyrics are set to music that’s characterised by following the rhythms of the French language rather than those of English, and have been used as serenades since time immemorial. Even in recent years many French artists, from Édith Piaf to Serge Gainsbourg, have added their own particular gems to the roster. Here is a small yet perfectly formed collection of some little known chansons - with a twist of jazz – produced by French jazzman extraordinaire, Jef Gilson.

This album is a companion disc to our

Jef Gilson ‘Archives’ album JMANLP/CD.063.

Available on 10” VINYL ONLY.

No CD, no digital.

THE MUSIC

Sublime, sexy and seductive chanson jazz with a distinctly French flavour. Classic Gilson ‘60s repertoire with rarely heard vocal performances. Previously unreleased songs by obscure chanteuses inspired by Brigitte Bardot, France Gall and Francoise Hardy.

·         All tracks previously unissued, fully licensed and digitally restored from their original source

·         Comprehensive and detailed liner notes with information on each track in English et en français.

·         Deluxe 10” vinyl LP pressing with laminated sleeve and flaps glued on the outside – ‘60s style!

·         VINYL ONLY – no CD, no digital

Only on Jazzman – all because WE DIG DEEPER

Jazzman Gerald @ The Boiler Room ~ 4 Nov ~ 2-6pm

Tune in on Monday 4 Nov when I join Amir, Mr Thing, Chris Read and Kevin Beadle to play some records at the Boiler Room! 

LIVE SHOW URL:  http://boilerroom.tv/session/180-proof-records/


If you miss the live show it will be online at boilerroom.tv shortly after.

I've no idea what to play. I'll have a rummage. A few jazz LPs have arrived recently, as well as some jazz 45s. Maybe I'll just play a jazz 45s set. Now there's an idea. 

Jef Gilson ~ Archives ~ Jazzman Records

JUKEBOX JAM 2 Launch Party with YOUNG JESSIE - LIVE!!!

For tickets: http://www.wegottickets.com/event/239564

We are ever so proud and excited to present without doubt the biggest ever Jukebox Jam event yet. And the reason it’s the biggest is the exact same reason that we’re so proud – we will be joined by the legendary YOUNG JESSIE, flying in direct from Atlanta, US, performing a very rare and very special live show. Performing his classic R&B recordings of the 50s and 60s – ‘I Smell A Rat’, ‘Hit Git And Split’, ‘Mary Lou’, ‘Brown Eyes’, ‘You Were Meant For Me’ and more  - this is a very rare opportunity to see one of the legends of the era and music that we all love, in person.

Born Obediah Jessie in Dallas, Texas in December 1936, Jessie was born into a musical family, and begun to get involved himself in high school in Los Angeles, where he counted Johnny Watson and Richard Berry amongst his classmates and peers. With Berry he formed vocal group The Debonaires, who were then renamed as the Flairs. Obie signed as a solo artist with Modern Records in 1954, debuting with ‘I Smell A Rat’ (with vocal backing from the Flairs), and went on to release seminal mid-50s R&B sides such as ‘Hit Git & Split’, ‘Oochie Coochie’ and ‘Mary Lou’, before moving briefly to Atlantic where he cut more hits such as ‘Shuffle In The Gravel’. Young Jessie’s next major deal was with Mercury records, where he released a raft of high quality early soul / R&B sides like ‘Teacher Gimme Back’ and ‘You Were Meant For Me’. Just after that, he released the long-time Juke Jam favourite ‘Brown Eyes’. In fact it’s not an exaggeration to say that just about all of Young Jessie’s records are amongst our favourites, which is why we are so excited about this show.

Backed by the finest R&B players on these shores in a band led by one of our own legends, Big Boy Bloater, this is a set which will surely be remembered for a long time…

The night will also feature a support act TBC and the customary late night disc session, where we’re joined by guest DJ MIK PARRY. A resident at Sheffield’s celebrated POW WOW club, Mik is without a doubt one of the most influential spinners on the R&B scene, having given exposure to dozens of hard, minor key R&B dancers over the past decade or so. Alongside Mik will be myself JAZZMAN GERALD, plus the traditional JukeJam triumvirate of LIAM LARGE (me!), MICHAEL JEMMESON and SNAKESTER. All spinning the best R&B, JUMP, ROCK & ROLL, SOUL, LATIN, SKA, EXOTICA selections for the dance floor.

Oh yes, and a little about the album itself. Following on from the original Jukebox Jam LP, released in 2011, another set of 23 R&B juggernauts! Featuring wild sounds ranging from the late ’40s through on to the mid ’60s, each and every one of them sounding as fresh as the day they were first cut… Available on 2LP and CD from November 11th. The album will also be available for sale on the night.

And… I almost forgot, Jukebox Jam is now 6 years old, as if we needed anything else to celebrate…

The venue is the NEW EMPOWERING CHURCH, where we held the Jukebox Mambo launch almost exactly a year ago in November 2012. A spacious converted warehouse space in old East London.

1a Westgate Street
London
E8 3RL

9pm til 3am. Note – the live music will start early!

Tickets are £15 advance and available now from http://www.wegottickets.com/event/239564

Check us out on Bandcamp!

Bandcamp have just done a nice little feature on Jazzman and what we're all about, if you're quick you can catch it on their homepage, otherwise you can see it on their blog.

Paint it Black

Having moved the office to posh Henley almost exactly a year ago I felt a slight change was needed to the surroundings, so out came 12 tins of spray paint and the record wall turned black. It stank the place out for days, but I think the look is worth it. Here are a couple of shots, not all is showing but I squeezed a lot in so you get the gist of it:

Jazzman Radio on NTS

In case you didn't know already Orsi and I present a monthly show on NTS radio. Expect early listening of our new releases, as well as some bits dug out of my collection and some current sounds. Here's a link to the latest show, enjoy!

DJ Jazzman Gerald @ Hawaiian Bop

Join me here for music & dancing on 18 May - more details at http://www.clfartcafe.org/

Diggin' Deeper on the Jazzman Records USA Road Trip

Last week Liam and I went on a last-minute trip  to Florida to buy a record collection. For various reasons the deal fell through so we had a week to kill before our return flights. So we got in the car and headed west to Alabama and Louisiana where we had a few leads to find some records. 

As you can see, we stumbled across some battered 45s, victims of Hurricane Katrina; some interesting sights by the side of the road and a new used record shop in Mobile, Alabama that opened just last year. We ended up with about 80-100 records each including a clean copy of Eunice Davis on DeLuxe, rescued from the Katrina stash, quantity of Mac Rebbenack on Ace and the scarce Earl Coleman LP on Worthy.

Spiritual Jazz - A Mix

I was invited to make a mix for the excellent 'Sound Awareness' blog and they wanted one full of weird stuff.  So I sent them one, but it wasn't weird enough, so they asked for a spiritual jazz one. I think they liked this one because they posted it, you can listen here. It has got some good stuff on it, all sorts from all over, but I'm sorry I didn't think to write the tracks down as it was assembled. So you'll have to figure them out for yourself, but I'll be happy to help if you get stuck, just mail me here.

Gilles Peterson Worldwide Awards

Of course I would never expect to win anything at such a prestigious international event, but for the second year running our little Jazzman label was up for a 'Best Label' award at the Gilles Peterson Worldwide Awards. Needless to say, we didn't win it, BUT we did come 4th, as voted for by YOU, and in doing so we beat some pretty hefty competition.

Obviously, I'm delighted :) as it puts into perspective our 15 years hard work since the label began. We don't have the backing of a large company, we don't have any outside investors, and we don't have a huge staff of music biz hot shots. What we do have is a small and dedicated team of music enthusiasts with great taste, driven by the desire to make the world a better place through releasing old and forgotten titles, in-demand rarities, and stuff other labels wouldn't touch with a barge pole. Thank you Fryer, Orsi, Liam, Dom, Malachi, Ben & Gavin.