Jazz-funk - Focus On The UK

Focus On The UK

Several British jazz-funk artists and bands emerged in the late 1970s and early 1980s who broke away from the disco and commercial scene, encouraged by club DJs like Chris Hill, Robbie Vincent who was then on BBC Radio London, and Greg Edwards who had a Saturday evening show on London's first ever commercial radio station Capital Radio, and Norman Jay. This type of music was also heavily played on Europe's first soul radio station, Radio Invicta. The first of these self-contained bands to establish a real UK identity was Light of the World formed by Breeze McKrieth, Kenny Wellington, Jean-Paul 'Bluey' Maunick, Paul 'Tubbs' Williams, Peter Hinds and David Baptiste.

Chris Hill and Robbie Vincent were instrumental in starting the Caister Weekender on the east coast of England in the late 1970s. It ran for several years until the mid 1980s, but a reunion in 1992 at a holiday camp on the south coast was to spark a revival in the event, and it returned to Great Yarmouth on the east coast, to the Vauxhall Holiday park in 1996. The weekender continues to attract thousands of soul, jazz, and jazz-funk fans to the camp, three times a year in May, October and on New Year's Eve. It is called the Caister Soul Weekender and focuses heavily on this genre, but with two or three venues running simultaneousely throughout the events other styles including jazz-funk, Latin jazz, Northern soul and nu-jazz now featuring heavily.

Chris Hill signed many artists to his Ensign record label. Some of the best known UK jazz-funk acts include Beggar & Co, Light of the World and Incognito . The prime mover in all three bands was Jean-Paul 'Bluey' Maunick. Although Light of the World continue to perform in its own right without Bluey.

Other British jazz-funk bands include: Central Line, Level 42, Freeez, Heatwave, The Real Thing, Atmosfear, FBI, Morrissey - Mullen, Shakatak, Hue and Cry and Gonzalez. Notwithstanding the significantly sophisticated musical quality of these bands, to the even remotely trained ear, these UK bands productions are more dance and pop oriented than their American counterparts such as Herbie Hancock, Billy Cobham or Eddie Hendreson, who make more place for improvisation in their productions Vs catchy choruses.

The 2003 album British Hustle: the Sound of British Jazz Funk 1974 to 1982, compiles tracks by some of the above artists. It's recorded on the Soul Jazz label, ASIN: B0000C84NU, Catalogue Number: SJRCD82.

The album has extensive sleeve notes charting the history of jazz-funk in the UK, and provides a good sample of British jazz-funk. In 2006, it was still available on CD and 12" vinyl.

Many national and regional DJs including Gilles Peterson, Norman Jay and Tony Blackburn have, and continue to play jazz-funk tracks on their national (sometimes international) radio shows and at club nights.

The music genre has over the years featured heavily in the UK magazine Blues & Soul - it also has an online version of the magazine.

American jazz-funk, soul jazz, or jazz fusion artists and producers from the 1970s and 1980s are now widely recognised as pioneers in jazz, and their music quality has stood the test of time, has gained their peers' recognition, and the most recognised artists in straight ahead jazz have, for a large majority, adopted it in one or more of their tracks. They have now become academic themselves and often hold key influential roles in the music industry (see Patrice Rushen, Herbie Hancock, Dave Grusin, Bob James).