The Rare Groove Show

Among the tributes to Phil Asher-many by his close friends- mine will not stand out for any reason other than I loved what he represented and the infectious vibe he created. He has been taken from us too soon. I didn't know Phil but he was clearly very approachable and I spoke to him a few times in record shops. He had a massive influence on me as a record collector, clubber and fan of London's culture. I first encountered him at 'Off Centre'- Patrick Forge and Ross Clarke's club at 333 in London's Old Street. Then came Inspiration Information at The Notting Hill Arts Club which defined our scene. I have been buying his records since the 90s and even have a box dedicated to 'Restless Soul' Productions which I treasure. Phil played what he called 'vintage and prototype' on his Push FM shows, podcasts and on his show on Mi-Soul. He was the only DJ who ever prompted me to get records pressed. If he loved something he hammered it. Sometimes the tunes were so great I had them pressed to play in sets myself. A few of those are in Part 2 which will follow this mix. This is a vinyl only set. RIP Phlash. x

Part 2: Another hour long mix of music inspired by the artist Keith Haring, Paradise Garage, Club 57, The Loft, Wild Style, The Mudd Club, Jean Michel Basquiat, the vibe and artists of 80s, Lower Manhattan, New York

An hour long mix of music inspired by the artist Keith Haring, Paradise Garage, Club 57, The Loft, Wild Style, The Mudd Club, Jean Michel Basquiat, the vibe and artists of 80s, Lower Manhattan, New York

My favourite jazz singer- beloved of the underground and UK jazzers- is Mark Murphy. Here is my selection of Mark Murphy's best in an hour long show for www.shoreditchradio.co.uk

Founded by Gene Russell in Oakland, California, in 1971 and very much revived during 1996 by UK label, Universal Sound Records, on their retrospective compilation, Black Jazz Records released a sum total of 20 recordings. These LPs- mostly by independent, little known players- had a strong, instantly recognisable identity in their cover art and have become highly collectible over the decades. This is not to underplay their musical excellence. Players such as keyboardist Doug Carn (with Jean Carn), Walter Bishop Jr, The Awakening and bassist Henry Franklin produced music which is still enjoyable, influential and relevant today. Excellent 'Best Of's have been compiled by Universal Sound, Theo Parrish and Gilles Peterson. My take serves as an introduction at a time when some of the 20 are being reissued on vinyl. Recorded during March 2020 in Kent.

Since owning their intriguing LP 'The Apple' on cassette back in the early 90s A Man Called Adam have been bubbling away in my consciousness and I've got slowly deeper into their music.

My interest in their excellent label, 'Other Records' began with 'Planet Jazz 2' a stunning compilation of sophisticated music where blissed out balearic meets dub disco and house. That album introduced me to Blaze by featuring their stunning track Moonwalk. It also featured sun drenched tracks such as a dub version of 'Dancin' by Loose Baggage and another dub of Good Times by Roger Sanchez and Kathy Sledge. The rest of Other's output had a strong look and a highly collectable appeal.

A long hiatus began & the duo ( Steve Jones and Sally Rodgers) turned to other projects and academia.

They are back with a new LP, Farmarama- which features in this hour long show with some of their classic tracks.

The show is laced with a few other tracks which seemed to sit alongside their work nicely.

Stuck for something non controversial and popular to play this festive season? What better than all the Peanuts Christmas Songs in one mix! All tracks composed and performed by the late cool jazz maestro, Vince Guaraldi.

I credit Vince Guaraldi with inspiring my love of jazz. As a kid I was a fan of Charles Schulz' 'Peanuts' in the versions produced for TV by Lee Mendelson & written by Bill Melendez. Guaraldi's cool yet melancholic jazzy licks permeated those cartoons creating the perfect muscial backdrop to the colourful goings on of Charlie Brown, Snoopy, Woodstock & pals. Going back to them as an adult I realise just how perfect they are- not just incidental music but something deeply connected to the Cool Jazz of Guaraldi's native San Francisco. Although unique, you can hear in Guaraldis themes the influence of his mentor, Cal Tjader & fellow players such as Mongo Santamaria, Django Reinhardt, Willie Bobo and Bola Sete. Vince Guaraldi passed away suddenly in 1976.

This mix of unsung music has taken years to hunt down in vinyl form. Some of the songs have been privately pressed by me. It's been a long held ambition to record this mix so do enjoy listening to it & if you do, please take time to give feedback!

I have wanted for some time to record a definitive artist focus on Blaze-also known as Josh Milan & Kevin Hedge, the house legends from New Jersey who make up a cornerstone of my record collection. Chris Herbert- a third founding member and lead singer- left after their Motown LP '25 Years Later'. Despite that blip, Blaze have been big in the house game since the mid eighties producing a consistently rich flood of releases which include genuine house classics such as 'If You Should Need a Friend' (not featured here). Their productions and collaborations are sublimely soulful- later work has often featured Louie Vega of Masters at Work, who is clearly a kindred spirit. From early, independent releases and further beginnings at Motown, Blaze always manage to keep their sound relevant and fresh. Their focus on production quality and instrumentation has given them a rare longevity. There is simply so much to cover in their illustrious career from early days with major labels to Josh Milan's latest project; Honeycomb Records. This hour focuses on some of the better known releases. My plan is to return to Blaze soon to revisit the remainder of their back catalogue.

The music I listen to most at home is the brilliant jazz produced independently on several key labels of the 1970s: Strata from Detroit, Black Jazz Records from Oakland, California, Strata East of New York and of course, Tribe Records, also from Detroit.

Five talented ex Motown session musicians were the driving force behind the Tribe collective: Phil Ranelin (Trombone), Marcus Belgrave (Trumpet), Wendell Harrison (Clarinet) and Doug Hammond (Drums) and finally Dave Durrah (piano and synthesiser). As well as releasing music, Tribe released a magazine which concerned itself with Black consciousness, Black economics, political issues and activism affecting the black community and advertisements. Tribe delivered a rounded cultural experience alongside its wonderful jazz.

Between 1973 and 1975 Tribe issued just ten releases and these have become legendary among record collectors. I hope you enjoy my introduction to the label from a fan's perspective.

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