As we take our first tentative steps into September, we have a special treat for you at our first Jazz Meet of the month this Sunday at Floripa. Alongside The Jazz Meet Band (Jake Telford, Jessica Lauren et al) and DJ Nik Weston this week, we also have a guest DJ set from the imitable Mr Greg Boraman. Currently A&R for the long running Freestyle Records label (who recently put out The Jessica Lauren Four project) and organist/pianist with The Fantastics! (Check this video for a little band action), Greg has been active within the soul, jazz and funk scenes in the capital since the mid 1980’s, allowing him to develop a well-rounded ear for the timeless, quality sounds that remain vital as musical fads and fashions come and go. As well as being responsible for showcasing Jessica’s music to a wider audience, he’s also been instrumental in bringing the likes of Jazz Meet favourites The Shaolin Afronauts and Frootful to the fore worldwide, and since taking over creative control of the label, quality jazz (as well as quality funk and soul!) has been a constant inspiration from the get go. Below in the first of a new series where we look inside the record boxes of some of our DJ guests, Greg gives us a little taste of what he might play this Sunday, taking us through some of the jazz favourites that never leave his side!
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Milt Jackson & Ray Brown: The Braddock Breakdown (from the album “Memphis Jackson”):
A slept on, under appreciated piece of fat big band groove with Milt’s vibes floating over a super solid Ray Brown bassline – if your toes don’t tap to this you may already be dead – so please check your pulse.
Brian Auger’s Oblivion Express – Bumpin On Sunset (from the album “Live Oblivion Vol. 1”):
The greatest musical talent to ever emerge from London’s Shepherds Bush, The Oblivion Express was Brian’s mighty, genre busting outfit that topped the Billboard jazz, R&B & rock charts simultaneously, as he blazed a trail for fusion in the 60’s & 70’s. This live version of Wes Montgomery’s classic is my favourite version of this track, Brian’s Rhodes and organ work will induce feelings of beautiful dizziness – and probably why he was recently awarded a US Congressional Medal Of Honour for Services To Jazz… Well deserved and long overdue!
Lee Morgan – Nite Flite (from the album “Delightfulee”):
Tough, speedy hard bop from the greatest jazz label ever, with Joe Henderson’s biting sax solo going right out there to the edge and back again – a timeless Lee Morgan piece that to me sounds as modern as anything recorded today.
Bobby Hutcherson/Harold Land – Going Down South (from the album “San Francisco”):
The Vibraphone is an instrument that has been tugging at my ears ever since I can remember, and the incredible Bobby Hutcherson is one of the best exponents of the art – here teamed with Harold Land on a looping, mysterious and soulful groove takes the instrument as far away as possible from any connotations of cocktail bars as possible.
Lonnie Smith – The Call Of The Wild (from the album “Think!”):
Showing that Hammond organs aren’t just for R&B based bar grooves and TV game shows! – one of the most original & creative musicians to ever sit at the B3 – Lonnie Smith’s innovative approach to the instrument is the reason he remains just as relevant now at 70 years old as he was when he recorded this piece of crazy Latin fuelled Hammond madness! Don’t forget he’s also providing all the bass lines on the organ on this whilst also performing the keyboard pyrotechnics – Lonnie is a one man groove machine and a very spiritual cat!
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You can catch Greg’s guest set at The Jazz Meet, this Sunday 2nd September at Floripa, 91-93 Great Eastern Street, London EC2A 3HZ 5pm-12am FREE ENTRY