Jake Holloway is simply a man of many talents. An ardent supporter of the black stuff, Jake owns the oft-overlooked Village Vinyl shop up in Walthamstow’s Wood Street Indoor Market, where at weekends he sifts through a whole lot of beautiful jazz, funk, disco, soul, afro and Latin treats to bring the good goods to his loyal band of customers. When he’s not running things E17 side, he’s also a bit partial to a bit of graphic design and art direction, producing artwork for a number of clients, including the influential BBE Records, and one of our best-loved independents Wah Wah 45s. As you’d expect from holding down such professions, he’s also an avid record collector having accumulated an enviable selection of killer tracks to draw upon when he oft DJs out and about in the capital.
Jake caught the DJ bug back in 1990, playing out at his various college parties in the London Borough of Newham, before setting up a successful Brazilian night while studying at Brighton University. It was here where he met the irrepressible DJ Dom Servini, which led to a long-standing friendship between the two and a renowned club night in the form of ‘Mouseorgan’, which ran for six years at The Clinic and Herbal and various other venues, as well as guest stints at Heaven and Fabric!
So with all that in mind, and the simple fact he’s a great bloke, we’re excited to welcome Jake back to The Jazz Meet this coming Sunday for a rare guest set alongside resident Sid Ford. With a penchant for playing so many genres and styles in the mix, we thought we better check inside the man’s jazz box to see what he had up his sleeve for Sunday. We needn’t have worried though as he pulled out these five favourites to share with us before the big day. How good is that Mike Westbrook track eh? BOOM!
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Yusef Lateef – Love Theme From Spartacus (from the album ‘Eastern Sounds’)
A beautiful, breezy record which I’ve had in my collection for a long time and it’s probably the song which I listen to at home the most. It brings out the best in my home Hi-Fi set up, brightening up my dark and dreary front room. I think about this song when I’m in a certain mood and it always brings a smile to my face when the needle touches the grooves. Everything about it is just so on point, I love the way it sounds and the emotion that it conjures up.
Mike Westbrook – Original Peter (from the album ‘Love Songs’)
I love the distinct sound of British Jazz, especially from some of the great pianists like Michael Garrick and Mike Westbrook. I wanted to choose the track “Waltz For Joanna” from the same LP “Marching Song” but alas it’s not on YouTube, so here you have “Original Peter” who appears on the back of said cover and is in fact a juggler! I also have the 45 of this which is different from the LP, tougher drums and tougher to find, British Jazz at it’s best.
Lonnie Smith – Spinning Wheel (from the album ‘Drives’)
Blue Note is one the most represented labels in my collection across all genres and I had to include something from this jazz giant imprint. Watching ATCQ’s “Beats, Rhymes & Life” documentary just reminded me how tough this track is, when Q-Tip flipped it for their worldwide smash “Can I Kick It”. I found this in a sleepy Suffolk village for small change… How Hip Hop is that!
Willie Colon – Jazzy (from the album ‘El Malo’)
A tune taken the mighty Fania Records, another imprint which is common in my collection. I have a huge passion for Brazillian and Latin music and this is the latter at it’s finest. The unfortunately named Mr. Colon blasts his way through this tune on his trombone while young, hip 1960s teenagers from Spanish Harlem twist and boogaloo the night away. Latin Jazz doesn’t get any better!
Nancy Ames – Carcara (taken from ‘Latin Pulse’)
I had to represent Brazil in this list so here we are. This one has always been in my box from when I used to play it at my Brazillian nights in Brighton in the early 90s. Not rare by any means and often seen in the cheap bins in the US, but what a banger! Hot, spicy vocals from Nancy and a fantastic big band sound never fails to disappoint any discerning dancefloor! Gwan Nancy!
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As a bonus for six, you’ll find below a little live mix we captured of Mr Holloway doing his DJ thing a few years back at the charity Jazz Meet we organised in aid of Macmillan Cancer Support. Not strictly jazz, but any mix that includes Henri-Pierre Noël’s ‘Simbi’ (yes, before the reissue!) deserves a second outing!
Podcast #32c – 23.08.11 Jake Holloway Live at The Jazz Meet by The Jazz Meet on Mixcloud
Pop down on Sunday to see what else might be lurking in Jake’s bag and to check out what resident DJ Sid Ford might also be spinning. We’ve also got the exciting jazz trio Fenchurch 3io playing live. It all starts from 5pm-11.30pm this Sunday at Floripa, 91-93 Great Eastern Street, London EC2A 3HZ FREE ENTRY