I am a newcomer to the acid jazz list, and I would like to say that I am
pleased to see from the posts on the list for the last week or so the degree
to which people on the list have been exposed to not just "acid jazz", but
Jazz in general.
I am the manager of legendary jazz drummer and bandleader Chico Hamilton, the
original groovemeister, and am in fact right now in the midst of executing an
"acid jazz" project which is a tribute to Chico and his music. The idea for
this project was planted in my head by the filmaker Julian Benedikt, who
recently did a documentary film on Chico his music and his life for the
French/German arts network ARTE, when he told me that his first exposure to
Chico's music came when he was dancing in a disco in Munchen and he liked a
track so much he asked the DJ what it was and who it was by, and it turned
out to be Chico's song "Conquistadores" from a 60's Impulse recording Chico
did called El Chico which featured a latin percussion section, including the
late great Willie Bobo.
The project was conceptualized that I would take Chico into the studio to
record some drum tracks of his grooves and also record his Euphoria quartet
performing some of his music, and that we would use this as raw materials for
sampling and building the tracks for the record. The tracks for the record
fall into a few basic categories: (1) live tracks of Chico and his Euphoria
group including a new version of "Conquistadores" (2) sampled tracks that are
restructurings of Chico's songs, not unlike the things found on Paul Weller
solo single B-sides and (3) songs which use samples of Chico's grooves and
have new compostions placed on top of them, including a cover version of Al
Green's "Jesus Is Waiting".
I think this project occupies a unique philisophical ground in that it sounds
like something done by a musician who had the benefit of Chico's experience
(coming up through the bands of Basie, Ellington, Young, Lady, etc.), but is
only 25 years old (Chico will be 75 this year)!!!! On top of all that it
grooves...which is what acid jazz is all about, and yet is has a depth I find
usually missing from this type of project.
I am currently speaking with the nice folks at NYC Records and Impulse about
a deal for this project, though I am presently keeping all my options open.
Any high powered industry execs with their hands on the purse strings who
happen to be on this lists are free to contact me of course (LOL ;->).
Anyway, I have gone on too long.
Peace,
Jeffrey Andrew Caddick