Hi folks!
I having seen several possible explanations for the origins of the term
"acid jazz", I thought I'd throw out my own, which I'm pretty sure is correct.
In the late 80's I was working for a record importer & distributor in the
U.S. It was a pretty large operation on the very leading edge of the
musical trends of the time. There were several of us doing the buying in
our various areas of expertise, and among other things I was one of the
people doing "acid house" just as it was really getting HUGE in the Europe.
One week our big U.K. supplier sent through some white labels for us to
listen to that our British counterparts had categorized as "acid jazz" (I
wish I could remember now exactly what the 12"s were!). Our rock buyers
assumed that it was more of that 'electronic dance music crap' and handed it
my way. Of course, the closest thing to an electronic sound on it was the
use of electricity in the studio, but it was definitely for dancing.
I called my contact at the supplier and told him I like the record but
wanted to know why on earth it was called "acid jazz". True to the
company's reputation for doing anything to make a sale, he replied that they
(the UK supplier) had just kind of coined the term because they thought
calling it "acid" would help sell these basically retro-sounding jazz
records. Within a couple of weeks we were reading about "acid jazz" in NME
and Melody Maker, in a couple of months we were getting test pressings from
a new label called Acid Jazz, and several years later it's finally catching
on in the States.
I like almost everyone else's explanation for the origins of the term better
than mine but despite the total lack of romance or creativity, as far as I
know the term "acid jazz" began as a crass marketing ploy (see: "trip-hop").
Thank God the music is all that matters!
John
P.S. I don't believe for a second that acid is necessary to enjoy acid
jazz, but I think a fat spliff can always make good music better...
[Lurk Mode]