The Rare Groove Show

Fresh from seeing Gary Bartz live in London this starts and ends with tracks he plays on. It goes to many points along the way, from Drum and Bass to Two Step- concluding my recent listening and inspiration. I hope this helps get you through the winter.

It's often cathartic to conclude a period of listening, researching and appreciating records by trying to make a coherent radio show of them. There's always a lot of music to get through and this just scratches the surface. The show is mainly 45s, which is not my regular format but I had to set parameters I could adhere to and challenge myself. The day before this show, D'Angelo died and so it fea...

It's been a while since I recorded a radio show or stood behind my decks. Other matters and some unhelpful Apple policies haven't helped. Naturally I have continued to purchase records. My technics have a new location where I can work undisturbed so perhaps I'll put up more shows. Despite being very out of practice and touch this was a nice opportunity to record some things I'm listening to and te...

Just a quick mix up for practice of some recent and not so recent purchases on 45. I hope you enjoy listening!

A house mix I recorded for an old friend in May 2020. Found recently and uploaded to enjoy. If you like it please click 'like'. All tracks are on vinyl.  Equipment: Technics Turntables x 2, Pioneer 750DJM, Styluses=Shure whitelabel, Speakers by Mission and Amp by Denon. Software=Audacity.

Part two of The Rare Groove Show's  feature on the productions of Chad Hugo and Pharrell Williams. Vinyl only.

The Rare Groove Show selects favourite tracks produced and performed by Chad Hugo and Pharrell Williams, as The Neptunes and NERD. Every track is played from vinyl collected over the past 20+ years. The Neptunes are some of my favourite producers and masters of the bridge and chord change. I see them as heirs to producers such as The Mizell Brothers, although thay have operated in a more populist...

An hour of James Brown focusing on the period 1968- 1972 when The JBs were his house band and Bobby Byrd was his hype man. Enjoy!

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 cu...

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...

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...

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 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 consi...

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),...

Leon Ware passed away on February 23rd 2017. My first introduction to his music was when my Dad put Marvin Gaye's album, 'I Want You' on cassette for me. That C90 meant a lot. It was impossible for an 11 year old to understand that Leon Ware was the undisputed master of sensual soul, I just liked the music and Marvin's voice. Leon wrote and produced most of that album and although not a success on...

6th October 2016 Rod Temperton: Where can I begin? His own biography on Twitter states 'From Cleethorpes, destroyed the World'. This is a great statement because the songwriting genius of Temperton literally took the world by storm. From early career hits in the band he led- Heatwave- to Thriller, Rod Temperton left an indelible mark on black popular music. He wrote not just songs but genuine mega...

Not initially designed as a mix, this is a showcase, for a friend, of new and not so new music from Chicago & Detroit. My friend was lamenting the lack of quality music in the vein of Underground Resistance and the Detroit/Chicago originators. I just had to prove him wrong. The first hour is mostly by 'new school' producers from these two influential cities. Features Aybee and his label Deep B...

This is the Rare Groove Show tribute to one of my biggest influences, Maurice White: outstanding vocalist, arranger, producer, drummer, kalimba player, friend of Charles Stepney and Skip Scarborough, businessman, he changed my life and the life of countless others. Dance music as it is would not exist without Maurice White. Earth Wind and Fire were the first soul band I really appreciated and I wa...

Mo' Wax + 4 is a mix for a friend who's moving away. I dug out a load of my Mo'Wax vinyl and played it- no preparation and perhaps in a couple of places that can be heard. Many of these records, which I collected between 1993 and 1998 haven't been played in those intervening years. It was nice to get back to them and the culmination of an idea gestating since the Mo'Wax exhibition and James Lavell...

I'm not a house DJ but now and then I like to round up a selection of records I've acquired - mostly for my own listening pleasure. This is a group of records I've been playing this year- most of them would be classed as house, although they go beyond 4/4 beats into jazz and soul territory. Most tracks here are 2015 releases with a few classics thrown in. Labels featured are Prescription, Yoruba,...

More music less chat. This 80 minute selection features some of what I'm listening to at the moment, featuring soul and jazz rarities and new music from Kaidi Tatham and Dego (4hero)