THE WORD FROM OKINAWA: PATRICK FORGE

Dear Mark,

What can I say? I'm sure your inbox is buzzing with plaudits from all quarters. Anyway I ordered the book as soon as I got wind it was available, and didn't even blink at the cost of shipping it here, I was far too keen to get my hands on it!!

When it arrived this afternoon I ripped open the package and have spent the last few happy hours devouring the contents in a fairly random way, I'll have a proper read all the way through later!! I just want to say that it has surpassed my expectations and then some, the thoroughness, the way it touches all the tangential aspects, fashion, racial politics etc. Most importantly the way in which you've maintained objectivity and let the story be told through the interviews, (I've never read the Tito Puente biog you mention in the introduction but obviously a great inspiration). The first part also works really well and by sticking to a more or less straight chronology it naturally highlight the true innovators.

I must admit I was a little nervous about reading it, ( especially when I realised that you'd used the interview format), it was such a long time ago I couldn't remember anything I'd said. However I was relieved to find out I hadn't said anything too erroneous or controversial! ( Or maybe I did and you were too kind and tactful to include it!!). Mostly I just feel honoured and proud to be a part of it!

Reading it has also made me feel enormously nostalgic for the eighties the decade that taught me most about jazz when (club) culture was still underground and exciting, reminding me of all those people and characters that built the scene, and filling in a lot of gaps in my own knowledge of the history. I just hope that the book reaches a few younger folk who will hopefully find it inspiring.

More than anything a massive thank you for your Herculean efforts,I know it's a cliché, but respect is most definitely due!

Peace,

Patrick.

SHOOK magazine give Snowboy's book the Big Up!

Yesss... respek to Jez Smadja and the crew at SHOOK for giving Snowboy's book a proper spread.

The Bottom End... we like that... nice headline....

That was one classic Paul Murphy Ballroom tune! This what the book says:

"Paul Murphy had closed down his record shop and he’d personally sold Gilles the key records that were integral to The Ballroom crowd - such as a mysterious white-label oddity known as The Bottom End. Originally discovered by Chris Bangs for 10p at Notting Hill’s ‘Record And Tape Exchange’ this was a fast (but not too fast) and tough, quartet jazz-jam with drums high in the mix, with a female vocalist unexpectedly coming in with the song right at the end eight minutes in. Peculiarly, on the other side of the record was what sounded like Church Organ music. It was issued to demonstrate the bottom-end on Ken Kreisel’s M&K hi-fi speakers. I remember people telling me about this record, and also my friend and jazz collector Darren Gale saying: “Murphy's got this weird one-off white-label record that’s massive. Ask him to play it for you next time you go in the shop - he keeps it behind the counter.” Such mystique! The secret has been uncovered now by DJ and dancer Seymour Nurse, and we now know it to be called 'Get Off The Ground' by Don Baaska and Valli Scavelli."

Check: (http://www.thebottomend.co.uk/)

SHOOK is available on-line from http://www.shook.fm/

From Jazz Funk & Fusion to Acid Jazz... back live soon!

URGENT INFO re. Snowboy's book.

Due to some unfortunate digital typografic errors in the first run of the book we re-submitted a corrected version to Authorhouse. The corrected galleys will be signed off this weekend and the book should be back live on-line and on sale by the end of next week.

The cost of the book via the Authorhouse web site is £15.99. We encourage all or friends and family to buy the book from there as Snowboy gets a far better royalty there than from Amazon and other on-line bookstores.

The 'official' shop price is £19.99 (or whatever they decide to charge).

Enjoy the blogspot... more info soon re. the 'Beyond The Ballroom event that Edge2009 are co-producing with the Barbican. on July 13th.

Thanks for your patience and support. Spread the word. 

PB @ Chaser Publications

Andy Thomas recommended this... Foot Patrol - Moss Side - Jazz Dance meet Acid House

FROM JAZZ FUNK & FUSION TO ACID JAZZ @ DESIGN WEEK: MILAN 221-21 April 09

Thanks to the vision of Roberta Cutolo and Elita’s Dino Lupelli - both former collaborators of Bari’s based Nu-Jazz guru, Nicola Conte - Mark ‘Snowboy’ Cotgrove and his publisher, Paul Bradshaw of Straight No Chaser, touched down in Milan to do the first official launch event for From Jazz Funk & Fusion to Acid Jazz: The History Of The UK Jazz Dance Scene.

Elita is the Design Week’s music festival and its invited guests included DJ appearances from Hot Chip, Shinichi Osawa, Alex from Tokyo, J Majik and Dubfire alongside live sets from Imelda May, Trio Valore and Rosalia De Souza. Guest speakers at various events and forums included coolhunting.com’s Brian Fichtner and Chicago based deep house producer/dj Tim Baker. Snowboy was in good company.

The Elita HQ on viale Montenero was buzzing when we arrived and there was an air of anticipation around the showing of Berlin Calling, a turbulent tale that focussed on the drug fuelled demise of one DJ Ikarus - geddit? After being immersed in that dark little episode, Snowboy, was happy to illuminate an altogether more positive twist on the evolution of contemporary club culture.

The combination of deep knowledge and enthusiasm he projects is a result of ten years research plus his own experiences as a DJ, conguero, band leader, recording artist, record collector and journalist but on this day it was his collection of short films that fired up the imagination of his audience. Footage of the Electric Ballroom’s IDJ dancers in Julian Temple’s Venceremos video gave us a glimpse into what was truly unique about this scene. The Brothers In Jazz’s more baletic and acrobatic mambo style was nicely portrayed in an arty Mura Dehn inspired film for Parco in Tokyo. A film of Snowboy’s own Jazzateria sessions highlighted the talents of Rocky Bryan, who to the delight of all present took the floor at the Elita HQ… live and direct… and showed us all how it could be done.

The Straight No Chaser DJ set that followed wound on into the evening and allowed the Italian soul and funk fraternity, some of had travelled to Milan for the session, to grab a few words with Mark about the book, the music and dance styles that he is so passionate about.

Following the Elita HQ forum we headed off to do what we thought was to be a small sedate, cool DJ set at a museum opening. However, on the way there, Dino explained this was a SERIOUS session. The expression on his face said it all. This opening for Fabio Novembre installation ' Fiore di Novembre ' at La Triennale ( www.triennale.it ) was to be one of the highlights of the Milan Design Week and was guaranteed to attract over a thousand guests including a host of major league iconic artists and designers.

The DJ set was to be short… one hour… and provide a warm up for a modest live set. Notions of a quiet gradual build up to the set vanished as a horde of guests swarmed through nave of the huge gallery. A pumping Joaquin Claussell / Spiritual Life ‘Live Field Recording’ of Salif Keita provided more than adequate accompaniment to this spectacle. Snowboy followed the Chaser selekshaan with a marvellous Inner Sense batucada which bounced of the walls of this cavernous space beautifully. Tribute was paid to Tokyo’s UFO and in typically reckless Chaser fashion Milan’s cultural cognescnti were confronted with the powerfully charged, rebellious sounds of Fela Anikulapo Kuti. As we know Fela doesn’t do short tunes… and this cut of JDD, recorded Live at The Shrine in Lagos, was LONG! However, the Milanese and their international guests didn’t seem to mind. It simply paved the way for more of the unexpected.

Fabio Novembre, is a celebrated designer, a young dude from Salento, in the South of Italy . His artworks are spiritually charged, witty and ambitious. Without formality he stepped up onstage, and smiling, requested a mic from Snowboy. When he spoke, a sense of anticipation rippled through the building. He enthusiastically introduced his musician friends onto the stage. The electric piano kicked in along with rolling bass lines and he welcomed onstage Jovanotti. Sporting a straw fedora and a goatee, this man was instrumental introducing hip hop into the Italian mainstream, and as he vocalised one his big hits the museum was buzzing.

Pure Italian raggamuffin bizniz arrived with the Sud Sound System crew. While they got busy on the mic, Jovanotti, stepped over to Snowboy and asked him if he could use the tune he’d line up on the technics. Unaware of what was to happen next, Snowboy had to look an in horror as, the man commenced cutting out beats for the MCs from his rare, £300.00, Willis Jackson LP. It was definitely a crazy moment. Once Snowboy snapped out his initial shock he quietly informed the turntablist of it’s value and without even interrupting the flow, replaced it with a less precious 12”. Within seconds Jovanotti was back on it, cutting and scratching out a ridim that allowed the MCs to wax lyrical about the pleasures of the good Herb! The tiny stage was packed with bodies arms in the air, jumping up (gwaan Rocky!) and as it drew to a close we were treated to a stage invasion of supa stylish women on stilettos who simply swept the security aside. Totally wild.

The night wound down to a four to the floor house set and we managed to spend a little time taking in the man’s excellent exhibition, before heading off into the night amid the clamour hundreds of people still hanging and chatting in the shadow of a Milanese institution that was akin to the V&A in London. That was it, a very entertaining and eventful addition to Snowboy’s very first European book launch. Nice.

Livingstone Marquis.