Saturday 20 May 2023 19:30
Few DJs have been as influential in the music scene of Great Britain over the past 50 years as Norman Jay. And that's because he went well beyond simply choosing tracks for people to have a good time at parties. Well, he did that too, quite successfully indeed, building his own System System called Good Times; but most importantly, he invented a brand-new scene under the code name “Rare Groove.” This is the term that Norman Jay used to describe the music he played on his definitive show on (then pirate) radio station KISS FM: a soulful mix of funk, disco, soul and jazz.
One of its components was the music brought over to Great Britain from the West Indies by his parents’ generation. Another was the influence of the African American musical tradition, which he got to know well during his frequent trips to New York in the late ’70s. These were the key ingredients of Norman Jay’s musical proposal and legendary performances at the annual Carnival of Notting Hill, the neighborhood of London where he was born and raised to then become its icon.
Along the way, Norman Jay piled up a radio track record of thousands of hours on air; set up the British acid jazz scene together with Gilles Peterson; released his electrifying Good Times compilations and remixes that became hugely popular (as in Shapeshifters’ “Lola’s Theme”); launched and closed down several clubs; watched everything around him change in London — but his groove remains the same.
Saturday 20/05 | 19.30 - 21.30 GREAT LAWN
Free entrance
