Look inside any issue of Blues & Soul magazine from the latter part of the 70s and you will be in no doubt as to the UK’s club music of choice. What counts as jazz funk can range from hardcore jazz fusion monsters by Patrice Rushen to boogie soul sounds, via jazz-influenced funk by the Blackbyrds and Pleasure.
This CD tells the story of how the Jazz Funk scene was linked to the UK dancefloors of the late 70s and early 80s and gives an insight into the way in which jazz records, especially those from the US west coast, fought for commercial breathing space. By incorporating the sounds of soul and funk, jazz discs forced their way onto radio playlists while the groups got club dates outside the ever-diminishing jazz scene. Even in the States, some of these records were played at the hottest clubs in the country, shouldering their way into the nascent disco scene.