UK jazz dance hero Paul Murphy teams up with BBE Music to deliver his first compilation on the label: a blazing selection of up-tempo jazz titled ‘The Jazz Room’.
Lauded by none other than Gilles Peterson as “the original messenger of jazz who found almost every dancefloor classic”, Paul began DJing in 1970s London. His passion and unique playing style placed him at the epicentre of an emerging jazz-dance scene in the city, popping off in spots like The Horseshoe (aka Jaffas), The Wag, The 100 Club, The Blue Note and The Electric Ballroom, where he founded the now famous ‘Jazz Room’, after which this album is named.
Paul’s influence on UK Jazz culture simply can’t be overstated, from his short-lived but much beloved imprint Paladin Records to his unswerving support of home-grown talents such as Working Week, Morrissey Mullen & Paz.
As a DJ, his musical selections still live large in the memories of those who experienced them. As Coldcut’s Jonathon More put it “Paul Murphy used to play the most frenzied and far out funky jazz at my Meltdown warehouse parties”.
‘The Jazz Room’ nicely encapsulates the reason so many greats feel moved to wax lyrical about Paul Murphy’s ear for dance-floor jazz, which is very clearly undimmed after decades behind the decks. Deftly mixing contemporary sounds with trusted bullets that his 1980s audiences will remember well, these tracks are vibrant and potent, with a couple of fiery live recordings thrown in for extra energy and sweat.
| 1 | –Imperial Tiger Orchestra | EMNETE |
| 2 | –Art Pepper Quartet | MAMBO DE LA PINTA |
| 3 | –New York Ska-Jazz Ensemble | BOOGIE STOP SHUFFLE |
| 4 | –Lucas Van Merwijk And His Cu-Bop City Big Band | 4BEAT CHACHACHA |
| 5 | –TERJE TERASMAA | YATRA-TA |
| 6 | –The Rhythmagic Orchestra | AFRICAN MAILMAN |
| 7 | –Onward International | FOOT IN THE DOOR |
| 8 | –Blue Mode | SMELLS LIKE TEEN SPIRIT |
| 9 | –Mamelon | KOUMBA FRI FRI |
| 10 | –The Art Ensemble Of Chicago | ZOMBIE |
| 11 | –Shola Adisa-Farrar | SORROW, TEARS AND BLOOD |
| 12 | –Patchworks | TRIBUTE TO MULATU |
