The Godfather of the Acid Jazz movement, drawing on the jazz, funk and Latin fusions on the 1970s, Gilles Peterson has created an indelible imprint and a dedicated following around the world. But his influence extends far beyond this title. Playing an eclectic mix of dub, reggae through jazz, nu-jazz, soul, neo soul, R&B to drum and bass, house, broken beat, hip-hop and Jazz-funk, Gilles’ prolific taste and absolute commitment continues to stretch the musical boundaries.
His radio DJ CV starts with pirate stations and includes shows on London’s first ever dedicated jazz station 102. 2 Jazz FM, and London’s Kiss FM dance music station. He’s a DJ who places equal legitimacy on a Max Roach album as on a Jig Master’s 12" and can understand the links between the two, as comfortable playing Roland Kirk as he is Jazzanova. As passionate about Dee Dee Bridgewater as he is about India Arie.
In 1998 Gilles was recruited to Radio 1, his Worldwide radio show has since been syndicated to radio stations all over the world, broadcast in 15 countries spanning New Zealand, Croatia, Nigeria, America and Cyprus. His Radio 1 website receives more hits than any other DJ at the station.
One of Gilles Peterson’s best remembered club sessions was Talkin’ Loud Sayin’ Something at the old Dingwall’s club in Camden, North West London which ran from the late 1980s until March 1991. The sessions were characterised by jazz dancers in suits hats and spats, heavyweight jazz dance classics fused with hip-hop and more experimental tracks.
Gilles continues to mix things up wherever he plays. His enthusiasm and musical appreciation is reflected in the success of his record labels Acid Jazz, Talkin’ Loud and his most recent venture, Brownswood bringing countless artists to prominence over the years. His acclaimed DJ mix CDs and compilation CDs spread his eclectic musical gems to ever wider appeal.
A regular at the Southport Music Weekender, playing regularly at London’s Cargo club at a night called Independent mix, which takes a similar format to Dingwalls with guest DJs and bands. Gilles is true musical connoisseur and a tastemaker, his ear for quality leaves a lasting legacy.
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