Acid Jazz

Shelter day 182, September 18th, 2020—installment 40 of live-streamed, all-vinyl DJ sets while we’re sheltering during the COVID-19 pandemic.

My time as a resident DJ at the Mushroom Jazz weekly (91-94) was a truly foundational journey. Acid Jazz was part rave culture, part San Francisco Jazz Funk culture (Blackbirds/JBs/Herbie), and part hip hop/dancehall culture — all swirled together into a melting pot of fresh spacey dance funk. Acid Jazz quickly evolved in many direction: Trip Hop, Broken Beat, Downtempo, Hip Hop, Future Jazz, etc. — leaving the original sound hard to pin down. This mix meanders through some of the early sounds from late 80s trailblazers like The Brand New Heavies and Diana Brown & Barrie K. Sharpe, to the point where the Trip Hop sound began to dominate. A trip down memory lane from 30 years ago. Enjoy!