Acid Jazz

Acid jazz on vinyl: jazz for the clubs

In short: Acid jazz emerged in London in the late eighties when DJs such as Gilles Peterson played old jazz, funk and soul records in clubs and bands replayed that sound with hip-hop and house beats. Labels such as Acid Jazz and Talkin’ Loud gave the scene a home. The Vinyl Room currently has 23 acid jazz records.

What is acid jazz?

A groove to dance to, with trumpet, saxophone or vibraphone on top: Us3 built “Hand On The Torch” from 1993 out of samples from the Blue Note catalogue. Belgian Marc Moulin combined jazz and electronics on “Into The Dark”, while Nicola Conte from Italy adds sixties bossa nova and film music with “Jet Sounds”.

From the clubs come Mark Farina’s “Mushroom Jazz”, the Cinematic Orchestra’s remixes and Dimitri From Paris. Tom Misch shows how the sound lives on today.

What to look for

Acid jazz came out on albums and 12-inches – check format and edition. Whether original or reissue is noted with each copy.

From our stock

First pressings

New in

→ The Cinematic Orchestra · Jazz-funk · Talkin’ Loud · Electronic on vinyl · How to spot a first pressing · Grading explained

FAQ

What is acid jazz? Jazz, funk and soul with club beats, born in London in the late eighties.

Who shaped acid jazz? Among others DJ Gilles Peterson and bands such as The Brand New Heavies, Jamiroquai and Incognito.

What is “Hand On The Torch”? Us3’s 1993 album, built from samples of Blue Note records.

Is there new acid jazz? Yes – here, for example, Tom Misch.