Colin Curtis Presents

Colin Curtis is back! with another finely curated selection of the best Jazz Dance Fusion records he could find.

Welcome to the second instalment of my ‘Jazz Dance Fusion’ compilation series for Joey Negro’s Z Records. I continue to look back into the story & history of the UK jazz dance and jazz music scene; a movement that started for me back in the 70's. The sounds of funk & soul mixed with jazz, influences from Brazil, Africa, Europe and all over the globe, textures of instrumental sounds & voices, fuse to create the much-loved ‘jazz fusion’ sound that we love.Here we are in 2020 when interest in all forms of Jazz is growing fast as DJ pioneers such as Gilles Peterson, Patrick Forge, Perry Louis, Snowboy, Nick Hosier, Alan Mckinnon, Jim Bernardi, Kev Beadle, Harv Nagi, Shuya Okino and David Patterson continue to push all aspects of Jazz to converted and new audiences.So, to this compilation where I am showcasing unreleased material and offering tracks up for the first time ever on vinyl and CD. The track listing covers my addiction to dance-floor jazz, coupled with my passion for vocal and percussive jazz, with my usual trademark latin touches.Hope you enjoy the selection – turn it up loud and feel the jazz passion flow!

This is Colin's own story: "By 1979, the development of Jazz rooms at major soul/funk all-dayers was providing a much-needed outlet for the more discerning collectors and the fanatical jazz dancers. I had started to experiment with the jazzier side of dance tracks at Blackpool Mecca in around 1976 with artists like Patrice Rushen, Bill Summers, Azar Lawrence, Charles Earland, Johnny Hammond, Donald Byrd, etc., all artists I had discovered using the inner sleeves of Blue Note, Fantasy, Prestige, and Mercury labels.

When he played his revamp of Gwen McCrae's "Funky Sensation" during a 1981 DJ slot on New York's WBLS, Shep Pettibone perked the ears of then-emergent producer Arthur Baker. The presenter and co-producer of this boxed set consequently initiated a collaboration on the answer record "Jazzy Sensation," the first 12" crediting Pettibone. By the end of the next year, Pettibone's solo "mastermixes" had become so numerous and prized that a dozen for the Prelude label alone were rounded up for commercial release on double vinyl. The DJ and remix artist soon diversified as a pop producer, most notably as an indispensable Madonna associate. The four-disc Classic 12" Master-Mixes features neither "Funky Sensation" nor "Jazzy Sensation," and doesn't include anything Pettibone did for Prelude or with Madonna.

Back by popular demand, NOW Music presents the second edition of 'Forgotten '80s', entitled 'Even More Forgotten '80s'. Featuring five discs of even more nostalgic hits from the ultimate decade of pop, this isn't one to be missed.