Mix: Take a Tour of Jazz Cafe’s ‘Soul City’ with Marcia Carr

To celebrate and introduce you to Soul City, the Jazz Cafe‘s revamped and retuned Saturday club night, we asked some of its protagonists to use Rhythm Passport as a tasting room and put together a sneak peak of their upcoming sets for us. In the upcoming weeks, you will indeed enjoy and dance to the DJ-sets of the likes of Marcel Vogel, Nick The RecordSean ODAnne Frankenstein, Zakia

 

We are more than thrilled to inaugurate the series with a mix compiled by Marcia Carr, who will be behind the Jazz Cafe’s decks on Saturday 10th November.

To refer to Marcia as a DJ would be somehow diminishing. Her career, which started more than 30 years ago, brought her to play all over the world and airwaves. She’s a radio broadcaster, music journalist, events organiser, former street dancer, PR and music agent, founder of the women empowering and digital-free community platform Girlz B Like, and last but not least, one of the most recognised and distinctive London selectors with a monthly show on Rinse.fm and a refined music taste ranging from house and gospel to funk, boogie to neo-soul and afrobeat to dubstep.

Entitled Marcia’s MixedBag this mixtape is an encompassing roundtrip, a connoisseur adventure for the dancers out there. Diving straight into the genre of Disco, the opening cut aptly called ‘Disco Extravaganza’ is to me a rather high-end example of the heartland of Black American music of the late 1970’s at its pinnacle though not too raw and not too polished, the song was produced by the underrated songwriter and multi-organist George Bussey Jr.   Known as The G. B. Orchestra, he worked quite a lot with acts like First Choice, disco songstress Linda Clifford, also Instant Funk – they did plenty with the late Bunny Sigler  – within proper R & B disco circles G.B. was well respected and connected.

Elsewhere, on my MixedBag it connects electronica sounds by Mr G: deeper house elements on a club dub DJ tool is merged with the swing that is slightly jazzy on Dermakus Lewis‘ big bass and rhythm track, which harks back to that influential 90’s US flavour that dominated much of the UK house music clubs.  The four by four template was picked up and heralded by many UK radio and club DJs, but none more prominent than my peer the legendary PaulTroubleAnderson, whom I greatly respect, he’s also an inspiration to me as I used to jazz dance in plenty of clubs and events – not many DJs let go and shake down (dance) when they’re behind the decks. 

Rounding off the set which sweeps back into the post-disco true electrosound of underground dance as well as a touch of some fine boogie and dirty brass bluesy funk. Listening to a club set from Marcia Carr is all about expecting the unexpected, learning something new that is ultimately good fo’ yo’ Soul

(Marcia Carr)