Acid Jazz Music Guide: 4 Characteristics of Acid Jazz

Acid jazz is a style of dance music that pays homage to jazz-funk recordings of the past and present

What Is Acid Jazz?

Acid jazz is a dance music genre that combines traditional jazz music with elements of soul, funk, hip-hop, and electronic dance music (EDM). Also known as club jazz, it features a combination of live instruments and recorded samples.

The term “acid jazz,” first used by French-English DJ Gilles Peterson, is a play on "acid house," a popular mid-80s dance genre. Most acid jazz records rely on repeated dance grooves that leave little space for improvisation. This has led some musicians to question whether acid jazz is actual jazz music. Its regular use of dense chords, horn sections, and samples from classic jazz records, however, means acid jazz fits into the broader diaspora of jazz fusion music.

Acid jazz traces its roots to 1980s club music in London and branches off from three music traditions: jazz, EDM, and funk.

Club origins: In the mid-1980s, French-English DJ Gilles Peterson began using the phrase "acid jazz" as a counterpoint to the acid house music that thrived in European discotheques. In 1988, along with fellow DJ Eddie Piller, he formed Acid Jazz Records, which showcased dance artists that sampled obscure records from the mid-century jazz scene. Such seeking out of obscure samples is known as rare groove sampling. The label's Totally Wired compilation helped set the template for acid jazz to come.

1990s breakthrough: In 1990, Peterson started a new record label called Talkin' Loud Records, which featured acts like Galliano and Urban Species. Meanwhile, his prior label began discovering acid jazz bands like the Brand New Heavies, the James Taylor Quartet, and Jamiroquai—all of which came from a funk background rather than an EDM background. The American label Fourth and Broadway found hitmakers of their own in the hip-hop group Stereo MCs and jazz rap artist MC Solaar. Courtney Pine and Pharaoh Sanders were also represented by the label.

Chart-topping hits: By the mid-1990s, acid jazz was gracing mainstream radio and MTV. The biggest hits included "Virtual Insanity" by Jamiroquai and "Cantaloop (Flip Fantasia)" by Us3.

A fade into other genres: As the 1990s drew to a close, acid jazz fell out of favor with mainstream audiences. While various artists from the genre soldiered on, others experimented with new forms. The genre notably inspired soul jazz and jazz-funk jam groups like the Greyboy Allstars and Medeski Martin and Wood.

4 Characteristics of Acid Jazz

Several key elements characterize acid jazz music.

1. Rare groove sampling: Acid jazz records frequently sample rare tracks from the 1950s and 1960s jazz scene, as well as the funk and jazz fusion records of the 1970s.

2. Elements of traditional jazz: Many acid jazz groups feature horn sections and employ jazzy chords (like seventh and ninth chords), which ties the genre to its traditional jazz roots.

3. Minimal improvisation: While improvisation is a cornerstone of traditional jazz music, it rarely factors into acid jazz. Top acid jazz songs emphasize groove and dancing, and as such, they often loop simple elements for many minutes at a time. In this way, acid jazz is closer to standard club music than it is to traditional jazz.

4. Input from hip-hop and funk: Acid jazz DJs do not rely only on traditional jazz as source material, but draw extensively from hip-hop and funk as well.

8 Notable Acid Jazz Artists

Acid jazz runs the gamut from electronic dance music in the vein of trip-hop to true jazz improvisation. This spectrum can be heard from a wide array of acid jazz artists.

1. The Brand New Heavies: This English group was among the first to score a hit with jazzy dance beats, thanks to the single "Never Stop."

2. Jamiroquai: Led by vocalist Jay Kay, Jamiroquai brought acid jazz to MTV thanks to the song "Virtual Insanity" from their 1996 record Travelling Without Moving.

3. Guru: Guru was a rapper who merged acid jazz with hip-hop on his Jazzmatazz compilation series.

4. Groove Collective: Groove Collective is a New York band steeped in traditional jazz that has experimented with acid jazz and funk from its debut album onward.

5. Incognito: Incognito predates the acid jazz scene, beginning as a jazz funk collective in the late 1970s. Their 1991 cover of Ronnie Laws' "Always There," with vocalist Jocelyn Brown, made waves in the world of acid jazz. The group's originals have appeared on many remixes by acid jazz DJs.

6. Donald Byrd: Donald Byrd came of age in New York's jazz scene, but he moved toward funk music in the 1970s. By the 1990s, he was collaborating with acid jazz artists and the rapper Gangstarr.

7. Brooklyn Funk Essentials: Brooklyn Funk Essentials is a New York acid jazz collective that draws on hip-hop, funk, international folk, and poetry.

8. United Future Organization: United Future Organization is an acid jazz and trip-hop group from Japan that has helped introduce the genre to a new continent.

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