While many jazz musicians escaped overseas in search of paying gigs, the 1980s saw a new generation of young black musicians beginning to get themselves together. Inspired by the classical post-bop of Wynton Marsalis, but steeped in funk and reggae, young players like Courtney Pine, Julian Joseph and Gary Crosby got themselves noticed.
By the mid 1980s a small and very exclusive jazz revival was in full swing, feeding a new audience of fashionable club-goers eager for new dance sounds and centred (as ever) around London's Soho.
Initially led by DJs like Paul Murphy, the scene expanded to support live bands and start its own record labels. Jazz was hip again for a while; Pine, Joseph and even Andy Sheppard landed major record label contracts. For a while.
Gilles Peterson formed the Acid Jazz label in 1987, as an ironic twist on the new scene. The label inspired a legion of hip hop and funk beat flavoured jazz stylings that put traditional jazz elements over modern beats.
The Rebirth of Cool brings us up to date with the commercial successes of Jamie Cullum and the vibrant hip-hop/post bop fusions of Soweto Kinch. British Jazz is currently managing to combine popularity with artistry and who knows where experimental composers like Matthew Herbert will take it next.
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Journey To The Urge Within - Courtney Pine (Island) 
