Nova Vida’s My Only really should have been in my recent round-up of “Balearic” 45s. A spritely, summery samba, it’s a sweet, swinging, South American affair, featuring Argentinian guitar virtuoso, Fermin, and Venezuelan chanteuse, Klei. Two mixes allowing each of them to shine, while accompanied by the cascading keys of Abramo Riti. Recalling much-loved, Latin, Jose Padilla Cafe del Mar sunset spins, such as Karen Ramirez’s Troubled Girl, the single was produced by London jazz dance legend, Chris Bangs. 

Chris started DJing in the mid-late `70s – he had his own mobile disco – before joining forces with the perhaps even more legendary, Paul Murphy, to co-host Friday nights at Earls Court’s St. Louis Club. Chris went on to promote the successful Bascombe and Bournemouth Soul Weekenders, and famously gave Gilles Peterson his first break, booking him for the warm-up at The Rio, in Didcot. Chris and Gilles were fast friends, starting parties, such as Mambo Madness, at Jacksons in Staines, and DJing together at The WAG, for Chris Sullivan, and at Nicky Holloway’s Special Branch “dos”, in Rockley Sands and at Regents Park Zoo. It was Chris who, early in `88, coined the term “Acid Jazz”, as Gilles played Art Blakey’s Message From Kenya, and Nicky – post Ibiza / Amnesia / in Ecstasy / on one – employed flashing psychedelic lights. The genre quickly took shape at bashes called Cock Happy, thrown by Chris and Gilles. However, disillusioned with a rapidly dividing soul / jazz scene, due largely to a lack of open ears and minds, never the purist, Chris hung up his headphones in 1989 and moved into studio production.*

I totally forgot about Nova Vida because the 7 wasn’t sitting with my new bits, but rather right at the bottom of a growing pile of records that I’ve been setting aside for an upcoming gig. I only re-discovered it yesterday morning as I went to actually start packing my bag. I’ve very kindly been given a slot at an annual Karuizawa jazz festival, called Sound In The Circle, which takes place, this year, at the Lake New Town resort, next Saturday. 

My remit is “two hours of chilled out, vinyl only”, so I’ve plundered Jose’s playlists for appropriate stuff – tried and tested classics like Lonnie Liston Smith’s Quiet Moments.

I’ve also earmarked personal favourites: 

The crackly…

Steve Williamson / Visions

The shiny…

Jasmine Myra / Words Left Unspoken

and, of course, some Japanese “juice”… 

Ryo Fukui / Early Summer

However, the boy scout in me in means I that always over prepare – trying to envisage every possible scenario – so I also sorted out two hours of slightly more dancefloor orientated gear. I should add here, that, from experience, folks’ can have quite different ideas about what constitutes “chill-out”, and no one likes to disappoint. 

Nova Vida is in there, alongside things like Shamek Farrah’s Waiting For Marvin.

Just in case. 

*Info on Chris cribbed from Snowboy’s brilliant book, From Jazz Funk & Fusion To Acid Jazz.

You can purchase a copy of Nova Vida’s My Only directly from BDQ.

Sound In The Circle is a free festival that takes place at Karuizawa’s Lake New Town on Saturday, September 9th. There will be live jazz from 10:30 til 5 PM, plus DJ support from Ducafarm and myself. 

Full details are in below, in Japanese (it was too dense for Deepl to cope). The venue is a short drive from Karuizawa shinkansen station (I hope : ).

入場無料のジャズフェス

第1部（10:30～12:30）
ESTATE：小嶋洋一郎gt 出澤裕pf　市川祥平bs
ASK+HOTSPRING：小夜子vln 眞間麻美pf 相良博gt 藤巻良康bs 笹田和裕ds
エンタケ＆New states：Mayu vo 渡辺淳gt 田中優浩bs 遠藤たけしds

第２部 （13:00～17:00）
井手麻理子カルテット
アフロベゲ　AFRO BEGUE ：オマール・ゲンデファルjambee 津田悠佑
デニスフレーゼトリオ：デニス・フレーゼds　サイモン・コスグローブpf　パット・グリンbs
Aco 106 (K-106)
DJ：Dr.Rob/ducafarm

前日プレイベント　9/8（金）
15:00～18:00 屋台　キッチンカー fee food
18:00～20:00 映画上映「ブエナビスタ・ソシアルクラブ」鑑賞無料
（ライ・クーダー、イブラハム・フェレール他出演、1999年作品）

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