13.18°C 
Paul Murphy plays The Rhythm Loft at Three Wise Monkeys in Colchester, on Saturday 24th October. Ahead of his two-hour set, I asked him what makes a jazz record work on a dancefloor.
“When people dance to it, natch! Gotta get that groove going.”
Paul Murphy started DJing in the late 1970s, when he was just getting into jazz. Reading about its history, he found a connection with dancing that was already well established.
“There were a lot of periods when it was the most popular dance music,” he says. “At that time as well, a lot of jazz artists were adding funk and Latin elements to their music in order to reach a wider audience.”
American record labels were investing in artists such as George Benson and Donald Byrd. Closer to home, Paul remembers a club scene where jazz was already part of the selection.
“DJs, especially in Essex nightclubs, had already been playing jazz funk records for years. Back in those times, every crossroads on a road going to London had a late-night pub. All kinds of music was allowed, so the DJs had, within certain limits, a free rein. A lot of them liked jazz.”
His own base in London had a different feel.
“I was based in central London, which was pre-gentrified back then. A lot tougher sound.”
Paul’s residencies included The Wag and the Electric Ballroom, where he established the Jazz Room.
The Rhythm Loft Sessions are co-promoted by longstanding local promoter and DJ Dave Malone with Chris White and Mick Cooper of Soul Imprint Promotions. Dave’s interest in Paul goes back to the early 1980s, when his reputation reached him before he heard him play.
“In truth, he was a bit of an enigma for me in the very early days, as I’d heard a lot about him before hearing him play,” Dave says. “I started going to London clubs such as the Electric Ballroom, The Wag and Dingwalls. I bought a lot of Paul’s early compilations and understood he was of legendary status even then!”
For Paul, finding records meant visiting specialist shops such as Ray’s Jazz and Mole Jazz, but there were plenty of other places to look.
“Record shops were everywhere, and a lot of them were the equivalent of vape shops today, selling under-the-counter goods, usually ‘adult’ material. But they had some amazing albums, cheap too, as it was just for show.”
Asked to choose a record that captures the sound of the Jazz Room at the Electric Ballroom, he picks one of his own.
“Yes, I made one called ‘Jazz Room – the Spiritual South Mix.”
Jazz dance across the generations
Those early sounds continue to find their way to the dancefloor. Paul is hearing new listeners take an interest in music from the 1980s alongside people who were there the first time round.
“A lot has come back from that era, reaching a whole new younger audience. Still a huge crowd from those days though.”
His own listening takes in newer music too. Asked who is catching his ear at the moment, he names Jazzbois, Karen Aoki, Marcel Bonfim and Malcolm Strachan. Through Jazz Room Records, he also releases rare recordings alongside new music.
That continued interest is part of the appeal for Dave.
“Whether you like jazz dance as a musical style or not, you cannot fail to be impressed by a truly pioneering DJ who has held fast to his style for many decades, but still pursues the new kids on the block, playing fantastic contemporary jazz dance and electronica for the new generations,” Dave says.
Dave first booked Paul for Jazz Social in 2019, with Tony Ashby of Imports in Clacton helping to arrange the appearance.
“I must personally thank Tony Ashby for setting that up. A fantastic, amazing day, recorded on Jazz Social’s Mixcloud.”
Dave also recalls Paul and Tony’s “cheeky, friendly rivalry” as jazz dance record sellers in Essex and East Anglia, supplying DJs including Bob Jones. Having played soul, funk and jazz himself from early on, he credits Paul and Gilles Peterson with opening his ears to another approach.
“Not jazz in the old sense, but jazz ‘urban style’, which spoke to the kids big style at that time, and still now.”
For this third Rhythm Loft session, Closer to the Source, Chris White and Mick Cooper suggested inviting Paul back, having recently booked him themselves. The pair, also associated with Southend’s Soul by the Sea, bring their experience as DJs and promoters to the sessions through Soul Imprint Promotions. Both will play alongside Dave and Nicky B from Ipswich’s Crafty Fox Jazz Cafe, whose set combines DJing with live percussion.
As for what we might hear during his two hours in Colchester, Paul has a few things in mind.
“Some funky grooves, some Latin beats, but most of all… some jazz!”
The Rhythm Loft #3: Closer to the Source takes place on the top floor of Three Wise Monkeys on Saturday 24th October, from 8pm. Tickets are available online.
