jazz dancer
Jazz dance is a performance dance and style that arose in the United States in the mid 20th century. Jazz dance may allude to vernacular jazz about to Broadway or dramatic jazz. The two types expand on African American vernacular styles of dance ...
from
Birmingham
Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...
, United Kingdom, notable for his pioneering role in the UK's
jazz fusion
Jazz fusion (also known as fusion and progressive jazz) is a music genre that developed in the late 1960s when musicians combined jazz harmony and jazz improvisation, improvisation with rock music, funk, and rhythm and blues. Electric guitars, ...
and electro music scenes. He achieved success with the early electro club track, released with DSM, "Warrior Groove".
William's was described by musician and author, Mark "
Snowboy
Snowboy (a.k.a. Mark Cotgrove) is an English percussionist, bandleader, DJ and journalist.
jazz-funk
Jazz-funk is a subgenre of jazz music characterized by a strong back beat (groove), electrified sounds, and an early prevalence of analog synthesizers. The integration of funk, soul, and R&B music and styles into jazz resulted in the creatio ...
and jazz fusion in the UK during the late 1970s led to a profusion of "all-dayers" being held across the country. These events drew youngsters who travelled in the thousands to listen to their favourite DJs at venues like Birmingham's
Hummingbird
Hummingbirds are birds native to the Americas and comprise the biological family Trochilidae. With about 361 species and 113 genera, they occur from Alaska to Tierra del Fuego, but the vast majority of the species are found in the tropics aro ...
and Locarno (which later became the Powerhouse) and Rock City in
Nottingham
Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east ...
.
Shaun Williams first became involved in the UK's jazz dance scene as part of an innovative group of Birmingham-based jazz dancers. However he soon progressed from the dance floor to DJ
turntables
A phonograph, in its later forms also called a gramophone (as a trademark since 1887, as a generic name in the UK since 1910) or since the 1940s called a record player, or more recently a turntable, is a device for the mechanical and analogu ...
, where he gained a reputation as an influential and experimental DJ who refused to be restricted in the music he played. Williams was a staple of the
Midlands
The Midlands (also referred to as Central England) are a part of England that broadly correspond to the Kingdom of Mercia of the Early Middle Ages, bordered by Wales, Northern England and Southern England. The Midlands were important in the Ind ...
' circuit from 1979 to 1985, representing Birmingham alongside other top DJs from around the country.
At a time when most Birmingham night clubs operated selective door policies and admitted few black people, the Monday nights were a haven for youngsters from all backgrounds, an environment where they could express themselves freely through dance and fashion. It subsequently became known as one of the country's most competitive and cutting-edge jazz fusion nights, with the weekly session attracting dancers from across the UK, who came to listen to Williams and to "battle" against the best of the Midlands' dancers.
Following his all-dayer popularity Williams, along with Birmingham DJ Dave Till, started his long-running jazz fusion night at Birmingham's Rum Runner nightclub. Although Till left the club a couple of years later, Williams continued his residency until its closure in 1983. The Rum Runner saw the formation of the band
Duran Duran
Duran Duran () are an English Rock music, rock band formed in Birmingham in 1978 by singer and bassist Stephen Duffy, keyboardist Nick Rhodes and guitarist/bassist John Taylor (bass guitarist), John Taylor. With the addition of drummer Roger ...
(who would often be rehearsing upstairs during these jazz nights) and was popular with
New Romantics
The New Romantic movement was an underground subculture movement that originated in the United Kingdom in the late 1970s. The movement emerged from the nightclub scene in London and Birmingham at venues such as Billy's and The Blitz. The New ...
, but on Monday nights Williams played jazz fusion, funk and soul to a predominantly black audience.
As the popularity of electro gained momentum through the early to mid-1980s, so did Williams' reputation as a scratcher, following regular appearances on the all-dayer scene and his Sunday night sessions at Faces International nightclub in Birmingham. This culminated in him teaming up with Danny Poku (later known as
D Mob
D Mob (or D-Mob), also known as Dancin' Danny D or simply Danny D, is a British music producer and remixer. His most notable track was "C'mon and Get My Love" with Cathy Dennis on the vocals, which peaked at number 10 on the U.S. Hot 100 char ...
) to co-write and scratch on DSM's "Warrior Groove", released on Elite Records in 1985 and re-released in the same year on 10 Records, a subsidiary of
Virgin Records
Virgin Records is a record label owned by Universal Music Group. It originally founded as a British independent record label in 1972 by entrepreneurs Richard Branson, Simon Draper, Nik Powell, and musician Tom Newman. It grew to be a worldwid ...
Jazz Fusion
Jazz fusion (also known as fusion and progressive jazz) is a music genre that developed in the late 1960s when musicians combined jazz harmony and jazz improvisation, improvisation with rock music, funk, and rhythm and blues. Electric guitars, ...
*
Jazz-funk
Jazz-funk is a subgenre of jazz music characterized by a strong back beat (groove), electrified sounds, and an early prevalence of analog synthesizers. The integration of funk, soul, and R&B music and styles into jazz resulted in the creatio ...
*
New Romantics
The New Romantic movement was an underground subculture movement that originated in the United Kingdom in the late 1970s. The movement emerged from the nightclub scene in London and Birmingham at venues such as Billy's and The Blitz. The New ...
Notes
References
*Cotgrove, Mark (2009). Mark Cotgrove, "''From Jazz Funk & Fusion to Acid Jazz: The History of the UK Jazz Dance Scene". Chaser Publications. .