Jeremy Nelson MBE (born 1 April 1964) is a

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

broadcaster and television producer. He is the founder and

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

of media production company Somethin' Else, which in 2021 became part of

Sony Music Entertainment Sony Music Entertainment (SME), commonly known as Sony Music, is an American multinational music company owned by Japanese conglomerate Sony Group Corporation. It is the recording division of Sony Music Group, with the other half being the ...

Education

Nelson was educated at

Dulwich College Dulwich College is a 2-18 private, day and boarding school for boys in Dulwich, London, England. As a public school, it began as the College of God's Gift, founded in 1619 by Elizabethan actor Edward Alleyn, with the original purpose of ...

(a boys'

independent school A private school or independent school is a school not administered or funded by the government, unlike a State school, public school. Private schools are schools that are not dependent upon national or local government to finance their fina ...

Dulwich Dulwich (; ) is an area in south London, England. The settlement is mostly in the London Borough of Southwark, with parts in the London Borough of Lambeth, and consists of Dulwich Village, East Dulwich, West Dulwich, and the Southwark half of H ...

South London South London is the southern part of Greater London, England, south of the River Thames. The region consists of the Districts of England, boroughs, in whole or in part, of London Borough of Bexley, Bexley, London Borough of Bromley, Bromley, Lon ...

) and at

King's College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public university, public research university in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of George IV of the United Kingdom, King George IV ...

, where he first began to DJ.

Career

After working on several

pirate Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and valuable goods, or taking hostages. Those who conduct acts of piracy are call ...

jazz radio stations, including KJazz, which he and DJ Gilles Peterson set up, Nelson joined Jazz FM soon after it was licensed in 1989. His first show on Jazz FM was on 4 March 1990, and he went on to present a nightly four-hour programme called ''Something Else'', on which he interviewed jazz stars including

Herbie Hancock Herbert Jeffrey Hancock (born April 12, 1940) is an American jazz musician, bandleader, and composer. He started his career with trumpeter Donald Byrd's group. Hancock soon joined the Miles Davis Quintet, where he helped to redefine the role of ...

Nina Simone Nina Simone ( ; born Eunice Kathleen Waymon; February 21, 1933 – April 21, 2003) was an American singer, pianist, songwriter, and civil rights activist. Her music spanned styles including classical, folk, gospel, blues, jazz, R&B, and po ...

Wayne Shorter Wayne Shorter (August 25, 1933 – March 2, 2023) was an American jazz saxophonist, composer and bandleader. Shorter came to mainstream prominence in 1959 upon joining Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers, for whom he eventually became the primary comp ...

and

Sun Ra Le Sony'r Ra (born Herman Poole Blount, May 22, 1914 – May 30, 1993), better known as Sun Ra, was an American jazz composer, bandleader, piano and synthesizer player, and poet known for his experimental music, "cosmic" philosophy, prolific ou ...

. Having left Jazz FM in 1991, Nelson joined Kiss 100 and, along with former colleagues Sonita Alleyne and Chris Philips, he founded the media production company Somethin' Else. The business has become the largest independent radio production company in the UK and is a leading cross-platform content producer. In 2009, Nelson succeeded Alleyne as CEO of Somethin' Else. In 2021 Somethin' Else was fully acquired by

to become part of a new Global Podcast Division. Jez Nelson, along with Steve Ackerman, became head of this division. He has also presented many

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

television and radio programmes, including '' It'll Never Work?'' for Children's BBC, which led to a presenter's role on the primetime '' Tomorrow's World'' show. He has also presented '' Formula Five'' on BBC Radio 5 and Radio 3's ''Jazz on 3''. Nelson is a Fellow of The

Radio Academy The Radio Academy is a registered charity dedicated to "the encouragement, recognition and promotion of excellence in UK broadcasting and audio production". It was formed in 1983 and is run via a board of trustees, with a chair and a deputy chai ...

.The Radio Academ
"Fellows"

References

External links

Somethin' Else with Jez Nelson on Jazz FM
* Hayley Hayes
"My Media Week: Jez Nelson, Somethin' Else"
'' Campaign'', 21 September 2016. 1964 births Alumni of King's College London BBC Radio 3 presenters British media executives British radio personalities Living people People educated at Dulwich College Members_of_the_Order_of_the_British_Empire {{UK-tv-bio-stub