Example of Trip Newletter

the trip@theafroba, with vintage vinyl, normally the last SAT each month.
Welcome to another session. I think this night must now be one of the longest continuous running in Reading town centre, especially if you add my previous night No Room For Squares, which started before the trip and then merged with it just about two years ago. Its also so nice to have now played over 70 sessions of this night, and 250 generally here, especially as the afroba was the place that brought me back into this club record playing lark, having now played well over 11,000 tunes here during the last 8 years. Also I am now busier than ever popping up in several other locations locally. To think I was trying to cease my record playing activities a few years ago and thanks to the afroba there looks to be little sign at the moment of me grinding to a halt. It also seems the right time to inform any new trip attendees where this night comes from, quite where it is going to is another matter! In 2001/2, the afroba started sessions in the week of nights playing” interesting music”, a million miles away from the funky house syndrome that pervades the rest of the town centre. Veris with his PROGRAM night was first off and the afroba was filled to the rafters with the likes of funky library/b-music /soundtracks. I came on board by loaning the equipment and eventually started to play a few tunes. Several other dj’s came and went with Dean moving abroad and Tom moving away. Shortly after this I became involved with another night here CLUB RUDE, which still continues but elsewhere locally. This night takes me back to my origins of 60’s Mod Club music. Then it seemed a good idea for me to start my own night NO ROOM FOR SQUARES, which was an entire evening of jazz based music again in the week. The logic of playing on weekdays allowed for complete musical freedom as it was not felt forcing ”obscure” music on customers at the weekend who were a bit more” up for it”, would be right. The “I-bet-ya” team also kicked off their own night and thus begat Dan Le Sac. We also tried a Friday night session called RARE FUNCTION, which mixed obscure with better known, and this paved the way for the TRIP on a Saturday. However all good things come to an end and the smoking ban/licensing hours change a few years ago meant that weekday attendances started to suffer and the prohibitive cost of music licences also added to the problem. So by the middle of 2008 we were down to just the one night, this one, except read below. To promote the afroba sessions however we added a few novel features. The posting of playlists on my shop site, and because I recorded all the sessions on minidisc, the playing back of the nights following the session. So that’s it for a brief rundown, except to mention that we also play back few memorable sessions. The evenings that I remember well were the James Brown tribute night that Veris and myself undertook, the entire Miles Davis evening and the playing of a tune that we broke here that saw its release for the first time on 7”. However you should be aware that we now have another session to complement the trip. TRACKS and GROOVES, with the MIGHTY AC., is always on the last Thursday. SO PLEASE DO SPREAD THE WORD ABOUT THE afroba AND COME AS OFTEN AS YOU CAN (you can hear playback recordings of this vinyl only sessions on most evenings here) AND PLEASE DO COME ON THE LAST SATURDAY AND LAST THURSDAY AS THE ATTENDANCE AT IT MAY DICTATE THE FATE OF FUTURE SESSIONS. IF YOU CARE ABOUT A BAR THAT POSSIBLY PLAYS SOME MUSIC YOU CAN NOT HEAR ELSEWHERE IN READING THEN PLEASE SUPPORT US. The extra evening has come about because I am now able to leave my spare equipment in situ, which I will be testing tonight, so apologies if a few gremlins sneak into the evening.
Also please note the afroba is available for hire, 7 evenings a week-with or without me-just contact Channie or Chris. Recently at this session I was asked to undertake a private party here the following week and did just that, even at short notice managing to sort out most of the required tunes/artists, and the session was even more rammed than a normal one.
The dates each month are displayed in advance here, in the Collectors Centre and Sound Machine in Harris Arcade in Station Road, Reading, or pick up a "flyer" from the shops or me tonight. Previous evenings playlists for NO ROOM FOR SQUARES/THE TRIP, can be found at www.jimz.biz, where plenty are always posted, or e-mail jim at jimz@freenetname.co.uk for more details. Also you can now look at my FACEBOOK page, I’m JIM B. DONOVAN, and also join the afroba group now on Facebook. The TRIP comes with a free newsletter and that’s what you are reading right now. Tonight basically the music goes across the board. However the evening does have a tint of jazz/soul/black music incorporated, and does not normally stray into indie/pop or rock, except when it does! The general feel is to try and play music on vintage vinyl that was made to be played on vinyl, and that you cannot hear on a single evening anywhere else in Reading town centre. Because of the size of the afroba we do not aim for a dancefloor audience, but that should not stop you listening or occasionally shaking your rump! We also hope that you will go away with a few tunes ringing in your ears. Also this session runs from 6.30 to midnight, so come early for possibly in future a few surprises. At the moment we are experimenting with a concept called PLAYBACK@theafroba, where we are playing back the recordings we make of the evenings during the weeks following, with a paper-copy available of the tunes played so that you can follow them! At the moment they are running to no particular pattern so keep coming back often if you would like to hear some of them. Also at the moment I have made available 3 old sessions recorded here, Cosmic jazz/British jazz /Miles Davis .

I am afraid all the cd’s recorded live during my sets here at the afroba cd’s have now gone, that’s 16 different in total now for which I pressed up 50 of each, so I best be sorting out more. The last 8 were CLASSY DISCO/DOWNBEAT /THE MOONMIX/BLACK ACTION FILMS/LATIN AND BRAZILLIAN/ SESSION AND LIBRARY MUSIC/ MILES DAVIS and THE FIRST HOUR OR SO. What was really nice was I presented the last set to Mr. Scruff, when he came to see me in the shop recently, and it seems as if a few of the tunes on them are turning up in his sets.

I often worry that I will run out of ideas for special segments but fortunately something turns up and this month it’s………………...We also seem to have gained the plot tonight regarding the amount of tunes I have with me as I am back to 10 (instead of the usual 17) cases and two sevens boxes. The competitions the last few months proved very popular and will now become a regular feature of the night, except I shall have to make the questions a little harder.

Tonight is your evening as much as mine and I am more than happy to play the sort of music you would like to hear if it fits within the broad spectrum of what I am trying to achieve. So get chatting you really could inspire the tunes or the direction this trip takes. If I do not have the tunes or artists with me I will always make the effort to play them the following month. The best way however is to e-mail me via the website-www.jimz.biz before the session, and as a result of that I have some tunes already requested by customers in the shop who hope to be here tonight. I am also expecting a lot of “old” faces who are making this session a regular date. Also feel free to link up with me on Facebook, either via my own page/the afroba group or the trip group.

The TRIP morphed out of a Tuesday session which had been running for the previous eighteen months but which concentrated on a jazz bedrock. The move to a Saturday meant that that the music policy was expanded to fit a weekend situation and incorporated slightly better known music. I also suppose some of the evening will be taken up by some more of the "tunes of my years" as I still have many more to play from my last 51 years of vinyl collecting/playing out. Feel free to ask about any you like, and of course the website will have the full listing up in a few days. I am playing off my original copies so every so often their age will show.

My own musical background divides into at least five "spans". The first selection embraces pre 1964 music when I was learning about the history of jazz/black music and tempering it with popular music of the day and film soundtracks. The second period covers my "discotheque" years from 1964 to 1969, when I got involved in this record-playing lark, in a club environment. Period three takes in the 70's, my first mobile disco period when Disco ruled. Then on to my cop out period in the 80's when I "sold out" and got involved with Weddings, Celebrations, School Discos etc. and played far too much top 40. This period however did not extinguish my love of jazz, hip-hop, early house and techno, which I continued to collect but did not play out with so much. Period 5 from 1990 to date embraces my fondness for early Drum and Bass, Techno, Mo-wax, Coldcut, sampling, etc., and when I finally killed off the mobile caper and dropped back in the club-scene here, right back to square one. I would also like to thank the other dj’s who continue to amaze me with their sheer musical taste and expose me each time we play together to tunes I had just plain forgotten or never knew in the first place. Never think you know it all, you never will, and I certainly won’t as I head towards the great flight case in the sky!

THE NEXT TRIP SESSION IS ON SATURDAY ……………………with Tracks and Grooves with the Mighty AC, on THURSDAY………………………….

Thanks for reading this, and have an enjoyable evening, and a great eleven, also thanks for choosing the afroba. You discovered it, and us, and its just between you, me, the other dj's, and the brilliant bar staff. As usual feel free to pop over for a chat during the evening but apologies if I am not too chatty when the session is over, as the one thing that made me give up the mobile is still haunting me, having to pack up and get it out of here ahead of the bar staff tidying up!

Thanks again-bcnu"Jazzy"JIM, YOUR TRIP RECORD PLAYER. (DJ Baby Boomer!)

the trip@theafroba is inspired by Herbie Hancock/Miles Davis, musical geni.

No Room For Squares 08/02/2008

The PLAYLIST.NO ROOM FOR SQUARES (FROM 6.30-12.00), jazzorisitreally, on vintage vinyl, session 50, 8/02/08, afroba.
Well I blame it on Gilles Peterson. Since moving what was originally a jazz only session in the week to a Friday I have constantly bored you with the move away musically from jazz proper to “ jazz, classic disco and hip hop”. I also had an idea called “Spaced Out” for another night which would be a Friday evening more orientated to an “up for it crowd”, which would feature classic quality disco, which seems to be the direction this evening is moving to. So the “listen” jazz evening would move to a more “groove’ orientated session. Back to Gilles. With his recent release of a classic disco cd,, and if its good enough for him, the time seemed right to shift the evening towards that genre. Obviously if the bar had not been so rammed then I might just have got more jazz in, but even towards the end when it usually is less full on this occasion it stayed rammed and I kept the music “up’, to the extent that my normally reliable 1,000 watt amp could not cope and I had to finish about ten minutes early! The original plan was to play lots more Valentines night tunes which really didn’t happen, but I did slip in a lot of waxpoetics radio show tunes, as well as plenty of requests. Apologies to those who saw some Erykah Badu on my previous playlists and wanted some more, but I just did not have any with me( I did have 10 record boxes with me but she just got left back at base). Also if you do not know by now check www. peepshow.org.uk to see why the Peterson connection is stronger than usual! So as my newsletter stated, “gilles peterson may be in the house, but jim is upstairs at the afroba, with quite a lot of music that is not jazz, but if its good enough for gp!” Finally so nice to see so many faces, you know who you are…
PS. I have just broken my own record for the amount of time spent playing out in a single club/bar, as I have now passed the 24 day continuous timescale across 191 sessions, beating my previous record from the 60’s, thanks.
HORACE SILVER…SONG FOR MY FATHER, 1963, he’s just released a fifty year old session, and you need to come early now to hear some proper jazz!
EUGENE Mc DANIELS…LOVIN’ MAN, 1971, thanks to the waxpoetics radio show for dropping this corker.
VINCE GUARALDI/BOLA SETE…CASABA, MID 60’S, latin tinged flowing bossa.
ALEXANDRO JODOROWSKY…FLUTE IN A QUARRY, 1971, from cult film el topo and a program (first Friday at the afroba) jazz fave.
McCOY TYNER…HORIZONS, 1980, proof that you should not be too “datist”( ie crap jazz in the 80’s) with some jazz, as this one sounds timeless and one of my tunes of the night.
MILES DAVIS…TIME AFTER TIME, 1985, from the man who inspires the evening, off his only extended 12”, and the first of a few valentiners.
TERRY CALLIER…LOVE THEME FROM SPARTACUS,1998, 4heromix and another valentiner.
ATTICA BLUES…THE SEASON, 1999, charlie dark remix, and a gilles classic from more modern times.
OMAR…THERES NOTHING LIKE THIS, 1990, early issue on gilles label talking loud.
SILENT POETS…MOMENT SCALE, 1995, ibiza classic downbeater.
LOWRELL…MELLOW MELLOW, 1979, major sample and creeping into classic disco territory.
BILL WITHERS…USE ME, 1973, live version and the first of several requests.
JANICE JOPLIN…TO LOVE SOMEBODY, 1969, another request, a bee-gees tune but better and valentiny.
Then a bit of a departure because I felt like having a chat I put on a CD!, no this will not set a trend but it was one of gilles from his world wide comp., RAW DEAL…SNAKE CHARMER/GOTAN PROJECT…EL CAPITALISIMO FORNIER/ROY AYERS…WE LIVE IN BROOKLYN/JILL SCOTT…SLOWLY SURELY/.EDWIN STARR…EASIN’ IN/GEORGE BENSON WITH MAW…THE GHETTO…
NICK DRAKE...BRYTER LATER, 1971, folk with a funk jazz feeling from an icon of british music.
TIM BUCKLEY...STRANGE FEELING, LATE 60’S, and an american with the same feel as nick with a miles davis chord structure.
LOVE…ALONE AGAIN OR, 1968, requested and why not?
BABE RUTH…THE MEXICAN, 1972, little bit more rock with a small “r’, and sampleurs delite.
MINNIE RIPPERTON…REASONS, 1974, never miss playing a minnie track, from her lp with stevie wonder.
SAMUEL JONATHON JOHNSON…MY MUSIC, 1978, thanks waxpoetics radio show for tippin’ me back on this classic twelve, magic.
ROSKO…DESIDERATA, EARLY 70’S, usa dj with an early rapper and very valentiny.
EDDIE PALMIERI…HARLEM RIVER DRIVE, EARLY 70’S, droppin’ this great one a lot lately.
McCOY TYNER…CONTEMPLATION, 1967, blue noter original, that I have been playing in a version by ronnie scott, and sold my shop copy the day after!
4HERO…BLACK GOLD OF THE SUN, 1997, never off the playlist. CARL CRAIG…AT LES, 1993, detroit techno jazz of the highest calibre.
CINEMATIC ORCHESTRA…CHANNEL1 SUITE, 1999, another never off the playlist.
SPACEK…EVE, 2000, j.dilla mix, and its two years since we lost him, so nuff’ tunes of his at the next trip on saturday feb. 23rd.
CAVEMAN…I’M READY, 1991, brithiphop at its best, thanks waxpoeticsradio for this hendrix sampled classic.
SAMBA SOUL…MAMBO NO. 5, 1977, one of the lesser known sampled greats off usa twelve, again thanks wp radio.
KEITH MANSFIELD…GRANDSTAND, 1979, we were playing this a lot and then they cancelled the show.
HAWKSHAW…GRANGE HILL, 1979, and spooky the same with this one, soon to be cancelled tv show.
QUANTIC SOUL ORCHESTRA…GET A MOVE ON, 1994, their tribute to the scruffmeister.
ERNIE K DOE…HERE COME THE GIRLS, EARLY 70’S, one off the tv for the ladeees.
HANDSOME BOY MODELLING SCHOOL…THE TRUTH, 1999, since I played this I have got a copy of the original sample, coming up soon.
JOHNNY PATE…SHAFT IN AFRICA, 1973, classic breaker tune and another from wp radio.
BERNARD PURDIE…SHAFT, 1972, THE skinsmeister, with his superior version of the film theme.
WILLIE HUTCH…BROTHERS GONNA WORK IT OUT, 1973, finally got around to playing one from gilles new vinyl/ cd.
MAIN INGREDIENT…HAPPINESS IS JUST AROUND THE BEND, 1976, and a second.
CARE PACKAGE…VEHICLE, 1970, waxpoetics played the ides of march original so I gave this great instrumental a try and boy did it sound great.
MF DOOM…ONE BEER, 2004, need to play some more tracks off this great double lp.
JURASSIC 5…CONCRETE SCHOOLYARD, 1998, props to the guy who came over and said what is thisss!!
OMAR AGAIN requested, CAPTAIN AND TENILLE…SONG FOR MY FATHER, 1980, amazing big band version of the tunes I started with, with sleeve photos that caused a few laughs.
LEONARD COHEN!!!!…JAZZ POLICE, 1993, yep old mr. misery in uptempo mode and sounding like ian dury.
BROTHERS JOHNSON…STRAWBERRY LETTER 23, 1977, another sampled classic from wp radio.
MASTERS AT WORK…TRIBUTE TO FELA KUTI, 1999, superb afro jazz houser.
JOE GIBBS…OH GIRL, 1982, then launched into some classic reggae starting with this iconic producer.
AFRICAN REVOLUTION…BALLROOM ROCK, 1981, another great off import twelve, dubtastic!
AUGUSTO PABLO…KING TUBBY MEETS THE ROCKERS UPTOWN, 1977, THE dub off twelve.
RICO…EASY SNAPPIN’, 1981, old clue j tune from the 60’s gets a mod revival makeover.
KEITH MANSFIELD…SOUL THING, 1968, library heaven and mucho sampled.
MYSTIC MOODS ORCHESTRA…COSMIC SEA, 1973, another samplers delight off an audio fidelity pressing.
METERS…LOOK A PY PY, EARLY 70’S, and yet more from the sample city box.
ROOTS MANUVA…DREAMY DAYS, 1999, nearly forgot again the rootsmeister.
NINA SIMONE…A’INT GOT NO, 1968, no idea why I played this but it sounded wicked, and I had been neglecting my sevens box.
KELIS…CAUGHT OUT THERE, 1999, starts with a reference to valentines day so very fitting.
PAM TODD AND THE GOLD BULLION BAND…BLAISE MOI (KISS ME), 1978,. Slightly obscure usa twelve with a great lyric for valentines, stonkin’ disco beat.
HERBIE HANCOCK…WATERMELLON MAN, 1962, had to get some jazz in and this blue note groover fitted the bill.
ANGELA BOFILL…PEOPLE MAKE THE WORLD GO ROUND, 1979, final one off gilles comp.
WAR…ME AND MY BABY BROTHER, 1973, started to loose the amp during this one apologies therefore for a rather abrupt finish, which was GRANGE HILL again and PETER COOK and DUDLEY MOORE …GOODBYEE.. JIM.
NRFS IS BACK AGAIN ON MARCH 14th WITH THE TRIP ON SATURDAY 23rd FEBRUARY, MORE PLAYLISTS AT www.jimz.biz. BCNU.
NO ROOM FOR SQUARES IS A “JAZZISNOTAFOURLETTERWORD” PRODUCTION FOR THE AFROBA, 2008