Gilles Peterson, Music Pioneer :: AXIS – 1 of 3
Music pioneer Gilles Peterson takes us on an up close and personal ride through his 30 year career sharing humorous insights on his life and times as one of the most influential DJs in global jazz and dance music scene.
Music pioneer Gilles Peterson takes us on an up close and personal ride through his 30 year career sharing humorous insights on his life and times as one of the most influential DJs in global jazz and dance music scene.
About Gilles Peterson:
Gilles Peterson is a DJ, record collector and record label owner from London, UK. Through his labels Acid Jazz, Talkin' Loud, and latterly Brownswood Recordings, he has been associated with the careers of well-known artists of the 1990s such as Erykah Badu and Roni Size plus Jamiroquai. He is also well known as a radio DJ.
After starting out on pirate radio, and having shows on various legal London-based radio stations, most noticeably including Kiss FM dance music station, he was recruited to the BBC's youth-oriented Radio 1 in 1998. Peterson is known for his eclectic musical selections, and has even been occasionally mentioned as the new John Peel. However whilst the late John Peel had an "anything goes" range of tastes displayed on his show, Peterson's focus has always been Jazz music, generally Modern Jazz, with a strong emphasis on its translation to a club environment, mixed with associated music styles.
Widely acclaimed as a musical tastemaker, he spreads his influence on music listeners around the world mostly through his Worldwide radio show on BBC Radio 1 which is also broadcast live on the Radio 1 website and available for audio streaming online for seven days from broadcast. He also does another international version of the show which gets syndicated to radio stations all over the world, such as FM4 in Austria, Radio Nova in France, B92 in Serbia and Radio Helsinki in Finland. What's more, he broadcasts his WW15 show at drivetime on Japan's largest commercial radio station J-Wave. Parallel to this, his frequent DJing gigs around the world also have cemented a worldwide following—perhaps rather apt, given the name of his radio show is Worldwide.
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Bobbito Garcia, Creative Powerhouse :: Axis
NYC's favorite creative powerhouse Mr. Bobbito Garcia, gets the spotlight treatment as he takes us a ride through some of his career highs, inspirations and a life changing moment in Africa.
Bobbito Garcia, Creative Powerhouse :: Artist Profile from friendswelove.com on Vimeo.
About Bobbito:
Manhattan, NYC native and world-renowned DJ Bobbito Garcia is the Creative Chief at Project 2050 (an ideas and solutions shop). The former Bounce Magazine Editor In Chief is also the critically acclaimed author of Where’d You Get Those? NYC’s Sneaker Culture: 1960-1987 (Testify Books). In recent years, “Kool Bob Love” has done live on-air halftime reports for the NBA’s Knicks franchise on MSG Network, voiced NBA 2K video games, and hosted ESPN’s It’s the Shoes series. In ’07, he designed seven signature Nike Air Force 1 25th Anniversary shoes. Currently, the renaissance man is the annual Boost Mobile Elite 24 HS All-American Game play-by-play commentator, has a CD compilation out titled Connection (R2 Records), and will collaborate with the PRO-Keds sneaker brand on the Royal Flash hi-top re-issue dropping in Fall ’09!
You may wonder when Bobbito has time to breathe, but in the last 20+ years he has been relentlessly pursuing his passions in music and basketball. After playing pro ball in Puerto Rico and graduating from Wesleyan University (CT) in ’88, he began working at Def Jam Records. He met DJ Stretch Armstrong there, and in ’90 the two started an on-air program at WKCR 89.9FM. By ’98, the Source Magazine voted it the “Best Hip Hop Radio Show of All Time.” The duo introduced the world to unsigned acts like Nas, Jay Z, Biggie Smalls, Big Pun, Wu-Tang, Mobb Deep, and many others that would go on to change the face of the industry.
Although Bobbito a.k.a. Kool Bob Love is a bonafide Hip Hop legend, any former reader of his Vibe Magazine column would know that his musical passion goes way beyond just Rap. As a club DJ, crowds worldwide from China to South Africa have celebrated his unique blend of Rare Funk, Latin, Afro-Beat, Soul, Jazz, House, and Ballads. He’s opened up concerts for Latin Music legend Eddie Palmieri (5-time Grammy Award Winner), Afro-Funk progenitor Tony Allen (formerly Fela Kuti's drummer), Jazz-Funk legend Roy Ayers, and Soul singer D'Angelo.
What’s next? Who knows, but who would’ve ever expected a kid who started out in the music industry as a messenger to have accomplished so much, or a student-athlete who got cut from his college basketball team to one day get paid to play? Bobbito is a true renaissance man, a walking example of how it is possible to love what you do and pursue it without compromise.
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José James, Vocalist + Lyricist + Songwriter :: Axis
Critically acclaimed and world renown artist, Jose James invites us to witness the Black Magic of his new record with an intimate studio session that reveals the many facets of his creative process.
Critically acclaimed and world renown artist, Jose James invites us to witness the Black Magic of his new record with an intimate studio session that reveals the many facets of his creative process.
José James, Vocalist + Lyricist + Songwriter :: Artist Profile from friendswelove.com on Vimeo.
About Jose:
Since his arrival on the international scene in 2008 vocalist José James has consistently dazzled critics and audiences alike with his deft combination of soul, hip-hop and jazz. Using his musical mentors John Coltrane, Marvin Gaye and Billie Holiday as compasses, he continues to successfully blur the lines between musical genres through his love of connecting to audiences worldwide and in the sheer joy of creation.
Blessed with a warm rich baritone reminiscent of artists of the caliber of Terry Callier, Jon Lucien and Gil-Scott Heron, José has toured internationally at venues such as the North Sea Jazz Festival, the Vitoria Jazz Festival, Billboard Live Tokyo, Centro Cultural Sao Paolo, the Hermitage St. Petersburg, Central Park Summerstage New York and London's Royal Festival Hall.
Signed to Gilles Peterson's Brownswood Recordings, his debut album "The Dreamer" was released in 2008 to worldwide acclaim, including 21 of JazzTimes Top 50 Jazz Albums of 2008. As a recording artist and guest vocalist José has worked with Junior Mance, Chico Hamilton, Gilles Peterson, Bassment Jaxx, Nicola Conte, Toshio Matsuura, Elan Mehler, The Heritage Orchestra, SOIL & "PIMP" SESSIONS, Jazzanova, Flying Lotus, Christian McBride, J.A.M., Robert Mitchell, Jazzy Sport and Simbad.
For more info on Jose: http://www.josejamesmusic.com/
http://www.myspace.com/josejamesquartet
http://friendswelove.com/video/jj-fwl-fest-envivo/
http://friendswelove.com/video/jose-james-120-secs/
http://friendswelove.com/blog/summer-concerts-in-nyc/
http://friendswelove.com/blog/articles-we-love-connecting-dots-from-bird-to-michael-jackson/