The Jukebox Jam club night began in Summer 2007 as a raucous monthly celebration of authentic US Rhythm & Blues of yesteryear. Two years later, the club's founder Liam Large linked up with Jazzman to release high-quality, short-run 7" singles of the often obscure R&B music which the club continues to thrive on. Jazzman had already carved a niche for itself with the label's many soul, funk n' jazz 45s, but here was the opportunity to work a new furrow in vintage Black American music, turning an already clued-up and tuned-in client base of hipsters, diggers and full-on record nerds on to the seemingly endless charms of Rockin' Blues, Greasy R&B, Jump Blues and Popcorn.
Just as the Jukebox Jam club itself saw a fair few copycat enterprises spring forward in its wake, the label itself has been similarly influential in shaping the tastes of those who were yet to be introduced to the vast R&B reservoir, as well as sharpening and widening the palette's of the more journeyed enthusiast. This is due largely to the careful selection and programming of releases. Not merely picking the records with the most obvious crowd potential, the Jukebox Jam releases have often traded liberally in the unexpected and the unique.
This album is the first full length volume in the series. Founder and DJ Liam Large pulls together some selections from the 45 series and adds a further 8 songs. It's a set which manages to be both diverse and yet totally coherent in spectrum. There are a few sombre, downbeat moments here, but even these come with a seductive groove and finger-snapping back beat and overall this is a selection very much geared, like the club itself, to get your pulse rising and feet jumping.
RARE and FINE music heard only on Jazzman - all because WE DIG DEEPER!