DJ Jazzy Jeff | photo by John Vettese for WXPN
Watch DJ Jazzy Jeff build a beat from the ground up using three random vinyl LPs
Crafting a good beat is an art — particularly if you’re taking the old school sampledelic approach. Digging up the right records, identifying the right spots of those records and recontextualizing them alongside other records that create something new and wholly engaging…it’s a mix of genius and happenstance. And Philly’s DJ Jazzy Jeff is a master of that balance.
For an illustration, check out this spotlight on the Philly icon that Mass Appeal’s Rhythm Roulette feature put together. In it, producer and record collector Gene Brown pulls his van up to Jeff’s Delaware home — previously seen during his PLAYlist Retreat project — and let him choose three LPs from rows of crates, while blindfolded. He walks away with nuggets from Al Johnson, Reuben Howell and Les Dudek, and sets to focused listening, brainstorming and assembling, and the process is magic to watch.
Check it out in the video below; though there are no Philly appearances on the books for this Philly son, you can catch DJ Jazzy Jeff at one of his handful of 2017 gigs listed below.
Tour Dates
Aug 25 – Park Olge Ban – Poreč, Croatia
Sep 08 – Tipitinas – New Orleans, LA
Sep 10 – REHAB BEACH CLUB – Las Vegas, NV
Sep 22 – Necto Nightclub – Ann Arbor, MI
Oct 06 – Dusk Music Festival – Tucson, AZ
Nov 04 – Secret East London Location – London, United Kingdom
(h/t Okayplayer)