Preview
GREYBOY
Thursday, May 6
Night Gallery
For more than a decade, San Diego-based producer and DJ Greyboy has been turning out some of the best acid-jazz, mixed-beats albums. Ever since his genre-defining 1994 album Freestylin’, Greyboy has been at the top of the Ubiquity Records roster with his various DJ and side projects including Greyboy Allstars. He also found time to start the P-Jays hip-hop label with skateboarder Rob Dyrdek. In 2001 Greyboy put out Mastered the Art, a soundtrack-inspired fusion of hip-hop, jazz, rare-groove and world music. With the help of CuBop Records vibraphonist Dave Pike and guitarist Elgin Park from the Greyboy Allstars, live musicians on the album gave hope to all the acid jazz fans of the ’80s and ’90s that were brought up on the Stereo MC’s, James Taylor Quartet, Brand New Heavies and the Groove Collective.
In fact, Greyboy is often noted as the first American producer to mix beats with jazz, a concept equivalent to the rare-groove reissues put out by the Brits in the mid-’80s.
"Everybody knows that acid jazz was more of a name than a type of music," says Greyboy. "I just think it’s funny how people still hang on to the whole idea."
From a DJ whose work was synonymous with the genre, it’s obvious he’s moved on. On his latest album Soul Mosiac, Greyboy has stepped back to the soul sisters of the ’60s and ’70s. The guest musicians and MCs of Mastered the Art have moved over to include some of the most sought-after soul singers of the West Coast scene. And from its initial reception by fans and critics alike, Soul Mosaic looks like another hit. It debuted at No. 1 three weeks ago on CMJ's RPM Top 40 radio specialty chart and has been consistently moving upwards on the top electronic sales chart in Billboard. No surprise after listening to tracks such as the Syreeta and Stevie Wonder cover "To Know You is to Love You" with Bart Davenport. Initially released as a single in 2002, the cover is just one of the many tracks that showcases Greyboy's prowess at blending beats, organics and powerful vocals. In fact, the album’s perfect neo-soul twist can be attributed to his collaboration with vocalists Davenport, Sharon Jones and Bin Ji Ling.
"I didn’t actually decide that," admits Greyboy. "It just turned out that I was meeting these great singers and the collaborations just happened naturally. I’ve always wanted to work with singers, but sometimes it’s just a matter of meeting one that you like and feel comfortable working with."
Regardless, there seems to be a reason that Greyboy has released only four full-length albums in 10 years. He’s somewhat of a perfectionist, spending the majority of his days practicing beats, trying to find records for inspiration and then playing a select few clubs in the Bay area.
"Quality is a matter of opinion," says Greyboy. "But I guess I just mean that each sound or instrument that you add to the track should be carefully selected. I would rather have five great sounds to make an entire song, than 100 mediocre sounds." |
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