A pioneering record dealer and label head based in north London, and a regular guest for us here at ChoiceCuts, Gerald Short of Jazzman records has been bringing the delights of yesteryear to the marketplace for over ten years and dealing in vinyl for almost twenty. We caught up with him on the phone to find out more about the history behind the label that has become synonymous with unforgettable grooves.

DJs, Producers, Collectors and music lovers the world over have been eating up Jazzman releases since 1998. Carefully chosen and faithfully reissued, artists like Nina Simone, Marlena Shaw, Jonathan Richman, The Highlighters Band, and Nino Nardini have found their way on to a catalogue that is as varied as it is deep. It is testament to the hard work that Short and his team have put in that at a time when so many labels are struggling, Jazzman continues to grow and win over new listeners by focusing on music from the past.

Gerald, you started a stall in Camden in the early 1990s, can you tell us a bit about this period and the type of people who bought from you?

Well, record dealers at the time were asking for way too much money for old vinyl and my dad was based in the United States, I thought i could kill two birds with one stone and visit my dad and buy a shitload of wax to bring back to sell at my stall. I got a loan of £1000 from the generous lady in the stall next to me and went on my trip stateside. Camden gets about 1 million people in at the weekend through its stalls and thoroughfares. Soul Jazz Records had moved to the West End around Berwick Street and there was a gap in the market for what I wanted to sell.

As the return trips to USA became more frequent I would find myself picking up doubles and triples of certain vinyl. This led to me forming a mail-order list, my customer base thus increased. I would then start photocopying the lists, record some of the rare stuff onto cassette for people buyers to check out. People began to call me on the phone and I would play sample snippets to them; I would receive wish lists from buyers, other competitors lists to see what they were selling or wanted and pretty much immersed myself into the whole scene. I would have regulars, people like Gilles P looking for jazz and soul, Hip Hop producers from New York and beyond looking for the perfect drum samples. I would rely on my own instincts and the more the rep grew the more the customer base grew.

At the moment I’m buying and selling a lot of 50s music, so I keep an eye out for these records, you have to give people what they want and keep abreast of trends and cycles. At the moment everyone’s listening to 80s music and back in the 80s, people who listened to modern soul let’s say were clocking 50s music also, so it’s all swings and roundabouts. Also, soul/funk collectors who have been buying for a long time either go back further into doo-wop and 50s music or gravitate towards modern soul like disco and boogie etc.

So when did the idea to licence and reissue come about?

I was DJing in Berlin and played some tracks that were not run of the mill and the crowd were very receptive. I felt rare records and music shouldn’t be exclusively for those with money or in the know. Songs are owned by the artists and the artist wants everyone to hear them and make their own judgement. Obviously there were people doing reissues at the time, but a lot were not doing it legally or properly. I wanted to facilitate the artist in the right way, whether the format was 45, 12inch or CD. This is a win-win situation for the artist, myself, if Jazzman pulls it off, and of course the music fan who can be assured of purchasing a quality and faithful reissue.

In 1998 I released Kathleen Emery ‘Sometimes I Feel Like A Motherless Child’ and the rest is history. DJs tend to think that if they own the record or if it is rare they have some kind of ownership of the song making things exclusive, but I am more about making it inclusive therefore I go to the endeavour of going down the right channels to broker a deal with the artist and make the product top quality for the marketplace.

Of the other labels reissuing old music or unreleased music, which stand out?
Immediately Now Again; Egon has excellent taste, is a hard worker and has the artist as priority, again he goes to the endeavour of putting his all into it. His work for Stones Throw is impeccable and is more commonly known, but the Now Again/Soul Cal reissues, these are great releases. Worthy mentions are Lotus Land, PPU, Numero, Timmion the list goes on. I hope I don’t offend anyone by leaving them out; anyone doing it for the right reasons, whatever the genre, is alright in my book.

Then onto our next topic, Fat City Record Shop; you bought the retail arm from Dave Walker in Manchester in August. This was, and is, a shop with impeccable taste and always seems to have its finger on what’s hot release-wise for DJs and collectors. Tell us about the reasoning behind taking on another business in these recessionary times?

I have always loved Fat City’s whole vibe and as they a had strong customer base like I did it made sense for us to join forces. Dave wanted to get out and pursue another career and I could centralise his stock from London. Boombox, a big distributor for Fat City, is only a few doors down from me, so it made perfect sense. It meant we were supplying old and new music and I have the online shop now, so changes Dave wanted to make I can do now incrementally. We still are finding our way as we go along but for a small business we are doing OK since the acquisition. I oversee the buying but we have Lindsay and Skeg keeping tabs for me on the new stuff as I’m not that ‘in the know’ about the new stuff as I am about jazz, soul and funk … I’m a jazzman at heart you know.

What new labels and music are you interested in at moment?
The Porter label is great, Poobah Records, Truth and Soul, your boys Hypnotic Brass Ensemble. Usually I am working away in the office and I will just hear the guys play stuff and go ‘what’s that?’ and remember the name or label. There is so much out there to choose from that we have to filter carefully through it all to keep the quality control intact for our customers; so, yeah, some of the new beats I’m feeling, but not everything.

Notice any difference in the buyers these days compared to when you started out?
People are now buying everything, 10 years ago we were more pigeonholed by our buying and allegiance to genres. Now with the internet, people are buying rock, soul, jazz, pop. There’s a big convergence of buying tastes; and with more music out there to be acquired we need to be aware of what the buyer wants and keep our principles about us. The mystery of music, albums and artists and shelf life is gone, but the offset of this is more music is being reissued and there is more accessibility for the consumer.

Stuff coming out on Jazzman in 2010 would be the new Californian Funk compilation, John Heartsman & Circles ‘Music of My Heart’, George Smallwoods ‘Just For You’, Mountain Mocha Kilimanjro debut from Japan and of course Lloyd Millar ‘A Lifetime In Oriental Jazz’

To date Jazzman and his team have reissued 72 singles on 7inch
3 Jukebox on 7inch
5 Soul Spectrum on 7inch
38 Funk45 7inches
30 Albums on 12inch/CD
19 12inches on Jazzman.

Notable favourites reissued by Gerald include Sahib Shihab ‘Companionship’ and Clark Boland Sextet ‘Music for the Small Hours’ both Jazz albums.