Sanjiv Ahluwalia - ProfilesArchive

About Me

I started collecting records when I was 12. Man Parrish's Hip Hop Be Bop (Don't Stop) was the first record I really got into.......and nearly 25 years later I am still buying records and importantly still love music.I started writing in 1992 (there was one attempt at University with a review of a Courtney Pine concert at the Astoria, which to this day I think should have been published!). I published my own home made, rough around the edges, hand stapled and photo copied fanzine called Left on the Jazz Side (no do not bother looking on e-bay) on the late Bank Holiday in August, '93. One month later DJ Debra mentioned my 'zine on Gilles Peterson's Vibrazone show. A month after that top jazz pianist Jason Rebello granted me an interview. Since then my written work has been published in Trace, Untold, Miles Ahead, Ealing Gazette, Blues and Soul (where I worked for 6 years), BBC World Music Site, BBC Collective, Know The Ledge, Fly and in the liner notes for Far Out's Tenth Anniversary CD.A move to Paris in 2000, where I lived and worked for 3 1/2 years meant writing and music taking a backseat......I met a girl, fell in love, got married and moved to St.Albans. Now a St.Julien '96 gives me as much pride as a new Theo Parrish 12".

My Interests

Music, writing, collecting records, food skills and wine 'digging'.

Music:

Where do I start - a few people who I like, admire or have been inspired by:Prince, Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Donald Byrd, Herbie Hancock, Joshua Redman, David Sanchez, Carl Craig, Detroit Techno, 4 Hero, old school Hip Hop, Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, The Roots and many, many more.On the DJ side I grew up listening to and learning from Robbie Vincent, Jeff Young, Pete Tong, Steve Walsh, Jay Strongman, Norman Jay, Joey Jay, Colin Dale, Patrick Forge, 4 Hero/R Solution, Benji B, Garth Trinidad and my all time favourite Gilles Peterson.

Movies:

It begins and ends with De Niro.Hitchcock is the all time director for me. Also worthy Scorcese, Pacino, Cazale, Keitel, Tarantino, Cary Grant, James Stewart, Audrey Hepburn, Jim Jarmusch, Daniel Day Lewis.....it is a long, long list.

Television:

Seinfeld, Fawlty Towers, Only Fools and Horses, 24....yes definitely 24, oh and The Sopranos.

Books:

All time -1. Catcher in the Rye2. East of Eden3. On The RoadWriters/journalists I rate - Sanjiv Bhattacharya, Burzan Wazir, Patrick Neate, Emmerald, Oliver Wang and the best of them all Toure.

My Blog

Left on the Jazz Side Classic volume 3 - Some Think Electronic - Nu Era

Some Think Electronic is a genre mixing epic; it is this decade's verson of Carl Craig's "Four Jazz-Funk Classics". Its master stroke is a third of the way through the first track "Ringstone Round". ...
Posted by Sanjiv Ahluwalia on Sun, 18 Mar 2007 08:49:00 PST

Left on the Jazz Side Classics 2- One Day by Jeru the Damaja

One Day - Jeru The Damaja I love this record. It has both an eerie and dark feel to it. The track is a built over a twisting, menacing sample, which both scares and inspires. Jeru's flow is smooth and...
Posted by Sanjiv Ahluwalia on Wed, 17 Jan 2007 11:20:00 PST

Left on the Jazz Side Classics - Parallel Universe by 4 Hero

First in a series of classic albums re-looked at. Looking forward to see Marc Mac DJ tonight at the Worldwide awards.......and hopefully my cold will subside as well.Parallel Universe is commonly hera...
Posted by Sanjiv Ahluwalia on Sat, 13 Jan 2007 05:45:00 PST

There is something about Wayne - The Music of Wayne Shorter

There is something about Wayne In the mid- Eighties during his tenure on legal and pirate radio, BBC Radio One DJ Gilles Peterson offered myself and a legion of followers a welcoming pull into the (a...
Posted by Sanjiv Ahluwalia on Sat, 06 Jan 2007 04:27:00 PST

James Is Alive - Why The Music of James Brown Will Never Die

James Brown's death on Christmas Eve in Atlanta, saw the passing away of a musical pioneer and innovator. A pioneer, for giving the world tracks like "Please, Please, Please" (1956) and "Papa's Got A...
Posted by Sanjiv Ahluwalia on Thu, 04 Jan 2007 12:00:00 PST

2 Banks of 4, The Royal Festival Hall, September (?) 2003

This is a review from September 2003, I think of 2 Banks of 4 supporting slot for the second performance of Matthew Herbert's Big Band (the first was earlier in 2003 with a certain Jamie Lidell in sup...
Posted by Sanjiv Ahluwalia on Wed, 03 Jan 2007 01:05:00 PST

Songs which stand out or how I keep Carl Craig in business

Someone recently asked me what was the last record I really rated. My mind went blank. There were two reasons for this. One, I have deliberately tried to avoid the current environment of hype/excess a...
Posted by Sanjiv Ahluwalia on Tue, 01 Aug 2006 04:26:00 PST

The Heritage Orchestra, Hackney Empire, July 21st

On a hot, sticky Friday evening, a full 45 piece Heritage Orchestra played in the grand surroundings of the Hackney Empire. The Heritage Orchestra headlined the bill celebrating the commencement of Br...
Posted by Sanjiv Ahluwalia on Tue, 01 Aug 2006 04:12:00 PST

Afro Reggae, The Barbican 5th March 2006

You have heard of Afro Reggae right? No? Read on. No hyperbole, no exaggeration, no getting over excited - these guys are like you have never seen.Review beginsAfro Reggae, The Barbican, 5th March 200...
Posted by Sanjiv Ahluwalia on Fri, 28 Apr 2006 04:26:00 PST

Just Another Day, Carl Craig 2005

Most of my written work gets finished. Whether the item has been commissioned or not, there is mostly an end product. Mostly the work ends somewhere, though finding a suitable home can take sometimes ...
Posted by Sanjiv Ahluwalia on Sun, 12 Mar 2006 01:57:00 PST