Jazzie B

Trevor Beresford Romeo OBE (born 26 January 1963),[1] better known as Jazzie B, is a British DJ and music producer. He is the founder of Soul II Soul.

For the bhangra musician, see Jazzy B.

Jazzie B

OBE
Jazzie B with Soul II Soul in Brockwell Park
Born
Trevor Beresford Romeo

(1963-01-26) 26 January 1963
Hornsey, London, England
Other namesThe Funki Dred
Occupations
Musical career
Websitejazzieb.co.uk

Life and career

Jazzie was born in London UK to parents of Antiguan descent[2] in Hornsey, London, the ninth of ten children, several of whom began running sound systems in the 1960s and 1970s. At age 18, Jazzie was working for cockney pop skiffle legend Tommy Steele, as a tape operator. He had his first gig in 1977 working with friends under the Rastafari name Jah Rico. He changed their working name to Soul II Soul in 1982. Soul II Soul was originally an umbrella name for several of his projects - the sound system, a clothing line and Camden record shop, a record imprint, as well as the group itself.[3]

From 1985 to 1989, Jazzie and Soul II Soul would hold what would be regarded as a legendary night at the Africa Centre in Covent Garden. The Soul II Soul track "Fairplay" was recorded there just before the group started to find wider success.[3] The nights at the Africa Centre would be celebrated in the 2003 compilation "Soul II Soul At The Africa Centre".

In March 1991 he launched the label Funki Dreds and signed the singers Lady Levi and Kofi to the label.[4][5]

At this time, he would also host a show on then pirate radio station Kiss FM, which would continue through its legal licence and until 1997. From 2009 to 2012, Jazzie B hosted the "Back 2 Life" radio show on BBC London 94.9,[6] which he then bought to Mi-Soul since 2014.[7]

Jazzie has produced and remixed tracks for the likes of Incognito, Maxi Priest, James Brown, Kym Mazelle, Cheryl Lynn, Teena Marie, Johnny Gill, Ziggy Marley, Nas, Destiny's Child, and his wife Efua Baker.[8][9]

He is a founding director of the Featured Artists Coalition.[10]

He has a daughter Jessye (an actress), and a son Mahlon who plays professional football for Cardiff City.[11]

Honours

In 2002, he was listed first in the Business category of the "100 Great Black Britons" list.[12]

He was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) by Elizabeth II in the 2008 New Year Honours.[13][14]

In May 2008, he was awarded the first Inspiration award at the Ivor Novello Awards, for being "a pioneer" and "the man who gave black British music a soul of its own".[15]

Discography
See also: Soul II Soul discography

Compilation albums
  • Jazzie B Presents Soul II Soul at the Africa Centre (Casual, 2003)
  • Jazzie B Presents School Days: Life Changing Tracks From The Trojan Archives (Trojan Records|Trojan]], 2008)
  • Masterpiece (Ministry of Sound, 2008)

References
  1. "Jazzie B. | Biography & History". AllMusic. Retrieved 18 May 2020.
  2. Davina Hamilton (18 June 2016). "Jazzie B: Back II His Roots". The Voice. Archived from the original on 15 September 2017. Retrieved 1 July 2016.
  3. "Jazzie B Interview - DJHistory.com". Djhistory.com. Archived from the original on 10 January 2015. Retrieved 27 September 2014.
  4. Sutcliffe, Phil (5 March 1991). "Stories". Q Magazine. 55: 12.
  5. Griffin, Gil (27 September 1991). "Rapping not only about opposite sex". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
  6. "BBC London - Jazzie B". BBC. 8 June 2009.
  7. "Jazzie B Returns To Mi-Soul". Mi-soul.com. 1 September 2014.
  8. Jeff Mao (16 January 2012). "Jazzie B - Red Bull Music Academy". RBMA.
  9. Yousif Nur (14 October 2015). "Keep On Moving: Jazzie B Of Soul II Soul Interviewed - The Quietus". TheQuietus.
  10. Ian Youngs (12 March 2009). "Music stars call for more power". BBC News.
  11. Ellis, Adam (29 March 2016). "Millwall's Romeo plays to football's tune". Theleaguepaper.com.
  12. "Jazzy B - 100 Great Black Britons", 100greatblackbritons.com Archived October 20, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
  13. "New Years Honours". BBC News. 29 December 2007. Retrieved 27 September 2014.
  14. Bernadette McNulty (5 June 2008). "Jazzie B: The day I became Jazzie OBE". The Telegraph.
  15. "Ivor Novello Awards 2008". Metro. Retrieved 27 September 2014.
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