Interview with nigel williams Alongside Jazz FM colleague Chris Phillips, Nigel Williams performs every week at Primo for our new after work concept ‘Overtime’.
HOW lONG HAvE yOu BEEN WOrkING AS PrESENTEr FOr JAzz FM? I re-joined
the DJ line-up just over three years ago. I had presented on the station during the Acid Jazz period of the 90s, before being headhunted by a new radio station called Heart which went on to be london’s No1. Since then I worked all the big names in radio but I never stopped listening to jazz. I was very excited to return to present the ‘Breakfast Show’ for two years playing my personal favourites.... you can’t call that work! Now I am on in the afternoon, so I can even sleep normal hours.
yOu HAvE INTErvIEWED MANy PEOPlE DurING yOur rADIO SHOWS, WHICH ONE IMPrESSED yOu THE MOST?
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The musicians I interview are all talented because you don’t get to play jazz if you can’t play! Most notable are the ones who are usually a bit weird. Their eccentricities lead to creations that we all interpret in our own way and that makes the music have so much more depth. Melody Gardot, Erika Badu spring to mind here – they are artists in every sense of the word. I have also been privileged to meet legendary artists such as Dionne Warwick, Al Jarreau and Joe Sample (Crusaders), musicians that I grew up listening to.
DID yOu EvEr WANT TO BE A PrOFESSIONAl MuSICIAN? Oh god yes! Music WAS my first love. I play lots of instruments, lead the school orchestra, formed a band and....... nothing! I could always write great stuff when I was asleep, but it all fizzled away when I woke up! HOW WOulD yOu DEFINE yOur MuSICAl STylE? I like the little bits of detail that make a recording. I love the technical side of music production as well as a great melody, so I’m always looking for the whole package. I do feel that music feeds directly to the brain and can influence or even change your mood, so at Overtime
I am looking to de-stress the audience and lift their spirits after a hard day’s work. WHAT AMBIANCE WOulD yOu lIkE TO CrEATE DurING THE ‘OvErTIME’ SESSIONS? Cool and Jazz are synonymous, so the ambiance mainly comes from that genre, but there is quite a lot of latin music in the mix too. They have the rhythms from Africa and the sunshine in the music that can provide that positive vibe I’m looking to create at Overtime.
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28/01/2013 11:15