Percussionist, Journalist, album compiler, consummate record collector and DJ - Snowboy has pretty much done it all. One of the cornerstones of the British and European Latin Jazz scene for well over 15 years, as well as a respected authority on Funk and Jazz, of which he has been collecting and playing since 1978; the man's name is steeped in legend within the UK's soul, jazz and funk scene. With 13 albums and 20 singles under his belt and a tour diary that takes in Australia, Japan, the USA and Canada to name a few, you could also say he's been around the block and back a few times. Despite all of this he has also had time to run, promote and DJ at The World's No1 Jazz Dance Session: 'The Hi Hat'.
Now in it's 11th year, the session has seen guest DJs such as Bob Jones, Chris Bangs, Baz Fe Jazz manning the turntables over the years, alongside residents Snowboy and Phil Levine and explosive live performances from greats such as Eddie Palmieri, Tania Maria, Joyce, Jon Lucien, Dave Valentin and Bobby Matos.
The story of The Hi Hat starts way back in 1978, when Mark Cotgrove aka Snowboy (but back then Djing under the name of Mad Marx) used to hire The Goldmine club on Canvey Island, Essex to promote and play jazz music on a Wednesday night. Throughout the many years that followed, various residencies and other events led him to discover other strains of black music including funk, soul and Latin, but at the centre was always Jazz.
Fast forward to 1986 and a new venture alongside fellow DJs Bob Jones and Phil Levine is in the pipeline. Stuck for a name, Snowboy suggested 'The Hi Hat' and since than it has stuck. With 200+ faithful followers each week, many travelling from London, the club quickly established itself as one of the UK's most hardcore Jazz Dance sessions.
The next few years saw the session grow in size, and with a change of venue also a temporary change in name to 'Across The Tracks'. The next chain in the story is a certain club promoter called Eddie Piller, owner of the legendary Acid Jazz label. In 1995, having opened his seminal Blue Note club in the heart of Hoxton, Eddie approached Snowboy to host a Jazz Dance session. Reviving the Hi-Hat name, the event kicked off in January of 1995: attracting the best dancers in London and further afield, it wasn't long before it was gaining the reputation of the hardest session in the land!
With a few more venue changes along the way, the Hi-Hat finally settled at the legendary Jazz Café: and is still packing them in to this day! The music on this, the third in 'The Hi-Hat? series, is a reflection of the hard-hitting dancefloor jazz that is held in high regard at the session. All of the tracks have become anthems in their own right, with many of the artists playing live to the crowd of dancers and audience over the years. The UK's Sirius B have made many friends at the Hi-Hat, as have Holland's New Cool Collective: an 11 piece tour de force of jazz, Latin and Afro. Others, such as Brighton's Cubana Bop serve up a cool slice of Afro Cuban and the dangerously uncompromising 'Free' Afro-Jazz of World Saxophone Quartet's cover of Miles Davis ' '7 Steps To Heaven? really sorts the men from the boys on the floor. Also featured is a rare and compelling live version of 'Sunny Day' by Jon Lucien (known simply in certain circles as 'The Voice') alongside floorfillers from Brazillian percussion legend Airto Moreira plus classics from Bobby Sanabria and McCoy Tyner.
Also released as a double pack LP, the first time any of these tracks have been released on vinyl!!!'
The music appearing on this, the third in the Hi-Hat series, aims to reflect the dancefloor-destined sound that the renowned jazz night has championed since its inception in 1978. It?s difficult to speculate on how successful the enterprise has been without being a jazz dance expert, but familiar names like Brazilian percussion extraordinaire Airto Moreira and a Miles Davis cover suggest an authentic attempt. The tracks are relentlessly upbeat and this is a compilation that improves with each and every listen. - Sarah Chapman Notion
Mark "Snowboy" Cotgrove is the epitome of the Essex soul boy. Having DJed and run a series of clubs around London, his Hi Hat nights having occurred on a regular basis pretty much since the explosion of Latin music that took place in the capital in the early 1980s. He made his name through an association with Acid Jazz, having signed to the label at the height of their popularity with his Latin Section. Still hugely influential within the close knit Latin Jazz scene, he follows a string of compilations with this selection for Freestyle. It serves as a good starter for those new to the music, the album parenthesised by Airto Moreira and Peter King, the album opening with Moreira's infectious "Fica Mal Com Deus" and closing with King's well-regarded live rendition of the title track from "Speed Trap" recorded at Ronnie Scotts. In between it's a mix of rarities and big names, the pick of the bunch coming from McCoy Tyner and Jon Lucien. - KM IDJ
Review - Jazzwise
The home of jazz is obviously Southend-on-Sea, or neighbouring Canvey Island, right? Well yes actually, Mark ?Snowboy? Cotgrove?s does have the spirit of the Essex backwaters plotting his latest intrepid adventures through the J-word. With an unsurpassable back catalogue and scene knowledge, a passport that has taken him everywhere and a bottomless pit of experience truly making him jazz aristocracy (without forgetting his funk, soul and Latin dabbling), listing all of his accomplishments would take some sort of super computer that hasn?t been invented yet. Let?s just say the fires are still burning hot enough for him to release another necessary, pulse-racing jazz document from his seminal club with its roots down by the seaside.
The Hi-Hat, now unsurprisingly housed at Camden?s Jazz Caf? via The Blue Note, takes pride in showcasing the fastest jazz in the world, and selected dragsters rev up to test the speedometer. The McCoy Tyner Latin Big Band?s ?Blue Bossa? gets flutes to make impossible noises and displays guitar work so nimble it must?ve come from six-fingered hands. While the tunes show a clean pair of heels, by no means do they burn themselves out. Bobby Sanabria & Ascension?s ?Caribbean Fire Dance? shows stamina in abundance, keeping on right to the last just when you think it couldn?t possibly take one more breath. Showing similar staying power, the World Saxophone Quarter leave you gasping, displaying extra-large endurance levels on ?Seven Steps to Heaven?. Peter King?s aptly titled ?Speed Trap? tinkles the ivories until every one of the 88 keys is doused in sweat while the skins gets slapped senseless across 12 minutes of up-down, loud-into-quiet-into-loud wheelies. Jon Lucien adds vocal guidance without being caught up in the tempos to easily direct ?Sunny Day? while grasping a mean semi-baritone and some scat late on.
A fast and furious collection of summer colours and Latin lustre made to make you giddy; watch the sparks fly. - Matt Oliver One Week To Live
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![Snowboy presents the Hi Hat by Various Artists - Freestyle Records [FSRCD009]](https://media.kudosdistribution.co.uk/fsrcd009/800/cover.ki)
