Marshall Jefferson: The Stuff of Legends (print version)
SF: For the last DJ profile in our Bacardi series, we end on a definite high - an interview with the godfather of house as we know it, Marshall Jefferson. Read on to find out how a pushy salesman sparked production, what genre clubs are doing for dance music and where the industry goes from here.<br/><br/>PQ: ""You always think that you can step in and shake things up a bit, I think that was my intention.""
| 06 Jan 2008
You can't mention Marshall Jefferson's name without a few knowing nods amongst house, techno, and Chicago fans. Not only responsible for bringing house music to new conclusions through the use of the Roland 303 and keys, Marshall Jefferson is also part of the collective talents who pushed forward acid and deep house. Many of his own songs have reached anthemic status, still striking a chord with crowds today, from house to techno to funk to acid fans: they are, in a word, classics. Move Your Body, 7 Ways to Jack, and Open Our Eyes are just a few of these, and Marshall is just as well known for producing new artists and launching them into the spotlight.
It's hard to argue with the fact that Marshall Jefferson played a hugely instrumental role in the evolution of house as we know it, and helped put Chicago on the map for dance music. Indeed, you did not hear keys on early house tracks, and after the piano-filled Move Your Body was released in 1986, it was highlighted as a sound intrinsic to composition, along with the introduction of the Roland 303. Born in Illnois in 1959, Jefferson grew up on early heavy metal and old school rock, including Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, Black Sabbath, Van Halen, even Elton John's earlier material. So how did a rock fan with no musical training get into making house? Apart from awakening to the sounds of house through frequent trips to Chicago's Music Box Club and The Warehouse to see Frankie Knuckles, it seems that a pushy salesman in a music store is to thank in some way. On a trip to a record shop with a guitarist friend, the salesman tried convincing him that it was important to purchase a Yamaha TX1. "The man said 'Hey, with this thing you can play keyboard like Stevie Wonder, even if you don't know how to play.' I was listening and believed him," explains Marshall. To cut an amusing yet successful line of sales patter short, Marshall, who was working at the post office at the time, was given a "huge line of credit," and smoothly talked into purchasing a sequencer, keyboard, drum machine and mixer worth $9000. He jokes that his friends came over to see and laughed at him for "at least five hours: 'Motherfucker bought all this stuff and he don't know how to play it!' I wrote my first song three days later and the next year I had Move Your Body out. I'm telling you, DJs all over the world started hiring keyboard players to play keyboards like Marshall Jefferson!" he laughs.
Since then he's worked with Kim Mazelle, Ce Ce Rogers, Robert Owens, and Curtis McClaine, to name a few, headlined the first House Music Tour of Europe in 1987, and produced Acid Trax with Phuture in 1987, simultaneously bringing DJ Pierre and the acid house movement to light. Not happy with staying in the confines of one genre, the release of Open Our Eyes, which carried the "psychedelic vibes" of Jimi Hendrix that Marshall was fond of, marked the starting point for his move into deep house. He has witnessed and played a part in the many sub-genres to trail off the umbrella of house, but interprets the last few years as concerning, becoming too formatted and separated out by temporal genre-specific clubs. Is it segmented to the point of no more creativity? "There hasn't really been anything new for a number of years now and it is almost impossible for something totally new to break out and get big unless it comes out on the radio, and that's ridiculous because innovation has always come from the dancefloor. Now, the dancefloor's closed baby. I think I'm gonna go for innovation on the radio and do something new. As a matter of fact I got somebody from last year's (2006) Bacardi DJ Competition that I'm working with now. The name of the group is F-Generation and they won a recording session with me. I kept in touch and now I'm working with them."
The house veteran is still going strong eight years into the 21st Century, and this is re-assuring, like having Socrates still making moves in philosophy circles today; a mentor who can connect you with the past and help achieve a sense of history and change. The present could have been very different if Marshall had stayed in retirement in the early 90s: does he feel as if he was spurred into work because the scene needed a shake-up? "You always think that you can step in and shake things up a bit, I think that was my intention. It's just a bit difficult because of today's market, there's like 30,000 records coming out every week. When I was younger there was like 5-25 a week. If you've done something good it's maybe not going to get noticed."
His plans for the year ahead indicate that there is no slow-down on the horizon - from working on a track for Robert Owens' next album (the next one to be released after Night Time Stories, released Feb 08!), to producing new material with newcomers the F-Generation, and finding "the next Elvis!"
It's hard to argue with the fact that Marshall Jefferson played a hugely instrumental role in the evolution of house as we know it, and helped put Chicago on the map for dance music. Indeed, you did not hear keys on early house tracks, and after the piano-filled Move Your Body was released in 1986, it was highlighted as a sound intrinsic to composition, along with the introduction of the Roland 303. Born in Illnois in 1959, Jefferson grew up on early heavy metal and old school rock, including Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, Black Sabbath, Van Halen, even Elton John's earlier material. So how did a rock fan with no musical training get into making house? Apart from awakening to the sounds of house through frequent trips to Chicago's Music Box Club and The Warehouse to see Frankie Knuckles, it seems that a pushy salesman in a music store is to thank in some way. On a trip to a record shop with a guitarist friend, the salesman tried convincing him that it was important to purchase a Yamaha TX1. "The man said 'Hey, with this thing you can play keyboard like Stevie Wonder, even if you don't know how to play.' I was listening and believed him," explains Marshall. To cut an amusing yet successful line of sales patter short, Marshall, who was working at the post office at the time, was given a "huge line of credit," and smoothly talked into purchasing a sequencer, keyboard, drum machine and mixer worth $9000. He jokes that his friends came over to see and laughed at him for "at least five hours: 'Motherfucker bought all this stuff and he don't know how to play it!' I wrote my first song three days later and the next year I had Move Your Body out. I'm telling you, DJs all over the world started hiring keyboard players to play keyboards like Marshall Jefferson!" he laughs.
Since then he's worked with Kim Mazelle, Ce Ce Rogers, Robert Owens, and Curtis McClaine, to name a few, headlined the first House Music Tour of Europe in 1987, and produced Acid Trax with Phuture in 1987, simultaneously bringing DJ Pierre and the acid house movement to light. Not happy with staying in the confines of one genre, the release of Open Our Eyes, which carried the "psychedelic vibes" of Jimi Hendrix that Marshall was fond of, marked the starting point for his move into deep house. He has witnessed and played a part in the many sub-genres to trail off the umbrella of house, but interprets the last few years as concerning, becoming too formatted and separated out by temporal genre-specific clubs. Is it segmented to the point of no more creativity? "There hasn't really been anything new for a number of years now and it is almost impossible for something totally new to break out and get big unless it comes out on the radio, and that's ridiculous because innovation has always come from the dancefloor. Now, the dancefloor's closed baby. I think I'm gonna go for innovation on the radio and do something new. As a matter of fact I got somebody from last year's (2006) Bacardi DJ Competition that I'm working with now. The name of the group is F-Generation and they won a recording session with me. I kept in touch and now I'm working with them."
The house veteran is still going strong eight years into the 21st Century, and this is re-assuring, like having Socrates still making moves in philosophy circles today; a mentor who can connect you with the past and help achieve a sense of history and change. The present could have been very different if Marshall had stayed in retirement in the early 90s: does he feel as if he was spurred into work because the scene needed a shake-up? "You always think that you can step in and shake things up a bit, I think that was my intention. It's just a bit difficult because of today's market, there's like 30,000 records coming out every week. When I was younger there was like 5-25 a week. If you've done something good it's maybe not going to get noticed."
His plans for the year ahead indicate that there is no slow-down on the horizon - from working on a track for Robert Owens' next album (the next one to be released after Night Time Stories, released Feb 08!), to producing new material with newcomers the F-Generation, and finding "the next Elvis!"
You can catch Marshall on the new Chicago LP, a 33-track double CD conceived by Steve Hurley and Shannon Syas (DJ Skip) showcasing the best of Chicago house. Appearing alongside them are Roy Davis Jnr, DJ Pierre, Stacy Kidd, and Farley 'Jackmaster' Funk.