Acid Jazz

Also known as Groove Jazz or more recently Club Jazz, Acid Jazz is a musical genre that combines Jazz influences with classical elements of Soul, Funk, Disco and also nineties english dance music, particularly repetitive beats and modal harmony. It developed over the 1980s and 1990s and could be seen as taking the boundary crossing of Jazz Fusion onto new ground. Its existence as a percussion-heavy, primarily live music placed it closer to Jazz and Afro-Cuban than any other dance style, but its insistence on keeping the groove allied it with Funk, Hip Hop, and Dance music.

The term itself first appeared in 1988 as both an American record label and the title of an English compilation series that reissued Jazz-Funk music from the '70s, called "Rare Groove" by the Brits during a major mid-'80s resurgence. A variety of Acid Jazz artists emerged during the late '80s and early '90s: live bands such as Stereo MC's, James Taylor Quartet, the Brand New Heavies, Groove Collective, Galliano, and Jamiroquai, as well as studio projects like Palm Skin Productions, Mondo Grosso, Outside, and United Future Organization.