| Giant Step | |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1990 |
| Founder | Maurice Bernstein, Jonathan Rudnick |
| Genre | Funk, Soul, Jazz, Electronica, Hip hop |
| Country of origin | USA |
| Location | New York City |
| Official Website | http://www.giantstep.net/ |
Giant Step is a New York based concert promoter, marketing company, and record label.
Contents |
Giant Step began in 1990 as “a roving, freewheeling party” in New York City, a weekly production of British promoter, Maurice Bernstein, and his South African partner, Jonathan Rudnick.[1] Upon arriving in New York to discover that their American jazz, funk and soul heroes were more or less musically unemployed,[2] Bernstein and Rudnick created The Groove Academy, with its slogan “Dedicated to the Preservation of Funk,” and began rediscovering musicians whose records they had collected as teenagers.[3] Bernstein recalled, “The first Groove Academy shows were put on by literally looking up artists in the telephone book … None of them had agents then, we’d just call them up at home and say ‘are you interested in doing a show with us?’[2] While The Groove Academy staged concerts with Maceo Parker, Isaac Hayes, The Ohio Players and George Clinton,[2] Bernstein and Rudnick extended onto the dancefloor with their Giant Step party. Greatly influenced by the acid jazz club-nights in England, like Gilles Peterson’s Talkin' Loud And Sayin' Something,[1][2] Giant Step offered a stage where visiting rappers and jazz musicians, along with the regular Giant Step band, improvised to prerecorded hip-hop and funk.[4] The experiment took hold as emerging acid jazz artists, like the Digable Planets, The Brand New Heavies and Jamiroquai, launched their stateside careers here.[5] As the scene continued to expand, Giant Step moved into management, signing Dana Bryant, Repercussions and Groove Collective, and subsequently securing record deals for all three on Warner Brothers, where the releases received little attention.[6]
The company has produced shows, concerts, and events featuring such artists as Macy Gray, Air, Jamiroquai, The Fugees, Brand New Heavies, Jill Scott to Fatboy Slim, Kruder & Dorfmeister, Bebel Gilberto, Massive Attack, Zero 7, the Roots, Gilles Peterson, and Digable Planets. Recent shows include Anthony Hamilton, Sa-Ra, Jazzanova, Incognito, Lewis Taylor, Tosca, DJ Cam, and King Britt.
Giant Step Records was founded in 1995, and has produced albums for Nuyorican Soul, Carl Hancock Rux and Groove Collective; recent releases include Gilles Peterson, Turntables on the Hudson, Ultra Nate, Zero 7, Jody Watley, Donnie, Sara Devine, Jiva and Zap Mama.