Acid Jazz Musicians Codexery

Gilles Peterson

Broadcaster and DJ who championed global music with jazz at its core.

Last updated

He is a broadcaster, DJ, record label and festival owner.[1] Gilles Jérôme Moehrle, who holds an MBE and is professionally known as Gilles Peterson, entered the world on 28 September 1964 in Caen, France; his mother was French and his father Swiss, and during his childhood his family relocated to South London.[1][2]

Key facts and history

In 1985, under Peterson's leadership, a group of DJs started the specialist jazz pirate station K-Jazz.[3] He hosted Mad on Jazz on BBC Radio London in 1986–87.[4] Peterson joined 102.2 Jazz FM at its launch in March 1990.[5] Peterson joined Kiss FM in 1991 and then BBC Radio 1 in 1998 with his Worldwide show.[6][7]

In 2006, he worked with Freshly Cut to create the Worldwide Festival in Sète, France.[8] In 2019, Peterson helped found the We Out Here festival with New Bohemia, taking its name from the 2018 Brownswood Recordings compilation.[9][10] After he broadcast songs opposing war and delivered statements against the conflict during the initial Gulf War, Jazz FM terminated his employment.[5][7]

What the research sources say

The K-Jazz history account states that Peterson led the group that started K-Jazz, and that initial DJs included Chris Bangs, Jez Nelson, Baz Fe Jazz and Paul Murphy.[3] The BBC biography notes that Peterson swapped a transmitter for a regular show on Radio Invicta and was inspired by DJ Paul Murphy's knowledge of rare jazz and Afro-Cuban fusion.[7] The same biography reports that Peterson released the Jazz Juice compilation series in 1985 and later compiled collections for EMI's Blue Note label.[7] The We Out Here festival's "About Us" page describes the festival as uniting members of London's jazz scene with legendary icons and genre-spanning DJs.[10]

The BBC biography states that Peterson's Talkin' Loud label releases have been nominated for five Mercury Music Awards, with Roni Size Reprazent winning in 1997.[7]

References

  1. Wikipedia, "Gilles Peterson" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Davet, "Gilles Peterson en quatre dates", Le Monde, 27 June 2014; "Gilles Peterson, Esq, MBE's Authorised Biography", Debrett's (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  2. Wikipedia, "Gilles Peterson" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Lunch with Gilles Peterson at Primeur, London", Emirates United Kingdom, 2015 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  3. "K-Jazz – London pirate radio history – AM/FM", Amfm.org.uk, 17 August 2014. facts only, no text reused. amfm.org.uk
  4. Wikipedia, "Gilles Peterson" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Slater, "Brazilian Love Affair: An Interview with Gilles Peterson | Sounds and Colours", Soundsandcolours.com, 2014-05-26 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  5. Wikipedia, "Gilles Peterson" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Gilles Peterson profile", BBC Radio 1 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  6. Wikipedia, "Gilles Peterson" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Gilles Peterson - The Last BBC Radio 1 "Worldwide Show" Music Is My Sanctuary", 2012-04-03 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  7. "BBC – Radio 1 – Gilles Peterson – Biography", www.bbc.co.uk. facts only, no text reused. bbc.co.uk
  8. Wikipedia, "Gilles Peterson" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Worldwide Festival", worldwidefestival.com (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  9. Wikipedia, "Gilles Peterson" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "We Out Here festival review – a new jazz generation is born", The Guardian, 2019-08-19; "About Us", We Out Here, 17 April 2026; "Information", We Out Here 2021 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  10. "About Us", We Out Here, 17 April 2026. facts only, no text reused. weoutherefestival.com

Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Gilles Peterson (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.

More in Acid jazz musicians

PrafulLisa SimoneToby SmithErik TruffazAsh WalkerKamaal WilliamsZero 7Derrick McKenzieMaki AsakawaBuscemi (DJ)Pete CarneyThe Cinematic Orchestra

Sources

Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.

Spotted an error? Know more?

Reader corrections go straight into our review queue. Suggest an edit · How this site is sourced

Comments

Loading…
Open in the interactive codex →