Julian Miles Holland was born 24th January 1958 in Blackheath, South East London. He began playing by ear at an early age and by his early teens he was playing in the pubs of South-East London. At the age of fifteen he met Glenn Tilbrook and Chris Difford and together they formed the band ‘Squeeze’. They were joined shorty after by Gilson Lavis, who had previously played with B.B King and Chuck Berry, and they still play together to this date. Jools left Squeeze in 1980 to pursue a solo career.
Jools Holland was and is a boogie player at heart, with his first solo release in 1978 being the E.P ‘Boogie Woogie 78’. This led on to a number of solo releases between 1981 and 1994, some like ‘Solo Piano’ are very Boogie orientated, others although boogie woogie at heart are a little more diverse.
Jools formed the ‘Jools Holland Big Band’ in 1987, which was a little joke really, as it comprised of just himself and Gilson Lavis on drums. This did of course gradually evolve in the nineteen piece Jools Holland and his Rhythm and Blues Orchestra, which have been performing together (although the line up has changed a little) ever since to over three hundred thousand people a year across the globe.
As you are probably aware, not all of Jools Holland music is straight boogie woogie exactly, although obviously he is known as a boogie pianist and even the big band material normally has a degree of boogie woogie within it, although his earlier material is perhaps more boogie woogie-ish (yes, I know that’s not really a word, but it fits).
The most obvious recording to listen to as a boogie woogie pianist would be ‘Solo Piano’ from 1994, with the other solo releases ‘World Of His Own’, ‘The Full Compliment’, and ‘The A-Z Geographer’s Guide To The Piano’ being next in line. There are many songs from the later Rhythm and Blues Orchestra albums that have a lot to learn from, but you have to sieve through them for the really good piano parts, and there are many.
Jools is of course not only famous as an accomplished and successful pianist, but also for his television appearances. First being ‘The Tube’ between 1981 and 1986 and then in 1992 with ‘Later… with Jools Holland’. Giving him massive public exposure and also allowing him to play with some biggest names in the industry (what a job!). He also presented Juke Box Jury, ‘The Happening’, ‘Name The Tune’, and appeared in ‘Spice Girls The Movie!’. Of more interesting note, he did a couple of BBC t.v series, ‘Beat Route and ‘Jools’ History Of The Piano’, both of which are well worth a watch if you can find them.
I could go on and on, but if you want to know more, you can get his autobiography ‘Barefaced Lies & Boogie-Woogie Boasts’ which is an interesting read. HE is still on the t.v with more episodes of ‘Later…’ and still hosts his radio two show at times, which is well worth a listen, with him coming up with some long forgotten gems.
Jools has released numerous albums over the years, and although many of them contain elements of boogie-woogie, listed below are those that predominantly boogie, the first being his first solo EP, the second being his only solo piano release. Naturally, a good portion of his other releases have plenty of boogie content mixed in.
| Jools Holland – Boogie Woogie ’78 | 1978 |
| Buick 48 Deptford Broadway Boogie Boogie Woogie Country Girl Mess Around Should Have Known Better |
| Jools Holland – Solo Piano | 1994 |
| Bumble Boogie Brick Lane River Boogie Woogie Dance A Les Negres Memories Of Jimmy Yancey Shoot, Shoot | Etude No. 53 Piano Heaven (Mabel Leaf Rag) Albert Ammons’ Suitcase Sax On Sunday Flim Flam Slim Slam Key Shuffle |