United Kingdom

London

Saxophone

Gilles Peterson

A mainstay in the UK's music scene, Gilles Peterson has helped nurture new artists, movements and spaces to experience music together over the course of his career. He has also been able to explore the ins-and-outs of London, a place he can only describe as "honestly, the best city in the world."

"full of surprises, small little villages and quirky stuff,"

 we took some time to chat with Gilles at We Out Here festival about the city he adores and to explore the spots he can't get enough of recently. From record shops where you're guaranteed to find a gem or two and historical jazz bars to scenic reservoir walks and coffee shops, read Gilles' guide below to get an insider's perspective into 

Out of curiosity for me, I’ll always go to Cafe Oto. The music played there is really Avant Garde and improv, but I personally find that really interesting these days.

If you're okay with the West End's sort of touristy, theatre-going audience, Ronnie Scott’s is pretty good. They get decent people in and you can sit down and watch world class music. And to be fair, at a place like Ronnie Scott’s, the stories are incredible. I’m so glad it is still around and they care about it. I know it's probably not the most fashionable or edgy answer and not everyone can afford to go - but it’s a bit of a date spot, somewhere for special occasions.

I think Atlantis is really good because they’re not online. I love John who works there and I've been spending a lot of time at the shop recently. You will genuinely find a gem there because someone hasn’t googled it and found online. You can actually find some really great stuff, so I'd say my favourite record shop as of late has definitely been Atlantis.

Brawn was the first restaurant in London that I felt had a community feel. In places abroad like Germany, Austria, France, or Japan, I've always found that there was a real close association between the winemakers and DJs - a real kind of community.
In London, I felt like there isn’t always that kind of community... Until I met Ed Wilson, Chef and owner of Brawn. We get on like a house on fire. He's amazing. His restaurants are amazing and the food is too. He's humble and is an incredibly rare Chef that's so knowledgeable about wine.

I really rate the guys at Noble Rot. It’s run by really brilliant people who have an incredible magazine which has become a monthly mag, almost like a cult thing. It’s about wine and they’ve sort of changed the whole landscape of wine understanding. Both their restaurants are really good and quite old-fashioned and so I big them up.

I like what the crew behind Primeur have done. I even had my birthday party here.

I've got to give Fink's a bit of credit. I'm a shorts guy so will come here for an espresso or piccolo.

West Reservoir is a good little walk. It’s an amazing spot. Feels like suddenly you're in the country - you’ve got the reservoirs, the swimmers, the church in the background. Coming back from Arsenal, if you’re going to a game and then go all the way back there at night time, it’s amazing.

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Gilles Peterson's Favourite Spots in London

Venna

Malik Venner, A.K.A. Venna, is a saxophonist and Grammy-award winning producer born and bred in South London. He's worked with some of music’s heaviest hitters, including Burna Boy, Wizkid and J Hus and has recently moved from creating music for others and contributing to their vision to preparing to release his own music.

Channeling his love for jazz, Venna introduces us to London’s finest Jazz spots and his favourite music shops across the city. Jazz is a genre that has recently experienced a massive resurgence in London, being pushed forward by the likes of platforms such as 

. New-age iterations of the sounds are popping up everywhere and continue to pay homage to the places that have kept the flame burning for the past few decades.

The most legendary jazz club in London Town, I’ve been lucky to perform in & watched various musicians play. You’ll always learn something new there.

I saw Terrace Martin & Robert Glasper perform there with their group R+R (was a special one for me!) & seen some of my favourites there over the years. Also been there to perform when JVCK JAMES was supporting Ella Mai.

Amazing sax shop by Blackfriars, I can spend hours in there staring at stuff I want. They also have practice rooms you can get for the day and shell a practice.

My local OG music shop in forest hill that i buy my reeds and i get my sax serviced in, they also offer tuition if you’re trying to learn how to play or need to brush up.

My guy Jackum put me onto Nicky & he’s helped me with picking equipment over the last couple of years or so, I’ve done some wicked sessions in the recording studio they have in the back too.

My favourite record shop, the list of records I need from this place is LONG, stuff for sampling + stuff you just need in the collection. You’ll find most of records you already knew you wanted & even more you’ve never seen before. The best Black Music is sold in Sounds of The Universe, in my humble opinion.

Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club

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