Al de Leon

In Chicago we had Frankie Knuckles; New Yorkers had Larry Levan; and in Los Angeles, Marques Wyatt helped establish the West Coast house-music scene in the eighties. Legendary clubs like New York's Paradise Garage inspired Wyatt to take the dance-focused vibes and diversity of early house-music parties and recreate them in LA's most revered club nights, including MAC's Garage and Does Your Mama Know? His dedication to the scene as a house-music impresario exposed LA club-goers to some of the genre's originators, including Little Louie Vega and David Morales. But his work as a DJ is just as noteworthy. Wyatt favors deep, soulful house, textured with heavy vocals and Latin-infused jazzy elements. It's a style of music you want to hear in a more intimate setting like Smart Bar, where the vibe is more about underground than glam, more about dancing than dressing up, more about community than cliques. It's exactly the kind of party that Wyatt felt drawn to twenty years ago in the early days of house music.

Marques Wyatt spins at Smart Bar, 3730 N. Clark, on September 24. (2004-09-23)

Also by Al de Leon

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You don't become the featured DJ at the hottest party at Miami's Winter Music Conference unless you're something special
(2004-09-14)

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