Best known as the founder and managing director of Acid Jazz Records, Eddie Piller is also an entrepreneur, DJ, and radio show host. Piller grew up in London's East End surrounded by music: His mother ran the Small Faces' fan club, and his love of punk as a teen in the '70s evolved into an enduring passion for mod culture and music by the end of the decade. In 1980, Piller founded the fanzine and label Extraordinary Sensations, and became a label manager and A&R man at Stiff Records in 1985. When that label folded, he formed another imprint, Re-Elect the President, that began his partnership with the James Taylor Quartet. With DJ Gilles Peterson, Piller started Acid Jazz Records in 1987. Along with the James Taylor Quartet, the label's roster grew to include Corduroy, Brand New Heavies, Jamiroquai, Galliano, and Mother Earth, all artists who helped define the acid jazz sound of the late '80s and '90s. Later that decade, Piller purchased the Blue Note nightclub and moved into broadcasting, hosting radio shows for Jazz FM, BBC Radio London, BBC 6music, and a British Radio Award-winning show for Q Radio. In the 2010s, Piller launched two shows on the Internet radio station Soho Radio: The Modcast, a mod-themed talk show, and The Eclectic Soul Show, which features soul, jazz, reggae, and folk. In 2016, Piller invited actor and noted music fan Martin Freeman to co-host a special edition of the latter show with him. The response was so great that it led to Jazz on the Corner, a 2018 compilation that featured one set of jazz favorites each from Piller and Freeman. ~ Heather Phares, Rovi