Clifton "Jiggs" Chase

Who is Clifton "Jiggs" Chase?

Clifton "Jiggs" Chase born 1949, is a jazz-funk organ player, composer, and influential record producer from New Jersey, USA. One of the earliest known recordings is his organ playing on the 1967 Buddy Terry recording "Natural Soul", alongside Woody Shaw.

In 1976, he did a record date in New York as a side-man to tenor saxophonist Pharoah Sanders.

During the 1980s he was an in-house arranger and producer for Sugar Hill Records.

Although his name is not widely recognized, his ground breaking rhythm track sequencing on "The Message", by Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five helped propel hip hop into the future. The stark synthesizer stabs echoing over the urban funk groove of "The Message" was the work of "Jiggs", who had been brought in to produce the track at the request of label boss Sylvia Robinson. The original demo of "The Message" was written by Ed “Duke Bootee” Fletcher, a session percussionist for The Sugarhill Gang who came up with the hook "It's like a jungle sometimes". Later in the production process, Robinson added lyrics penned by Melle Mel, who rapped on the track.