New Grooves — All Formats  

Madlib invades Blue Note! He gets free reign of the catalog for this mix of sampler genius and live band interpretations, too, as/with Ahmad Miller, Yesterdays New Quintet, Malcolm Catto, Medaphoar, and others from the Stones Throw camp. This one's truly a conceptual triumph, if there ever was such a thing – one of the greatest hip hop producers alive, given carte blanche with the source beats of the century! Madlib's Blue Note crates are heavily weighed in the mid 60s through mid 70s electric beats that often get the shaft in mainstream jazz round-ups, but floor the beathead world into overdrive. Re-interpretations, remixes, and revisions are spliced seamlessly with the source samples, creating a whole new world where hip hop and late model live funk not only co-exists with classic Blue Note jazz, but it actually draws a linear transition between the 2 genius art forms. Beautiful stuff – if the album isn't the most original idea to come along all of these years into the hip hop & jazz underground, it's certainly one of the most perfectly realized projects of its kind, ever! It's one for the time capsule – pure funky sample wizardry by any standard! Includes Monk Higgins' "Slim's Return" interpreted by Ahmad Miller and DJ Lord Such on cuts, "Donald Byrd's "Distant Land", "Ronnie Foster's "Mystic Bounce", Yesterday's New Quintet's adaptation of Wayne Shorter's "Footprints", Madlib Invazion's "Funky Blue Note", the Joe McDuphrey Experience take on Horace Silver's/Herbie Hancock's "Peace/Dolphin Dance" and lots more.

Recorded live at the Montreal Jazz Festival, and a special set featuring the acoustic talents of trumpeter Tim Hagan and soprano saxist Bob Belden, mixed with electronics by Scott Kinsey, and turtablism by DJ Kingsize. Most of the material is fairly out – with off-kilter solos draped over loud junglist rhythms – and the album reminds us more of Derek Bailey's drum n bass album of a few years back, than it does some of the more recent new funky work on Blue Note. Titles include "Big Moment", "Dans La Ville Sombre", "Love's Lullaby", "Are You Threatening Me?", and "Trumpet Sandwich".

After dabbling a bit in hip hop and jazz crossovers, Greg Osby moved over to the spoken word scene. This single off the Black Book LP features poets Markita Morris, Taj McCoy, Riva Parker & Bernard Collins from the Bet-mix collective delivering their vocalese over laid back grooves complemented by Osby's modernist musings.

Quasimode are definitely cooking on this sweet little set – picking up a rich array of influences they've never had before – including bits of Latin rhythms, and some soul music as well! A few of the cuts feature vocals – but in ways that are more straight soul than the group's previous experiments with jazz singers – yet the backings are still tightly jazzy, and played mostly live, in a bold flurry of trumpet, tenor, trombone, piano, bass, and drums – plus some occasional Fender Rhodes as well! The Latin elements really help expand the sound, and flesh out the positive vibe of the record – a soaring, sunny vision that reminds us of the jazzy joy we first found in the music of Monday Michiru. Most of the album's still instrumental, and titles include "Febre Samba", "Summer Madness", "Another Sky", "Leaving Town", "Soul Cookin", "Let's Get Down Together", "El Paso Twist", and "Still In The Night". Also features a bonus DVD – with the video for "Summer Madness", and concert footage of the tracks "Relight My Fire", "No More Sadness", and "The Man From Nagpur" – plus bonus footage as well!

A totally great live set from Quasimode – and one that really returns the combo to the core brilliance of their first few records from Japan! The setting is completely unfurled and unbridled – the main quartet soaring away in a fast flurry of piano, bass, and percussion – always with a modal groove, and handled with plenty of soul – and topped throughout with tight horns from the Brassmode quartet – whose tenor and trumpet lines are especially nice, and really help deepen the soul of the music! There's only a bit of keyboards to bring in some slight electricity – but overall, things are mostly acoustic, very jazzy, and played live – with energy that even tops the group's recent studio albums. Two tracks feature vocals – and titles include "Febre Samba", "Another Sky", "The Man From Nagpur", "All Is One", "Relight My Fire", "El Paso Twist", and "Give It Up Or Turn It Loose".

A smoking little EP from Quasimode – proof that these guys pack more into a short space than most other groups do into a full album! "Summer Madness" isn't the 70s classic, but a jazzy groover with Japanese lyrics – soaring over a Rhodes-heavy groove that's also got plenty of horns. But 70s fans, have no fear – as the set also features a great version of the Johnny Hammond classic "Los Conquistadores Chocolates" – served up in a sweet mix of acoustic piano and Fender Rhodes, with the same sort of snapping drums that made the original so great! The CD's completed by the Latin groover "OK Take Off" – a nice number with tight percussion at the bottom.

Killer jazzy grooves from the French jazz house scene – and hands down one of our favorite albums of the 00s! St Germain take a Blue Note 70s sound as their base – with lots of sweet Hammond riffs, mellow Fender Rhodes licks, funky flute lines, and spacey percussion – then they add in some tight soulful house rhythms, with a very deep deep deep groove! The result is some of the best jazzy house of their time – and the record is the kind of album designed to put Blue Note back on the map as one of the most groove-committed jazz majors in the world. Killer stuff all around – and with the tracks "So Flute", "Montego Bay Spleen", "Latin Note", "Rose Rouge", "La Goutte D'Or", "Pont Des Arts", "Sure Thing", and "What Do You Think About . . ."

Killer jazzy grooves from the French jazz house scene – and hands down one of our favorite albums of the 00s! St Germain take a Blue Note 70s sound as their base – with lots of sweet Hammond riffs, mellow Fender Rhodes licks, funky flute lines, and spacey percussion – then they add in some tight soulful house rhythms, with a very deep deep deep groove! The result is some of the best jazzy house of their time – and the record is the kind of album designed to put Blue Note back on the map as one of the most groove-committed jazz majors in the world. Killer stuff all around – and with the tracks "So Flute", "Montego Bay Spleen", "Latin Note", "Rose Rouge", "La Goutte D'Or", "Pont Des Arts", "Sure Thing", and "What Do You Think About . . ."

The biggest selling album ever cut by Blue Note – and a festive romp through samples of the label's famous jazz catalog! US3 mix it up on tunes that include "Cantaloop", "I Got It Goin On", "Different Rhythms", "Eleven Long Years", "Lazy Day", "Cruisin", and more!

An excellent bit of funky work from Sweden's Oddjob – a group that are looming large on the international club jazz scene! Oddjob work in the same vein as groups like Hipnosis and Honeymuch – playing real jazz, but with a dancefloor twist – taking bits of classic Blue Note, European modal, and soul jazz, and wrapping them up with a tight rhythmic finish that's perfect for the modern jazz dance set! This album's even better than the group's first, and features some nice electric piano on a few cuts – with titles that include "Their Song", "Man Machine", "I Am Sailing", and "Leadhead".

A fantastic full length set from Quasimode – the Japanese club jazz combo who first blew our minds with their single for Raw Fusion! Hearing them here in a full LP, the sound is even better than before – a range of jazzy changes and tight instrumental work that reminds us of Blue Note or Prestige in their mid 60s prime – with a wonderful blend of soul jazz and hardbop styles running through the mix, plus a fair bit of rolling modal rhythms aimed at the sound of the contemporary scene! Tunes are mostly upbeat throughout – and build from percussion, piano, bass, and drums – topped off by additional tenor, trumpet, soprano, and vibes on some numbers – and also featuring a bit of Fender Rhodes as well. The album features the group's great version of Tubby Hayes' "Down In The Village", plus the original tracks "Oneself Likeness", "Feelin Green", "Skelton Coast", "Ipe Amarelo", "Lucky Luciano", "Giant Black Shadow", and "1000 Days For Spirit".