Jazzmatazz, Vol. 1
Encyclopedia
Guru's Jazzmatazz, Vol. 1 is a jazz rap
album by alternative hip hop
artist Guru
, released on May 18, 1993 (see 1993 in music
) on Chrysalis Records
. This album is one of the first albums to combine a live jazz band with hip hop production and rapping. It is the first such project to feature established rappers. Live backing is provided by a band that includes Lonnie Liston Smith
, Branford Marsalis
, Ronny Jordan
, Donald Byrd
and Roy Ayers
. The album also features collaborations with N'Dea Davenport
(of the Brand New Heavies
) and French
rapper MC Solaar
.
Jazzmatazz, Vol. 1 peaked at #24 and #91 on Billboard's Top R&B/Hip Hop Albums and the Billboard 200 albums charts. The single "Trust Me" peaked at #50 on the Hot R&B/Hip Hop Singles & Tracks chart. In spite of the lagging American sales, Jazzmatazz, Vol. 1 was a commercial success in Europe
, where jazz was much more popular in the 1990s.
Jazz rap
Jazz rap is a sub-genre of hip hop which incorporates jazz influences, developed in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The lyrics are often based on political consciousness, Afrocentricity, and general positivism...
album by alternative hip hop
Alternative hip hop
Alternative hip hop is a sub-genre of hip hop music. Allmusic defines it as follows: -Origin:...
artist Guru
Guru (rapper)
Keith Edward Elam , better known by his stage name Guru, was an American emcee and member of the hip-hop duo Gang Starr, along with DJ Premier. He was born in Roxbury, Massachusetts...
, released on May 18, 1993 (see 1993 in music
1993 in music
This is a summary of significant events in music in 1993.-January–February:*January 8 – The U.S. Postal Service issues an Elvis Presley stamp. The design was voted on in February 1992....
) on Chrysalis Records
Chrysalis Records
Chrysalis Records was a British record label that was created in 1969. The name was both a reference to the pupal stage of a butterfly and a combination of its founders names, Chris Wright and Terry Ellis...
. This album is one of the first albums to combine a live jazz band with hip hop production and rapping. It is the first such project to feature established rappers. Live backing is provided by a band that includes Lonnie Liston Smith
Lonnie Liston Smith
Lonnie Liston Smith, Jr. is an American jazz, soul, and funk musician who played with important free jazz artists such as Pharoah Sanders and Miles Davis before forming Lonnie Liston Smith And The Cosmic Echoes, recording a number of albums widely regarded as classics in the fusion / Quiet Storm /...
, Branford Marsalis
Branford Marsalis
Branford Marsalis is an American saxophonist, composer and bandleader. While primarily known for his work in jazz as the leader of the Branford Marsalis Quartet, he also performs frequently as a soloist with classical ensembles and has led the group Buckshot LeFonque.-Biography:Marsalis was born...
, Ronny Jordan
Ronny Jordan
Ronny Jordan is a guitarist at the forefront of the acid jazz movement at the end of the twentieth century. Additionally, Jordan can be included in several other jazz genres such as urban jazz, jazz funk, crossover jazz, and smooth jazz...
, Donald Byrd
Donald Byrd
Donaldson Toussaint L'Ouverture Byrd II, is an American jazz and rhythm and blues trumpeter. A sideman for many other jazz musicians of his generation, Byrd is best known as one of the only bebop jazz musicians who successfully pioneered the funk and soul genres while simultaneously remaining a...
and Roy Ayers
Roy Ayers
Roy Ayers is an American funk, soul, and jazz composer and vibraphone player. Ayers began his career as a post-bop jazz artist, releasing several albums with Atlantic Records, before his tenure at Polydor Records beginning in the 1970s, during which he helped pioneer jazz-funk .- Biography :Ayers...
. The album also features collaborations with N'Dea Davenport
N'Dea Davenport
N'Dea Davenport is an American recording artist, dancer, performer and producer, best known for her work as a vocalist in the UK funk band, The Brand New Heavies, and her pioneering contributions to the genre of acid jazz.-Biography:...
(of the Brand New Heavies
Brand New Heavies
The Brand New Heavies are an acid jazz and funk group formed in 1985 in Ealing, a suburb of London, England.-Biography:The Brand New Heavies began in the 1980s as an instrumental acid jazz group called Brother International....
) and French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
rapper MC Solaar
MC Solaar
MC Solaar is a francophone hip hop and rap artist. He is one of the most internationally popular and influential French rappers....
.
Jazzmatazz, Vol. 1 peaked at #24 and #91 on Billboard's Top R&B/Hip Hop Albums and the Billboard 200 albums charts. The single "Trust Me" peaked at #50 on the Hot R&B/Hip Hop Singles & Tracks chart. In spite of the lagging American sales, Jazzmatazz, Vol. 1 was a commercial success in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, where jazz was much more popular in the 1990s.
Track listing
- "Introduction" – 1:20
- "Loungin'" (with Donald ByrdDonald ByrdDonaldson Toussaint L'Ouverture Byrd II, is an American jazz and rhythm and blues trumpeter. A sideman for many other jazz musicians of his generation, Byrd is best known as one of the only bebop jazz musicians who successfully pioneered the funk and soul genres while simultaneously remaining a...
on trumpetTrumpetThe trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...
and pianoPianoThe piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
) – 4:38 - "When You're Near" (with N'Dea DavenportN'Dea DavenportN'Dea Davenport is an American recording artist, dancer, performer and producer, best known for her work as a vocalist in the UK funk band, The Brand New Heavies, and her pioneering contributions to the genre of acid jazz.-Biography:...
on vocals and Simon LawSimon LawSimon Law is a former keyboardist and songwriter for Soul II Soul.While Law was with Soul II Soul, the band had a #1 UK hit single with "Back To Life ", where he appeared in one of the song's two music videos, and a Top 10 hit with "Keep On Movin'"...
on keyboardsKeyboard instrumentA keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
) – 4:02 - "Transit Ride" (with Branford MarsalisBranford MarsalisBranford Marsalis is an American saxophonist, composer and bandleader. While primarily known for his work in jazz as the leader of the Branford Marsalis Quartet, he also performs frequently as a soloist with classical ensembles and has led the group Buckshot LeFonque.-Biography:Marsalis was born...
on alto and soprano saxophoneSaxophoneThe saxophone is a conical-bore transposing musical instrument that is a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in 1846...
and Zachary BreauxZachary BreauxZachary Charles Breaux was an American jazz guitarist, influenced by George Benson and Wes Montgomery and best remembered for his soul-jazz work...
on guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
) – 3:58 - "No Time to Play" (with Ronny JordanRonny JordanRonny Jordan is a guitarist at the forefront of the acid jazz movement at the end of the twentieth century. Additionally, Jordan can be included in several other jazz genres such as urban jazz, jazz funk, crossover jazz, and smooth jazz...
on guitar and D. C. Lee on vocals) – 4:54 - "Down the Backstreets" (with Lonnie Liston SmithLonnie Liston SmithLonnie Liston Smith, Jr. is an American jazz, soul, and funk musician who played with important free jazz artists such as Pharoah Sanders and Miles Davis before forming Lonnie Liston Smith And The Cosmic Echoes, recording a number of albums widely regarded as classics in the fusion / Quiet Storm /...
on acoustic and electric piano) – 4:47 - "Respectful Dedications" - :54
- "Take a Look (At Yourself)" (with Roy AyersRoy AyersRoy Ayers is an American funk, soul, and jazz composer and vibraphone player. Ayers began his career as a post-bop jazz artist, releasing several albums with Atlantic Records, before his tenure at Polydor Records beginning in the 1970s, during which he helped pioneer jazz-funk .- Biography :Ayers...
on vibraphoneVibraphoneThe vibraphone, sometimes called the vibraharp or simply the vibes, is a musical instrument in the struck idiophone subfamily of the percussion family....
) – 3:59 - "Trust Me" (with N'Dea Davenport on vocals) – 4:27
- "Slicker Than Most" (with Gary BarnacleGary BarnacleGary Barnacle is a saxophonist/flautist, brass instrument arranger, composer and producer, primarily noted for session work, live work Gary Barnacle (born 1959, Dover, England) is a saxophonist/flautist, brass instrument arranger, composer and producer, primarily noted for session work, live work...
on saxophone and fluteFluteThe flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening...
) – 2:36 - "Le Bien, Le Mal" (with MC SolaarMC SolaarMC Solaar is a francophone hip hop and rap artist. He is one of the most internationally popular and influential French rappers....
) – 3:21 - "Sights in the City" (with Courtney PineCourtney PineCourtney Pine CBE is an English jazz musician. At school he studied the clarinet, although he is known primarily for his saxophone playing. Pine is a multi-instrumentalist, also playing the flute, clarinet, bass Clarinet and keyboards...
on alto and soprano sax and flute, Carleen AndersonCarleen AndersonCarleen Anderson is an American soul singer, who has had success in the United Kingdom. She is the daughter of the singer Vicki Anderson and stepdaughter of Bobby Byrd, and is most well known as the lead singer in the Young Disciples as well as for her own solo career.-Early career:Anderson was...
on vocals and Simon Law on keyboards) – 5:10
Samples Used
- "When You're Near" contains samples of "Last Night Changed it All (I Really Had a Ball)" by Esther WilliamsEsther WilliamsEsther Jane Williams is a retired American competitive swimmer and MGM movie star.Williams set multiple national and regional swimming records in her late teens as part of the Los Angeles Athletic Club swim team...
& "Povo" by Freddie HubbardFreddie HubbardFrederick Dewayne "Freddie" Hubbard was an American jazz trumpeter. He was known primarily for playing in the bebop, hard bop and post bop styles from the early 1960s and on...
. - "Transit Ride" contains samples of "Synthetic Substitution" by Melvin Bliss.
- "No Time To Play" contains samples of "Satin Soul" by Love Unlimited Orchestra & "Mosadi (Woman)" by The CrusadersThe CrusadersThe Crusaders are an American music group popular in the early 1970s known for their amalgamated jazz, pop and soul sound. Since 1961, more than forty albums have been credited to the group , 19 of which were recorded under the name "The Jazz Crusaders" .-History:In 1960, following the demise of a...
. - "Take A Look (At Yourself)" contains samples of "Book of Slim" by Gene HarrisGene HarrisGene Harris was an American jazz pianist known for his warm sound and blues and gospel infused style that is known as soul jazz....
and The Three SoundsThe Three SoundsThe Three Sounds were an American jazz trio that formed in 1956 and disbanded in 1973. The trio played and recorded with Lester Young, Lou Donaldson, Nat Adderley, Johnny Griffin, Anita O'Day, Bucky Pizzarelli, Stanley Turrentine and Sonny Stitt among others.The band formed in Benton Harbor,... - "Trust Me" contains samples of "Funky President" by James BrownJames BrownJames Joseph Brown was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and recording artist. He is the originator of Funk and is recognized as a major figure in the 20th century popular music for both his vocals and dancing. He has been referred to as "The Godfather of Soul," "Mr...
, "Synthetic Substitution by Melvin Bliss & "Big Beat" by Billy SquierBilly SquierWilliam Haislip "Billy" Squier is an American rock musician. Squier had a string of arena rock hits in the 1980s. He is best known for the song "The Stroke" on his 1981 album release Don't Say No... - "Slicker Than Most" contains samples of "It Feels So Good" by Grover Washington, Jr.Grover Washington, Jr.Grover Washington, Jr. was an American jazz-funk / soul-jazz saxophonist. Along with George Benson, John Klemmer, David Sanborn, Bob James, Chuck Mangione, Herb Alpert, and Spyro Gyra, he is considered by many to be one of the founders of the smooth jazz genre.He wrote some of his material and...
Personnel
- Roy Ayers - Vibraslap, Vibraphone
- Courtney Pine - Flute, Saxophone, Sax (Alto), Sax (Soprano)
- Lonnie Liston Smith - Piano, Keyboards, Piano (Electric)
- Ronny Jordan - Guitar
- John Etkin-Bell (JB) - Engineer
- Big ShugBig ShugBig Shug is a hip hop artist from Boston, Massachusetts, and a member of the Gang Starr Foundation collective.-Biography:...
- Additional Vocals - Guru - Arranger, Vocals, Producer, Mixing
- MC Solaar - Vocals
- Carleen Anderson - Vocals
- Gary BarnacleGary BarnacleGary Barnacle is a saxophonist/flautist, brass instrument arranger, composer and producer, primarily noted for session work, live work Gary Barnacle (born 1959, Dover, England) is a saxophonist/flautist, brass instrument arranger, composer and producer, primarily noted for session work, live work...
- Flute, Saxophone - Zachary Breaux - Guitar
- Donald Byrd - Piano, Trumpet
- Zdar Cerbonschi - Engineer
- N'Dea Davenport - Vocals
- Keith Elam - Executive Producer, Concept Development
- Simon "The Funky Ginger" Law - Keyboards
- D.C. Lee - Vocals
- James B. Mansfield - Engineer
- Branford Marsalis - Saxophone
- DJ Jazzy Nice - Scratches
- Black Jack - Additional vocals
- Mickey "Mus Mus" - Additional vocals
- DJ Jimmy Jay - Scratches
- Lil' Dap - Live Drums
- The Cutthroats - Additional vocals
- Joe Quinde - Engineer
- Kieran Walsh - Engineer
- Ray Burmiston - Photography
- James Bell - Engineer
- Henry Marquez - Art Direction
- Doug Boehm - Assistant Engineer
- Craig Marcus - Engineer
- Michael Benabib - Photography
- David Carpenter - Assistant Engineer
- Diane Cuddy - Design
- Bill Adler - Liner Notes
- Luke Allen - Assistant Engineer
- Marc Villalonga - Photography
See also
- Jazzmatazz, Vol. 2: The New RealityJazzmatazz, Vol. 2: The New RealityGuru's Jazzmatazz, Vol. 2: The New Reality, was the follow-up to the well-received Jazzmatazz, Vol. 1. This second release to the Jazzmatazz series slightly toned down the jazz rap punch that made the first volume memorable. It was nevertheless critically acclaimed in its own right...
- Jazzmatazz, Vol. 3: StreetsoulJazzmatazz, Vol. 3: StreetsoulGuru's Jazzmatazz, Vol. 3: Streetsoul is the third entry in the Jazzmatazz series from Guru of Gang Starr.-Synopsis:As the title seems to suggest, this volume featured a blend of Soul with R&B. The decline in Jazz inflections that made Jazzmatazz, Vol. 1 popular continued on this release Guru's...
- Jazzmatazz, Vol. 4: The Hip-Hop Jazz Messenger: Back to the FutureJazzmatazz, Vol. 4: The Hip-Hop Jazz Messenger: Back to the FutureGuru's Jazzmatazz, Vol. 4: The Hip Hop Jazz Messenger: Back To The Future is the fourth entry in the Jazzmatazz series from Guru of Gang Starr. There's an official video of the song "State Of Clarity" which features clips from the movie Fritz The Cat....