{"product_id":"guru-jazzmatazz-2014-reissue","title":"Guru - Jazzmatazz (Respect The Classics series)","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e— The Analog Vault \/\/ Essential Listening —\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e“Welcome to \u003cem\u003eJazzmatazz\u003c\/em\u003e – an experimental fusion of hip-hop and live jazz.” A more than perfect introduction to one of the first albums to combine a live jazz band with hip hop production and rapping by Gang Starr’s Guru. His first solo album represents the pinnacle of the symbiotic courtship between rap and jazz - anchored by Guru’s smoky, deep baritone East Coast flow alongside first-rate, heavyweight jazz instrumentalists such as Lonnie Liston Smith, Branford Marsalis, Ronny Jordan, Donald Byrd and Roy Ayers. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eJazzmatazz\u003c\/em\u003e presents the listener with a playful dialogue between both genres - with each track a mission statement bridging generations, eras and styles. Considering the increasing prevalence of jazz-rap fusion in recent times, \u003cem\u003eJazzmatazz\u003c\/em\u003e was truly a prescient record that cemented Guru as a visionary. — \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/theanalogvault.mom\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003eThe Analog Vault\u003c\/a\u003e\u003cbr\u003e—\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThough it can reasonably be argued that rap grew almost directly out of funk and its particular beat, there are a lot of overlaps with jazz, particularly the bop and post-bop eras: the uninhibited expression, the depiction of urban life, just to name two.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eJazz samples have also had a large role in hip-hop, but the idea of rapping over actual live jazz wasn't truly fully realized until Gang Starr MC Guru created and released the first in his \u003cem\u003eJazzmatazz \u003c\/em\u003eseries in 1993, with guest musicians who included saxophonist Branford Marsalis (who had previously collaborated with DJ Premier and Guru for the track \"Jazz Thing\" on the Mo' Better Blues soundtrack), trumpeter Donald Byrd, vibraphonist Roy Ayers, guitarist Ronny Jordan, and keyboardist Lonnie Liston Smith, as well as vocalist N'Dea Davenport (also of the acid jazz group the Brand New Heavies) and French rapper MC Solaar. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhile Guru's rhymes can occasionally be a little weak (\"Think they won't harm you? Well they might\/And that ain't right, but every day is like a fight\" are the lines he chooses to describe kids on the subway in Brooklyn in \"Transit Ride\"), he delves into a variety of subject matter, from the problems of inner-city life to his own verbal prowess to self-improvement without ever sounding too repetitive, and his well-practiced flow fits well with the overall smooth, sultry, and intelligent feel of the album. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFrom Jordan's solo on \"No Time to Play\" to Ayers' vibes expertise on \"Take a Look (At Yourself)\" to MC Solaar's quick and syllabic rhymes on \"Le Bien, le Mal,\" \u003cem\u003eJazzmatazz, Vol. 1\u003c\/em\u003e (and what turned out to be the best of the series) is a rap album for jazz fans and a jazz album for rap fans, skillful and smart, clean when it needs to be and gritty when that's more effective, helping to legitimize hip-hop to those who doubted it, and making for an altogether important release. — (via \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/www.allmusic.com\/album\/jazzmatazz-volume-1-mw0000098545\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003eAllMusic\u003c\/a\u003e)\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ciframe width=\"300\" height=\"380\" src=\"https:\/\/embed.spotify.com\/?uri=spotify%3Aalbum%3A64J8girYqmK86ebqBayrjQ\" frameborder=\"0\" allowtransparency=\"true\"\u003e\u003c\/iframe\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e↓\u003cbr\u003eLabel: Virgin \u003cbr\u003eSeries: Respect The Classics \u003cbr\u003eFormat: Vinyl, LP, Album, Reissue, Stereo\u003cbr\u003eReissued: 2016 \/ Original: 1993\u003cbr\u003eGenre: Hip Hop, Jazz\u003cbr\u003eStyle: Acid Jazz, Rap, Conscious, Jazzy Hip Hop\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFile under: TAV Essential Listening\u003cbr\u003eFile under: Hip Hop\u003cbr\u003e⦿\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Virgin","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":41970984255646,"sku":"602547885081","price":45.0,"currency_code":"SGD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0584\/5434\/3838\/products\/Jazzmatazz.jpg?v=1660977139","url":"https:\/\/theanalogvault.mom\/products\/guru-jazzmatazz-2014-reissue","provider":"The Analog Vault","version":"1.0","type":"link"}