Mushroom Jazz 4

Mark Farina | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (November 5, 2002)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Om Records
• ASIN: B00006RHRI
• Also Available in: Vinyl
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #88,818 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Little Soul, A - Pete Rock

2. Hot Bananas - Scienz Of Life

3. Suite For Beaver Part 1, The - People Under The Stairs

4. Truth In Position - Maspyke

5. Chicago Babe - Trankilou

6. Wiggle And Giggle - Joshua

7. Shoplif - Ripshop feat. Mr. Lif

8. Keep Your Head Up - Laurnea

9. Original Beats - DJ Slave

10. No - Fat Jon

11. Mellow Soul Fruit - Wick Wack

12. Listen - Benny Blanko

13. Phone Tap - Bernal Boogie

14. Irreconcilable - Sub-Conscious

15. Seems To Know - Juluis Papp & Dave Warrin

16. Find Yourself - Space Hopper

17. Dayz - DJ Spinna

18. Big Fish - Dubbie-D

19. Bath Music - Greyboy feat. Dave Pike & Elgin Park

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

For the fourth release in his acclaimed Mushroom Jazz series, DJ Mark Farina lets the urban dance and hip-hop roll while staying true to the downtempo, rainy-day-jazz mode that inspired the series title. Farina has left a trail of devoted jazz-house fans in his wake, from Chicago to San Francisco. Some might not follow the path he walks on this record, which even more than Jazz 3 finds inspiration in the DJ flava of rappers like Mr. Lif and Fat Jon. Others will appreciate the easy, smooth vibe of the record, not to mention Farina's always dependable taste in selections and contrasts. Benny Blanko's "Listen" empties into the funky din of Bernal Boogie's "Phone Tap" with nary a ripple, while tracks from Scienz of Life and People Under the Stairs hypnotize and pleasantly disorient the listener with a sweaty serenity. By cradling rougher styles in smooth trip textures, Farina successfully expands his palette and keeps the series crispy fresh. --Matthew Cooke

From URB Magazine

Well, the wait is over. Mark Farina, America’s favorite mid-tempo DJ, has finally compiled a new edition of his highly vaunted Mushroom Jazz series. Sure, he’s been squarely on the radar, dropping smooth house mixes and working the club circuit like a man possessed. But there is something kind of special about the Mushroom Jazz moniker.

Born at a Chicago club night of the same name, "Mushroom Jazz" was a name Farina gave his then-new sound, a cool but compelling combination of indie hip-hop instrumentals, icy European dance-floor jazz and other floor-oriented electronic beats too mellow for big-room bombast. It’s a blend that’s easy to love, as it works well in many of our favorite environments: cruising in the ride, smoking at backyard barbeques, the bedroom.

On this fourth mix, it’s obvious that Farina’s been doing his homework in the track selection department. For beats and rhymes, he brings URB favorites Pete Rock, Scienz of Life, People Under the Stairs and Next 100 head Fat Jon all to the party.

Altogether, Mushroom Jazz 4 delivers the same head-nodding timelessness of the first three, with an added emphasis on the hip-hop tip. We’re certainly not complaining.

Permanent Ink

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Waking up or winding down was never so sweet, April 19, 2003

By 

Jennifer Warner (Wooftags, United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Mushroom Jazz 4 (Audio CD)

Om is a label that lately can do no wrong. I've been listening to this and Kaskade every morning since I've gotten them, vibing off their low key but inspiring energy. Om's Winter Music party in Miami was packed wall to wall with the best vibe of the conference, a feeling that seems to flows right into their music. Mushroom Jazz actually started as a weekly club night in Chicago - perhaps getting a nod with "Chicago Babe" - then a mixtape series, finally finding a home at Om. This fourth installment with Mark Farina (he's done one, two and three too) is a smooth compilation of sweet earthy, jazzy mid to downtempo grooves. There's a sexy hip hop thing going on at the same time... you know what this music would be good for, right?? Opening up with Pete Rock "A Little Soul" a minimalist beat and high hat are punctuated with old instructional record samples, horns and claps. Standouts include DJ Spinna's remix of Tek 8 "Seven Days" and the soulful vocals on Laurnea "Keep Your Head Up." Waking up or winding down was never so sweet.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Farina has out done himself again, January 31, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Mushroom Jazz 4 (Audio CD)

Just like the intro says "make sure you have your own personal copy to play again and again when you feel yourself getting off the track." Never before have I heard an album that can guide you through such a relaxing experience. No matter how horrible your day may have been or how bad you may be feeling, one spin of this cd and you will forget about all your troubles. With the smooth jazzy beats that seamlessly transition from tract to tract, Farina has produced another classic in the Mushroom Jazz series. If you are a fan or if you are just begining to discover the Mushroom Jazz series, this is must have in any collection.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Its Tight, its tight..., November 26, 2002

By 

Quinton Harris "bit fiddler" (Fairbanks, AK United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Mushroom Jazz 4 (Audio CD)

I was turned off by MJ3's lack of heavy beats and the general un-funkiness about it. Sure it was head nodding but it just seemed wrong...
MJ4 completely redeemed the series in my eyes. All these tracks bump. It starts out kinda jazzy, tracks 1-2, the third track is a fantastic laidback hiphop instrumental and then he lays down the vocal, a good PUTS track about (suprise!) partying. After that he keeps it funky til track 8, which is currently my favourite, a soulful layered vocal thing produced by Ali Shaheed (muhammad!?). Tracks 9-12 really just sort of pass me by, sort of generic "mushroom jazz" tracks. They're good, but not ear catching. Track 13 is one of Mark's own productions, and it is TIGHT! wit a lot of vocal samples and a very interesting 'snare'... the rest of the album (save track 14), in my opinion, is somewhat generic, nothing really caught my ear, not even the dj Spinna remix... Yet nothing made me curl my lip, as was the case with Mushroom Jazz 3.
My only grievance is his sampling - Farina has a couple of like kitsch records he picked up with a bunch of 'obscure' vocal samples... and he uses phrases from these to keep the tracks varied and moving. I love 'minimalism', as minimal as these tracks are, and I think that all the vocal samples he uses really clutter up the record. He really beats you over the head with them in the first couple tracks... after that he lays off... but I wish he didn't use them so much.
Anyway, its completely tight, and I just hope that he puts the same care in track selection into MJ5. :>