Customer Reviews

Once & Future

5 star:		(41)
4 star:		(18)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This duo picks up where Zhane and Les Nubiennes left off. I will guarantee that you will not have to skip any tracks when you play this cd. Jazzyfatnastees have this jazzy (hence the name), r&b and blues feel to them. I will call it "Musical Poetry." I can listen to this cd everyday and not get tired of it. Actually, I do play it everyday. I love all the tracks on this cd but my personal favorite is track five, "Hear Me." Your fingers will snap in synchronization to the drummers beat. Also, I would love to hear Unconventional Ways at a wedding this summer. It could be a wonderful alternative to the traditional wedding song. Jazzyfatnastee, a name you will hear very often this year.

Every now and then, if you are a music collector like me, there is a CD that gets lost in the shuffle with all the other highly publicized releases and what's not heard on the radio. Whether it's the a&r of the label that is to be at fault or the artists themselves, remains to be seen. I should have known better. Once I found out that the Roots were involved with this CD, I know that should have made "The Once And Future" a must buy. A co-worker of mine was like, you have all of these CDs and you don't have Jazzyfatnastees. A few days later, she brought the CD to work for me to listen to and I have been hooked ever since. How this CD didn't get the publicity it deserved is amazing to me. I read over some of the reviews for this CD and I agree with most of them. I can only speak for the radio stations in the Metro area but it's a shame how one artist can have three or four songs on the radio but you can't get one song to be played by Jazzyfatnastees. If you're not talking about certain topics, for some reason, you can't make it on to the popular radio stations and that's a shame. "The Once And Future" is one of the best CDs of the Neo Soul movement, which includes Musiq, Erykah Badu and Jill Scott. Yes, this CD is only 10 songs in length but it's the material, words and music that is most important in my opinion. The Jazzyfatnastees have some classic songs on this CD: "The Wound", "Breakthrough", "Sail The Seas", and "Related To Me" can be put against almost any r&b act out right now and you will either have the Jazzyfatnastees equalling or surpassing how good the other artists' songs are. "Unconventional Ways" is definitely a classic and if it wasn't for India Arie's "Ready For Love" it would probably still be the best song I have heard in a long time. The lyrics and music will make you wish there were more than 10 songs on this CD. If you want comparisons, listen to Amel Larrieux's "Infinite Possibilities", India Arie's "Acoustic Soul" and Jill Scott's "Who Is Jill Scott.....". That's how good this CD is. If you are a fan of the Neo Soul movement you will enjoy this CD. Hopefully, if Jazzyfatnastees release another CD they wil get the attention they deserve. Believe me, they sure do deserve it.

They got they're start with the Pharcyde and the Roots, but they're more jazzy/hip-hop soul think Mary J.'s "My Life" only smoother. Vocally the Jazzyfatnastees are superior to ALL the new artsy divas who everyone THINKS can sing. (Don't make me start naming names.) Plus their lyrics are truly deep. . .I mean Marvin Gaye "What's Going on" deep. No, I'm not tripping . .. This album is an ALL-TIMER, if radio wasn't such a joke you would hear the Jazzies all day, every day. THEY SHOULD BE #1 on BILLBOARD but it'll probably never happen. Because people like you wait for BET, THE BOX and MTV to tell you what's hot. Basically if you don't have this album you're playing yourself. If you haven't heard their album, you'll never understand.

Tracey and Mercedes, (the Jazzyfatnastees) are by far one of the top 5 Neo Soul artists out to date... yet they receive no radio play?!! It is unbelievable how these two wonderfully talented women have been overlooked by what seems like virtully everyone in the music industry.

If you like Neo Soul artists like India.Arie or Jill Scott you will love the Jazzies. Do not be fooled by the short listing of tracks. What it lacks in length, it more than makes up in quality and content. The songs they have written possess true depth and meaning. The music has a wonderful Jazz content that is soothing to the ears, and soul. You could listen to this CD all day and never get tired of it.

The music laid on each track beautifully blends with their words and their voices. Tracks like "The Wound", "Unconventional Ways" , "Sail the Seas" and "Let It Go" make this CD a classic and a must have for all how love this genre of music. You won't be disappointed... this CD will have you hooked by the middle of the first track....guaranteed.

I got the CD as a promotional give away in October of 99 and I always loved it.A local radio station here always played the track "the wound" so thats when I first got hip to them. The girls can sing and write. It has the slow tempo tracks and the dance tracks as well. I heard them on tracks by Dela-Soul back in the mid 90's but never knew they were a group. It's about time we give props to these urban underground groups because when music moves from its bounce-bounce phase, these underground kats will still keep it true and real. I strongly recommend this one to all urban jazz lovers.

Considering myself to be among the most finicky music fans out there, it took a little doing until I was willing to part with the 15 bucks for the Once and Future. Little did I know at the time, it would be WELL worth it.

Having grown ever more disenchanted with the commercialized American Urban music industry, with the repetitive and uninspired "bump and grind" lyrics and often lifeless instrumentals, I've often had to pay steep import prices for the more original UK soul with it's softer lyrics and lively instrumentals.

The Jazzyfatnastees, however, have brought me back home to "The States!"

The lyrical arrangements are lively, yet deep, with each track telling a tale that still does not get lost in abstractions. Each is delivered with a range rarely seen in popular music these days. Add to this instrumentals that are soothing, yet lively where it really counts (with just the right amount of accents), and you've got a package that is just incredible.

THE WOUND is a great way to introduce a lover of great music to the JAzzy's, while BREAKTHROUGH is certainly the most truly "jazzy" of the tracks on the CD. UNCONVENTIONAL WAYS offers a lyrical and instrumental punch that will send a chill up the back of your neck if you let it. I love every track on the CD (no duds!), and keep finding new little snippets within the tracks to keep me listening closer and closer.

Bascially, I can't recommend this CD enough. If the current state of US R&B leaves a little to be desired to you, I think this CD will offer a quick cure to those who miss EnVogue and the deeper Neosoul artists! The only gripe, as spoken before here, is that the CD is only 10 tracks. Still, it's a great use of the funds!

As an "alternative" R&B(arb) fan I have found that most arb albums take a few listens to grow on me. However I enjoyed this album from the first listen. I believe that this will be one of those albums that will blow up way after its release.

I recently played this album at a get-together at my house I had it in a 3 CD player on random play with Angie Stone & Rashaan Patterson. The people at the party were not familier with any of these artists but when Jazzy... came on during the rotation someone would always ask me who is that singing. It never failed. Nary a peep about Angie & Rashaan who I also love. This confirmed to me that this is a special album.

So funny, I only bought this CD to bump up my order of books so I could qualify 4 free shipping. Now I can't stop playing it! (it's on even as I write this). Standout track? Probably Breakthrough, but part of it's beauty is that it's one holistic body of work. If ?estlove (Roots)& his crew manage to pull off the same subtle harnessing of talent on D'Angelo's ever-upcoming Voodoo, then 2000 will indeed be a bellwether year for music of this ilk. Think Bjork transplanted to Philly with a dollop of Sarah Vaughn infested with a bit of late '90s sensibility (was surprised to read that they are from LA)

This is the CD that will probley not catch on until next year as so many others before have done . This is a combination of hip-hop,jazz & rhythm and blues all rolled into one great listening piece of work. If you are constanly looking for something other than what you hear on your local radio station, this is for all of you who need the alternative, look no futher.

Jazzyfatnastees-the once and the future, is the second best soul album I bought this year (D'Angelo being the best). Backed by formidable but never overbearing band, which includes Big Hub and Questlove from the Roots, as well as an accomplished production team (Scott Storch, Roots again) Jazzyfatnastees debut a rather flawless cd. Instead of gimmicks such as uninspired rap beats or meaningless guess artists, this disc concentrates on the soul and displays the range of this group. The loungy, laid back feel of the music is only enhanced by the moving and sweet lyrics, of which they written. (no remakes here, a major plus). So what's next for these Philadelphia singer song writers? Hopefully, a second disc as enjoyable as the first. stand-out tracks: 1,4,6 / tracks to skip: 0