51 of 51 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good Compilation, March 27, 2003
This review is from: Saint-Germain Café: The Finest Electro-Jazz Compilation (Audio CD)
I think some folks may be confusing St. Germaine the artist AND the France jazz scene altogether! You have to consider why St. Germain calls himself... St. Germain instead of his real name. It is in reference to the district in Paris that is really renown (IMO) for it's musical and art culture (and football club that currently has Pentacampeo player Ronaldinho!). Also, that artist's contribution to this compilation was from the album "Boulevard", which pre-ceeded Tourist by a few years. Maybe St. Germain (Ludovic Navarre) is involved in the mixing of this but I don't believe he is. Judging by the label that this release is on - I think they were and are doing fairly well on their own. No, this is not a "St. Germain" feature cd. It is like a jazz/dj cd featuring what you might expect to hear in a trendy cafe in that district.
That much aside, this is a terrific compilation, and the introduction to the "Saint - Germain Des PRes Cafe" series. It's solid, with primo jazz cuts mixed and remastered by DJ's along with a couple of solid new tracks as well. Some well known artists include De-Phazz, St. Germain, Barrio Jazz Gang and Jazzanova. This CD isn't really mixed so much - the tracks are great as stand alone where-as in the future cd's of the series, there is a bit of mixing done.
This was a great start. I really enjoyed this one - much better than I did the second one. But as far as this series goes, I think the real gem is the third release with some very rare remixes and soothing cuts. If you dig this series, I'd recommend picking up another compilation called "Jazz Lounge". Artists on that one include NOrah Jones, Patti Austin, Mr. Scruff, Koop, Nuspirit Helsinki, Count Basic, Nicola Conte, St. Germain and many many others.
One more thing - the label that this series is on is Wagram, which is the same label that provided various French and intenrational compilations: Hotel Costes compilations and the "Paris Lounge", "Berlin Lounge", "London Lounge", etc. series along with Nueva Bossa Nova and a few new Brazil comps too.
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40 of 41 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
In response to some reviewers, April 8, 2003
By A Customer
This review is from: Saint-Germain Café: The Finest Electro-Jazz Compilation (Audio CD)
St Germain, the name refers to two things. One: A neighborhood in Paris including the latin quarter that has many jazz clubs and cafes where jazz music can be heard. Two: The artist St Germain who I presume named himself after the neighborhood. St Germain the artist started his career in 1991 composing various !singles and 12 inch Lps for F com. He then made the classic album Boulevard in 1995 which included, "deep in it'" which is the only St germain song featured on this album. He then signed with Blue Note and recorded the album Tourist that sold 4 million worldwide. This is not a St Germain album. This is a collection of artists who combine jazz and electronica. These artists don't necessarily live in Paris or France for that matter.
If you want to know about what is really going on with the French underground, then do yourself a favor a buy this new album called - Paris under a groove. It comprises all new french electronica artists. I own both of these records and the latter is definitely funky and full of fresh tracks. But remember these are not st germain albums. They contain one st germain track each. Good luck shopping.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
My new top CD for all day use, January 28, 2002
This review is from: Saint-Germain Café: The Finest Electro-Jazz Compilation (Audio CD)
I happened to pick this up in Manhattan the other day while browsing aimlessly. I wasn't even in my usual section. I have many different CDs that I listen to all day from the Buddha Bar series to Groove Armada to Diana Krall all the way to Saint Germain. Normally I can't please my traditional jazz side and my downtempo side at the same time. This disc wan't even a question when I first heard it. If you have any taste for jazz but you want a modern feel you have to aquire this CD. I could go on all afternoon about the good qualities of this disc. There's way too much. The artists complied on here are all top notch. This is a must have in any modern CD collection. It'll compliment the taste of any jazz, groove, downtempo, etc. listener you might invite over.
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