Customer Reviews

Space Jazz

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I've been buying from Amazon for about 5 years, and this is the first time I've been compelled to write a review - primarily to offer a counter to those who gave "Space Jazz" lukewarm reviews. I heard this playing in a local Tower Records shop. I asked what it was, bought it, and listened to it on the way home. That was months ago. It's been in heavy rotation at home, in the car, and at work ever since. Which would reflect just one man's opinion if not for the fact that everyone who hears it in my work area or in my car wants to know what it is, wants to see the cd case (digipak, actually), and wants to know where I bought it. It's jazzy, spacey, and groove-laden, and instrumental except for "found" vocals. Overall, the best sampler of a particular style of music since those produced by the late, lamented em:t label. Highly recommended for those who find this type of music enjoyable.

Groovy beats inspire, velvet pants required!!!!!
This cd is on the Shortwave. It is a Definite, "no-miss".
Simply put, this is a standard. Play in between DJ Cam, Massive Attack and Mr Scruff. This music is for when you need to go one step beyond. The whole cd is "solid"!
I have and would buy anything that Quango releases, especially when compiled by Bruno Guez. Leave the compilations to the experts!!!! Amazons' got quite a few(quango releases, of course), too bad many are listed as unavailable!
R-

Granted, this is more jazz than anything else, but the occasional sample and weird synth noise adds something. Its more reminiscent of John Scofield's weird jazz than real "acid jazz". That this music is so good is more of a testament to the original players (Bird, etc.) than to the "remixers" who snipped it all together. All in all, not fabulous, but good background groove.

Quango's a smaller label that's put out a few quality releases through the years. I first got into them thanks to Brazilified, a compilation which came out in the height of the nu-Brasil/Electronic Brasil era of the early 00's. It was a pretty nice cd, albeit lightly cross-faded and had a few different tracks and staples. But this one, Space Jazz, goes in a much different direction. It caters to a more open, dark and quiet feel. It's tough to really label this as jazz; but it's not unfair either. It really is a showcase on fusion with one of the most brilliant things about it being how much it kind of reminds me of the fusion of old, done by masters like Azymuth.

The cd starts out nicely with Tosca's "Chocolate Elvis", remixed by Tosca. A good song with a really nice groove to it, courtesy of Boozoo Bajou. It's one of the songs that has a more 'grounded' sound on the album which is probably fitting considering the journey that's supposed to take place. It's followed up very nicely by Akasha's Mescalin, a tune with a little bit of attitude to it with very nice sax, flute & production work to it. The funny thing is I vaguelly remember the sample dialogue, which was an interview about the body's chemical changes from various activies & the small debates about what she meant when she said it. "Original Oddstep" is like Jazz with a surprising twist. And then The Foreword's "Modern Crimes" is another sweet track that highlights the album with a very blue, spaced out vibe to the first 4 minutes or so before kicking up into gear - I almost think the album was designed around that track. Interestingly enough, Miles Copeland of the group later went on to do work with The Superimposers. "They Milk Horses Don't They" is another nice one with nice electric guitar work which reminds me a little of some of Fila Brazilia's work from the late 90's.

I'd recommend this one. It's a great adventure & Pink Floyd's "Dark Side of the Moon" may have been a bit of the inspiration behind this album as a whole. But keep in mind though that all the tracks have a copy right date between 1993-1999, and the sound from then is getting much more distinct as electronica's evolved. But quality is quality, and you can tell that some of the artists figured out how important having the live musicians are to the work. Is it Jazz? Electronica? Acid Jazz? Fusion? It's all of the above. While not all of the tunes grabbed me, like "Faustian Bargain", there's more than enough to check out here. But do note that this is NOT an album that will energize you. if you like it, you may also like some of DJ Cam's work from that time period as well as Amon Tobin.

This album was mostly made in the "Quantiverse Studios" of Pitsburg. A little known fact is that the 19th track was originally supposed to be Michaelmatician's "Quivering Relics". Ultimately this track as well as others were left off and instead intended for the 2nd Volume. The 2nd volume hasn't occurred yet.

However, the Music of Michaelmatician can be heard.
2.342

Hard to categorize this style of music but the level of imagination and studio artistry is on par with Herbie Hancock's "Rockit". A bit of urban beats, mixed with a bit of ambient Electronica and a lot of classic jazzy blues style riffing without the long meandering self indulgent solo's. This aint' drum machine loop stuff you'ld hear at a Rave concert. Noticeably sophisticated and well arranged pieces.

I was blown away by Pnu Riff's "Comfy Club". Very clever borrowing of Dave Brubeck's "Take Five" melody and syncopation style with an amplified live sounding kick bass drum that sounds like King Kong playing his own trap set. You'll need a subwoofer to appreciate the audio dynamics on this cut and all the rest for that matter.

Akasha's psychotropicalia laced chill out "Mescalin" has such a refreshing sound style you don't mind that it's just a repetitive riff so good you could groove to it all day. It's quite a sexy song.

Where did they find these guys and where have they been all this time. Hope they're not one hit wonder artists.

Get this album. You won't regret it.

I'm buying cd's from amazon for a years and always reading those reviews..
which help me to make decision about purchase, but I never wrote any review yet....until now...after purchasing this cd (based on samples)
I can say this is the best album I purchased in years..if you are tired of
many electronica/chill cd's with their thin sound of the 80's and with.."radio shock" keyboards style , this album will amaze you,almost every track is trully classic,album is also masterfully produced
I'm audiophile with colection of hundred's cd's and I can tell you that only few cd's in my collection matched this level of sonic quality..
Highly recomended for people who can really feel the music

My musical background is mostly rock. That being said, I was also hugely affected by such jazz fusion bands as Mahavishnu Orchestra, Return to Forever, and their other 70's contemporaries. Interest in their music helped spark a later interest in so-called traditional jazz by Miles Davis, Horace Silver, and many other greats.

Somewhere in between all that lies the sounds of nu jazz that are featured on the Quango Space Jazz collection. It's hard to say exactly which side of the fence this music falls, but if you're looking for a genre, I'd say it's closer to chillout / downtempo than it is to jazz, per se.

I have completely fallen in love with this collection. I noticed that a lot of Amazon reviewers simply write "This is a great album. Buy it. You won't be disappointed, etc." What they fail to say is why the album is so great, or, worse still, any other music or artists that might give you a clue as to why they should take your word for all the glowing praise.

That said, I'd repeat that this collection of artists - most of whom you've probably NEVER heard of before - works amazingly well as a coherent collection of music from beginning to end. Some of the music is uptempo and toe-tapping ("Original Oddstep" by Vert), and some of it's downright spaced out ("They Milk Horses Don't They?" by Horsemilk). It's all good though. It works.

If you've recently acquired a taste for chillout or downtempo or nu jazz, and are looking for an interesting diversion, this is your album. I now travel with a copy pretty much whenever I go on extended trips - it's become that indispensable. By the way, I feel this album is NOT electronica, as some folks might be inclined to say. It's got far more rhythm and tempo than that. And it's more than background music. It's a state of mind really.

Quango has an excellent reputation for assembling some darn good compilations (I own at least 4 or 5 others), but this one is my favorite because of the mood it induces. It's like it carries it's own aura in the packaging. Late nights or quiet, reflective times - either is a great time to slip this disc into the player and kick back. Works well in the car during long road trips too, I might add!

Electronica is reaching a strange space in marketing: "anything that doesn't fit into another genre, stick it in electronica." This should be in Jazz, not electronica or dance music. Unfortunately Jazz purists would cough this up faster than a furball with the occaisional drum machine, sporadic synthesizer and godforbid sampling. But as an electronica fan, if I wanted Jazz, I'd buy quality Jazz, not this filler. I suspect every penny was scratched together in trying to secure a license from Tosca, the one "name" on the CD. I prefer unknown artists, I love nu-jazz, jazz/electronica/fusion but this just bores me to tears. Some trip-hop elements, but nowhere near Thievery Corp for example. Although hard to find, what they may have been trying to do here is copy "Science Fiction Jazz" from Germany's Compost Label, composed by Minus 8, just excellent. But this; cool name, cool idea for an album, bad CD.