In Between

Jazzanova

Product Details

• Audio CD (July 2, 2002)
• Original Release Date: July 2, 2002
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Rope a Dope
• ASIN: B000068G9Y
• Also Available in: Audio CD
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #56,779 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Track Listings

1. L.O.V.E. And You & I

2. No Use

3. The One-Tet

4. Fade Out

5. Hanazono

6. Mwela, Mwela (Here I Am)

7. Keep Falling

8. Cyclic

9. Another New Day

10. Place In Between

11. Soon

12. Dance The Dance

13. Sub-Atlantic

14. Glow And Glare

15. E-Ovation

16. Takes You Back (Unexpected Dub)

17. Wasted Time

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Berlin's Jazzanova are world-champion programmers, turning extreme technical skills into astonishing electro funk Muzak. Why it takes six grown men to make this music is a mystery, but in classic German style, the results are sleek, efficient, and intelligent. With tripped-up funk beats as their base, Jazzanova adorn detailed, shifting arrangements on In Between with various vocalists (Ursula Rucker, Capitol A) to intimate styles as diverse as Sergio Mendes's Brazilian sophistication, nu-electro, breakbeat hip-hop, and retro jazz fusion. Jazzanova's attempt at smooth soul music falls flat, but by and large, their fertile songs and staggering studio skills make In Between a landmark of the nu-jazz genre (along with recent albums by Koop and Cinematic Orchestra). Highlights include the Daft Punk-meets-Earth, Wind & Fire collision of "Mwela, Mwela"; the simmering street funk of "Another New Day"; and the oozing synthesizer color-forms of "Soon." Sampling and spinning nu-jazz dreams for dancers and listeners alike, Jazzanova educate while they entertain. --Ken Micallef

Product Description

Highly anticipated debut album from the six-man DJ/producer collective known as Jazzanova. In Between features Philly neo-soul artist Vikter Duplaix, poet Ursula Rucker, MC 900 Ft. Jesus rapper Hawkeye Fanatic, Detroit jazz legend Doug Hammond and a host of others. Digipak. 2002.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Jazzanova for the Uninitiated, September 3, 2002

By	Kacy Wilson (Los Angeles) - See all my reviews

I live in Los Angeles where the local NPR radio station KCRW plays a lot music you cannot hear on any other outlet. They have been supprorting Jazzanova since I moved out here five years ago, but with the release of In Between, it has become obvious that the d.j.'s over at KCRW (no program director's since its non-profit) are really in love with this release.

So I went online and listened to a couple excerpts and really liked what I heard. I bought the album. Now with that said. I noticed that the two negative reviews of this album below both judge the merits of this album based on previous work by Jazzanova. Now this is pretty silly from a rational standpoint, but most of us who become fans a particular musician are usually guilty of this. We like the artist for whatever reason if they go in another artistica direction, we often cannot be detach ourselves from our expectations and give an objective listen to the material. I think this is the mistake made by the two negative reviews below.

There is so much wonderful stuff to groove to in this album. I come more from an informed hip hop and jazz background so the world of electronica is something I am not very knowledgeable about. I know how difficult it can be to listen to someone gush about the genius of some guy who has gotten mainsteam exposure doing what is considered banal for his genre. So if this album by Jazzonova is par for the Electronica course than I can only kick myself that I did not find out sooner. But gut feeling is that it is a standout album and its diverse musical array probably puts it out of the context of one subgenre as there are influences from downtempo, broken beat, hip hop, drum & bass, soul, and of course jazz among other things. The album moves from all of these diverse styles fluidly and at the end of each track the listener is left wondering they should cue the track back to the beginning and stay in the lush sonic world they have just been experiencing or move onto to the next world that is often just as hypnotic and inviting. Its not a concept album and most of the tracks stand alone...but if there is a uniting concept the title captures it...These songs lay "In Between" the boundaries of all the sub genres of modern music.

Standout tracks for me inlcude:

The breakbeat deejaying shown on the first track (L.O.V.E. And You & I) is phenemonal. They even throw in a smidgeon of the breakbeat from the Hip Hop classic Time's Up by O.C. Although no steady groove is achieved throughout this song its definitely a head nodder as the BPM's speed up and slow down and the samples move through a slew of familiar and not so familiar territory

I find the drum patterns on the second track (No Use) to be a nice blend of complexity with just enough groove an backbone to hold you as you listen to the rich vocal arrangement (considering the apparent limited vocal abilities of the singer)

The sixth track (Mwela, Mwela) is pure fire. A dizzying drum track that has some Afro-Brazillian qualities...only starker which with some start/stop affects that punctuate the samples. The vocalists compliments the track well and I cannot decide if I like the movement featuring here or the vocal samples more.

Vikter Duplaix laces track 11 (Soon) wetting the listeners appetite for when we are finally going to here this guy's solo stuff (or at least the album he is workng on with James Poyser for BBE's Beat Generation Series). The synths on this one produce a trancey detroit techno kind of vibe. Very new to me anyway...but once again, I am uniniated in the world of Jazzonova

Serenity

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Jazz that doesn't wear "casual slacks", July 2, 2002

By	"tristanfrank" (iowa city, iowa USA) - See all my reviews

About four years ago, Jazzanova formed in Berlin and released its first EP "Caravelle". The reaction was good, it had a smooth sound, long melodies, and shifting shuffling complex rhythms. Since then, the group has been its own cottage industry. Starting a music label (Jazzanova Compost Records), a multi-media artist collective (Sonar Kollectiv), five sublabels, several releases by members under different pseudonyms (Boskoe, Pathless, and Extended Spirit),a compilation of obscure Polish jazz, and a 2 disc set of remixes. The remix compilation received rave reviews, giving the group confidence to spend time on this album.

The sound here is a unique fusion of several musical modes. Stuttering hip-hop meet Brazillian beats, Jazz, Broken-beat, even techno synthesizers. A major hip-hop influence arises in the opening track "l.o.v.e. you & I" with classic break beats and recognizable melodies, with vocal samples on top. The group supposedly spent six months making that song. Two other tracks feature rapping on them, positive stuff, no bragging or obnoxious thug business. Unlike their remixes, several tracks feature full vocals, vikter duplaix is a talented vocalist who you may hear from in the future. The instrumental tracks are the group's strength. These qualify as jazz, but not the terrible stuff you would hear on your local "lite jazz" radio station. No unbearable saxaphone solos, absolutely no kenny g influence.

Of the 17 tracks, 5 are short interludes, most of the songs are five to eight minutes in length. The group uses the time to build up the tracks, complex drum patterns grow into the songs, and melodies are built up. The music here does not sound like it is based on samples, it's far too organic in timbre. This is definetly good for the patient listener, no song here is radio fodder. Recommended for someone who wants jazz that won't get beat up by other music.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars RECOGNIZE!, July 26, 2002

By	A. the Silent (Atlanta, Ga.) - See all my reviews

To say that this music is a masterpiece in mediocrity is complete and total nonsense. The precise production of the music, the depth of structure in the instrumentation, and the fusion of sounds speaks clearly for itself. This music has nothing to do with 'trying' to do anything.
Jazzanova, six talented cats from Berlin, are recognized around the world for their continuous ability to transmit such innovation and technical precision in their music. Not only is the production precise, it is spiritually uplifting and inspiring. These points are recognized by individuals across the globe who dedicate their lives to music, such as the infamous Gilles Peterson,Jazzy Jeff and a host of other cats who will participate in remixing this music.
This music is blatantly exceptional,pooling exceptional artists from across the face of the planet, but don't take my word for it. RECOGNIZE! and listen.