December 2003

Various Artists
Electrojazz at Club Blue Note
George V

By John Murph

Perhaps one of the most dated sounding jazz/hip-hop projects of late is Electrojazz at Club Blue Note (George V), mixed by Ravin and Carlos Campos. The two opening tracks, Helmut Hattler's "New I.D. (preMX)" and Break 4 Jazz's "Break 4 Jazz," sport canned, New Jack Swing beats and horn licks straight out of Us3's, um, songbook. The title of dZihan & Kamien's offering characterizes much of this moldy disc: "Stiff Jazz." Things start to sound a bit more contemporary midway through when the Swedish combo Physics deliver their summery "Flying Away," and from there the CD thumps to the Afro-Latin dance rhythms of Bobby Hughes Combination's "Karins Kerma" and Mr. Hermano's spacey "Uno Mas Tiempo," among other cuts. But for the most part, no real dance floor anthem surfaces from Electrojazz.