Guru - Jazzmatazz Vol.1

Personnel: Guru (rap vocals); Big Shug, Black Jack, Mickey "Mus Mus," The Cutthroats (vocals); Zachary Breaux (guitar); Gary Barnacle (saxophone, flute); Simon Law (keyboards); DJ Jazzy Nice, DJ Jimmy Jay (scratches); Lil' Dap (drums). Engineers include: Joe Quinde, Craig Marcus, Kieran Walsh. Recorded at D&D Studios, New York, New York. Includes liner notes by Bill Adler. As half of the pioneering duo Gang Starr, Guru can count himself among a select handful of innovators (DJ Jazzy Jeff, Stetsasonic, Native Tongues) who in the late '80s introduced jazz's tonal complexity into the hip-hop universe. It makes a certain amount of sense then, that his solo debut is actually a series of collaborations with various jazz artists. Although retro by design (the packaging makes use of the classic Blue Note graphic style), and regressive in it's violation of hip-hop's "maximum effect/minimum means" law of production values, JAZZMATAZZ nonetheless opened up a space for a progressive interplay between hip-hop and ja...