Jazz, remixed

Sadly I've fallen victim and bought into the trend of remixing vintage tracks with a more modern sensibility. In essence, the best of these efforts take vintage jazz sensibilities -- for me, the best tracks are from the hard bop period, roughly '55 to '65, which I prefer in jazz anyway -- and match them with updated sonics and electronic beats.

A recent compilation brought this to mind, and I have to recommend it. Re-Bop: The Savoy Jazz Remixes does an excellent job of blending the classic with the modern, and is nice listening as both background music and as something to play loudly in the car.

On that subject, the three Verve Remixed CDs also succeed at this, with varying degrees of success (there's a track or two I have to skip on each), but the tracks that succeed, like Nina Simone's "Sinnerman," are thumping tracks that stay in frequent play on my MP3 player (especially the small one I take to the gym).

If you're new to the Verve Remixed series, don't waste your time buying the individual CDs. You'll save money and get an extra bonus disc to boot if you just order the The Complete Verve Remixed Deluxe Box, which includes Verve Remixed, Verve Remixed, Vol. 2, and Verve Remixed, Vol. 3, plus a bonus disc that includes extra tracks not found on the other three and the full-length versions of three of my favorite tracks in the series: the aforementioned Nina Simone track, a remix of Sarah Vaughn's "Fever," and a remix of Ella Fitzgerald's "Slap That Bass."

Truth: Go to Amazon and preview a few tracks. If they work for you, you'll likely enjoy both Re-Bop: The Savoy Jazz Remixes and The Complete Verve Remixed Deluxe Box. I can't get enough of any of them -- but be wary of imitators. These are clearly the best of this genre.

Tags: verve remixed, savoy jazz remixed

Gnarls Barkley: Don't Resist It.

I've been resisting the Gnarls Barkley CD (Gnarls Barkley: St Elsewhere)because, generally, if something gets too much press it's generally not worth the effort. In this case, I'm happy to report that the record does live up to the hype. Hard to categorize -- some beats with a hip hop flavor, an overall R&B sound largely due to Cee-Lo's voice, but a clearly modern sound. Reminds me in some ways of the last Gorillaz CD, which Danger Mouse produced (and that I think is good, but inferior to their first CD).

Truth: buy this, or, at least, download "Crazy." I enjoy the whole CD, but I particularly like their cover of Violent Femmes' "Gone Daddy Gone." You can read more about Gnarls Barkley in just about any entertainment magazine -- say, Rolling Stone or Entertainment Weekly.