I\u2019ve had a lot of extra car time in the last few days due to the weather. One of the ways I pass the time on the commute is with \u2013 why not? \u2013 an iPod. Some days I\u2019ll pick a letter (of course, shuffle has not been deployed) and let \u2018er roll. The other morning the letter C reminded me of a fantastic tune I hadn\u2019t thought of in a while.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In early 1994 a British production began making its way up the American pop chart. Producer Geoff Wilkinson created Us3, best described as a jazz\/rap hybrid. The band had, in a previous incarnation, used some samples from EMI\u2019s library, gaining the attention (and not in a good way) of the label. Wilkinson was able to not only avoid the lawsuit, but managed to get access to the music library of Blue Note records. The creations of Us3, released on Blue Note, went on to become the biggest-seller in the label\u2019s history.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Each track on the debut album, Hand on the Torch, used jazz recordings for the samples. \u201cIt\u2019s Like That,\u201d the sort of rap that sticks in your head for a while (it did the other day when the letter I came up), used songs by Big John Patton<\/a> and Lou Donaldson. Tune across the album and you\u2019ll hear Thelonious Monk<\/a>, Art Blakey<\/a> and the Jazz Messengers (including his spoken word tracks<\/a>), Donald Byrd \u2013 it reads like a who\u2019s who of Blue Note jazz.<\/p>\n\n\n\n