Product Details

* Audio CD (May 18, 1993)
* Original Release Date: May 18, 1993
* Number of Discs: 1
* Label: Virgin Records
* Catalog Number: 21998
* ASIN: B000003JBM
* Average Customer Review: based on 22 reviews. (Write a review.)
* Amazon.com Sales Rank: #10,896 in Music (See Top Sellers in Music)
Yesterday: #7,430 in Music

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1. Introduction Listen Listen
2. Loungin' Listen Listen
3. When You're Near Listen Listen
4. Transit Ride Listen Listen
5. No Time To Play Listen Listen
6. Down The Backstreets Listen
7. Respectful Dedications Listen
8. Take A Look (At Yourself) Listen
9. Trust Me Listen
10. Slicker Than Most Listen
11. Le Bien, Le Mal Listen
12. Sights In The City Listen
Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com essentials
After rhyming over Premier's doctored jazz beats in Gang Starr, Guru decided to take it to the next level, employing the talents of actual jazz musicians to create the grooves over which he would flow. Coming off like a jazzier extension of the Brand New Heavies' Heavy Rhyme Experience: Vol. 1, Jazzmatazz, Vol. 1 brought together a diverse group of jazz cats both old-school and new, including Roy Ayers, Donald Byrd, Lonnie Liston Smith, Ronny Jordan, and Courtney Pine. Guru even enlisted the serene pipes of Carleen Anderson and N'Dea Davenport and acted as something of an international hip-hop ambassador when he flipped "Le Bien, Le Mal" with French mic pro MC Solaar. From the Blue Note-style cover art to the hepcat spoken-word intro, this package is pure hip-hop jazz music. Jazz purists may wish to note that the grooves lean heavily toward the funkier 1970s era of jazz, and hardcore hip-hop heads my be turned off by the mellower musical stance. But then again, this is neither pure jazz nor hardcore hip-hop but rather an extension of the two. --Spence Abbott
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
Good Experiment, March 22, 2002
Reviewer: Donovan Juan (Perth, WA Australia) - See all my reviews
Being a fan of Miles Davis, one of the key experimenters in the jazz world, I have always been on the look out for artists that have a leaning to the experimental and unconventional.

I had heard a few of Guru's later albums, and although I am not a fan of rap, his style was interesting. I was [angry] though that it was classified as 'jazz' since only a few were jazzy.

However I got around to hearing this album: Jazzmatazz Vol. 1. This is by far his best work. It was so experimental in nature, and the envinronment is obviously one jazz. The phat hip hop beats have have the same vibe as the instrumental solos in the backing tracks, and Guru's deadpan delivery of his rhymes are very good.

Favourites would be "Loungin'" and "Transit Ride". This album showed that Guru had potential to be a 'jazz' great, however his switch to a more hip hop than jazz sound on his later work is a great shame. Perhaps he will do better in the future.

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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
Good, but....., March 1, 2005
Reviewer: Ziontrain (London) - See all my reviews
...this album is worthwhile yes, BUT more as a historical document than in its own right. I say this in all honesty as a huge fan of Jazz, Gangstarr and Guru. I thought this album was okay at best, but have never loved it.

Let me explain: This album was indeed one of the early points where legit jazz (not samples) was being truly mixed in with hip hop.

Yet most early efforts eg Ronny Jordan's similar (but more instrumental) effort etc just lacked the right mix of these things. This album suffers from that weakness, despite the strength of the personell and the sincerety of intent by the participants.

If that isnt enough, this album (in my opinion) exposes and intersting fact: Guru perhaps in fact got props for his talent BEFORE it had actually flower. Some of the lyrics here are not only corny but structurally weak.

If you contrast by looking at Gurus work on the last 2 Gang Starr albums (The Ownerz, 2003) (Moment of Truth, 1998) the difference is shocking. There we see Guru as an MC in full bloom, total control of hs gift and throwing off hours of jaw-droppingly precise work. There his legendary status is more than confirmen. In fact if anything he puts forth a case for being greatest of all time there.

That puts anything he did here to shame as far as I'm concerned. In that sense my dissapointment at this album back when it came out is only confirmed: he could - and eventually DID - produce better than what he dropped here.

And musically, I will always think that Primo would be the one to truly bring the jazz & hip hop closer. What he does with samples is beyond incridbe. It is evidence of the kind of ear that would be required to put together a trully compelling mix of contemporary hip hop and live jazz. But for some reason, Primo has never seemed show any (public) evidenence of interest in exploring that. Maybe he doesn't want to step on Guru's toes. We may never now....

But sure buy this Jazzamatazz thing to see what it was like, as a legit historical document of jazz and hip-hop starting to belnd. Just dont expect it to fulfill the hype it always seems to have got.