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Rating: Excellent |
St. Germain is a name that makes many hearts beat faster. In 1995, he released his debut artist album, "Boulevard." This album was exceptionally well-received and heralded his worldwide breakthrough. This happened when the album "Tourist" was released in 2000.
Since the advent of acid jazz in the mid-1980s, the many electronic-jazz hybrids that have emerged have steadily matured, moving closer to a balanced fusion that borrows the spontaneity and emphasis on group interaction of classic jazz while emphasizing the groove and elastic sound of electronic music.
For his second album, French producer Ludovic Navarre has expanded the possibilities of his jazzy house template by recruiting a sextet of musicians to solo over his earthy productions.
The opener “Rose Rouge” is an immediate highlight, as a subdued Marlena Shaw vocal sample (“I want you to get together/put your hands together one time”), trance-state piano lines, and a ride-on-the-rhythm drum program frame solos from trumpeter Pascal Ohse and baritone Claudio de Qeiroz.
For "Montego Bay Spleen," Navarre pairs an angular guitar solo by Ernest Ranglin with a deep-groove dub track, complete with phased effects and echoey percussion. "Land Of..." moves from a Hammond and horn-led soul-jazz stomp into Caribbean territory, marked by more hints of dub and Carneiro's expressive Latin percussion.
At times, Navarre's programming (sampled or otherwise) becomes a bit repetitive—even for dance fans, not to mention the jazzbo crowd attracted by the album's Blue Note label. While it's only another step on the road to a perfect blend of jazz and electronica, Tourist is an excellent one.
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