Very few albums manage to unveil their roots so honestly and
at the same time succeed in creating something utterly distinct. ‘Of All The
Things‘ from Jazzanova is one of these albums. Originally released in 2008 on
Universal, it now gets a luxurious reissue on Sonar Kollektiv as a 3LP with
pop-up gatefold cover including previously unreleased instrumentals. This
format corresponds perfectly with the elegant opulence of the music that shines
even brighter eleven years after its initial release. At no time is it unclear
that this album is a deep bow to soul from the 1960s and 70s as well as genres
like jazz, brazil and pop music in the vein of the early Beatles. Along these lines,
‘Of All The Things‘ is meant to be perceived as a tribute to the music that
Jazzanova has been honoring affectionately in their DJ sets and which has
always had a decisive influence on their own productions. At the same time, the
Jazzanova guys have been successful in casually creating elaborate musical
pieces which convey a deeply contemporary vibe – not least because of the
multifarious references to electronic productions.
The path to this sophomore long player, which features the
contribution of over 50 studio musicians, had been laid out beginning with
Jazzanova‘s first album ‚In Between‘ from 2002.
While the overall impression of their full length debut was
more minimal and rooted in club genres like broken beat and acid jazz, it
became immediately apparent with Jazzanova‘s remix for Heavy’s ‘Wonderlove (for
Minnie)’ in 2005 that the music collective was ready to progress towards
utilizing the acoustic and electric instruments of studio musicians. Another
fine step forward was the production of the soundtrack for ‚Belle Et Fou‘ in
2006 with its sophisticated arrangements and live orchestra.
It could be said that ‘Of All The Things‘ is the culminating
point of a long developing focus on songwriting and orchestra arrangements.
However, it is notable that the album doesn‘t rest on indulging in its musicians‘ skills. Instead,
by retaining elements of electronic music production, Jazzanova always makes
references to alternative ways of creating music. Particularly, methods such as
sampling are very near and dear to Jazzanova: “We have tried to write songs
that we would love to sample ourselves”, the DJ and producer collective points
out. There was no mistaking the outstanding role of sampling on ‘In Between‘
already. The further development of this technique’s utilization on ‘Of All The
Things‘ is that Jazzanova would like the music on the album to be read as
samples – only that this time the guys have written all the samples themselves.
Combining the art of sampling with classic compositional
practices and songwriting – that‘s where this album excels while displaying the
defining innovation of these musicians whose roots lie in DJ culture. What
makes the songs on ‘Of All The Things‘ even more exciting are the many features
of renowned vocalists like Phonte Coleman who has been causing quite a stir in
the R‘n‘B world together with Little Brother as Foreign Exchange. The album
also features a duet from Detroit legends Leon Ware and Dwele, the unique voice
of Blue Note artist Jose James and even a guest appearance from Fat Freddy’s
Drop front man Joe Dukie. Furthermore, the album marks the beginning of a
long-term collaboration with Paul Randolph – another Detroit legend who has
gone on to become one of the leading figures in Jazzanova‘s live band.
In this regard, it‘s important to highlight that ‘Of All The
Things‘ also marked the start of Jazzanova as a live band: The band has been on
tour since 2009, playing more than 250 concerts all over the world on almost
every continent, so it seems very natural to celebrate the importance of this
album as a vinyl reissue and to call to mind its relevance once again.
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