VA - Rebop, The Savoy Remixes/The Savoy Originals (2006)

01. Modern Jazz Quartet - Movin' Nicely (Eclipse Remix)
02. Duke Jordan - Night In Tunsia (DJ Jazzy Jeff Remix)
03. Charlie Parker featuring Miles Davis - Moose the Mooche (Quantic Remix)
04. Curtis Fuller - Minor Vamp (Basement Boys Remix)
05. Cal Tjader - Minority (Large Professor's Tjaz Remix featuring Rob Swift)
06. Herbie Mann - Yardbird Suite (Over. Under. Sideways. Down Treatment by Saint Etienne)
07. Dizzy Gillespie - Caravan (DJ Smash's Smashish Remix)
08. Dizzy Gillespie featuring Sarah Vaughan - Lover Man (King Britt's Speakeasy Mix)
09. Red Norvo - Night And Day (DJ Logic Remix)
10. Charlie Parker - KoKo (DJ Spooky's Ali Baba & 50 Thieves Mix)
11. Cannonball Adderley - Bohemia After Dark (Diamond D Remix)
12. Curtis Fuller - Five Spot After Dark (Ali Shaheed Muhammad Remix)
13. Dizzy Gillespie - Shaw 'Nuff (Boots Riley Remix)

In tandem with the release of Re-Bop: The Savoy Originals, the jazz label also issued a corresponding album under the name Re-Bop: The Savoy Remixes. The originals, while they may not have always been the most famous from the artists' repertoires, are still a nice collection of songs. But the purpose of Remixes isn't the jazz. Rather, it's what big-name producers can do with it. It's an unusual take on the music, since most of it was originally bop, which, as a style, was all about experimentation and breaking out of the normal jazz structures, and now, with the producers' interpretations and remixes, what once was improvisational is now put into clean 16-bar phrases. For that reason, the album is much less for the jazz fan who likes hip-hop than it is for the hip-hop fan who likes jazz. For the latter, Remixes offers a lot. The producers are all talented and highly respected in their own right, and understand how to mix a song. They choose the grooves that are most exemplary of the track, add their own contemporary drumbeats, remove instruments that they deem unnecessary (which often means pianos), and piece it back together – focusing on rhythm as opposed to solo work – into something that, while it certainly resembles the original, also reflects the personality of the producer. The version of Cal Tjader's "Minority" is a perfect example of this. Much of Tjader's vibes are left intact while Swift adds the appropriate scratches, and Large Professor brings in drum programming that moves the song along like it belongs in a movie chase scene. It works well, making "Minority" modern and relevant without disregarding Tjader's contributions. Also good is Ali Shaheed Muhammad's (from A Tribe Called Quest) remix of Curtis Fuller's "Five Spot After Dark." The producer cuts up and rearranges the song while still keeping its groove and overall sound intact, and it's very enjoyable. Unfortunately, not everything is as successful. Saint Etienne adds so many extra instruments to Herbie Mann's "Yardbird Suite" (and removes Mann's flute!) that the song takes on an entirely different, electronic-based feel that doesn't quite make sense, and Boots Riley's (of the Coup) remix of Dizzy Gillespie's "Shaw 'Nuff" speeds up the horns so much that it sounds more like a G-Funk track than something by the man who also wrote "Salt Peanuts." Even King Britt's take on Gillespie and Sarah Vaughan's "Lover Man" comes up a bit short, turning Vaughan's sparse, evocative voice into a cheesy sounding vocal track. These exceptions aside, Re-Bop: The Savoy Remixes is a nice blend of two important and explorative genres, and really shows off the innovation of both sets of artists and how they can work well together.

01. Modern Jazz Quartet - Movin' Nicely
02. Duke Jordan - Night In Tunisia
03. Charlie Parker featuring Miles Davis - Moose the Mooche
04. Curtis Fuller - Minor Vamp
05. Cal Tjader - Minority
06. Herbie Mann - Yardbird Suite
07. Dizzy Gillespie - Caravan
08. Dizzy Gillespie featuring Sarah Vaughan - Lover Man
09. Red Norvo - Night And Day
10. Charlie Parker - KoKo
11. Cannonball Adderley - Bohemia After Dark
12. Curtis Fuller - Five Spot After Dark
13. Dizzy Gillespie - Shaw 'Nuff

Re-Bop: The Savoy Originals collects 13 tracks recorded between 1945 and 1959 for the influential West Coast jazz label. Boasting a wide range of performers, this compilation gathers classic cuts by the Modern Jazz Quartet, Charlie Parker, Miles Davis, Red Norvo, Duke Jordan, Cal Tjader, Curtis Fuller, Cannonball Adderley, Herbie Mann, and Dizzy Gillespie. The "Originals" portion of the title refers to the companion set, Re-Bop: The Savoy Remixes, in which turntablists like DJ Logic, Basement Boys, and DJ Jazzy Jeff take liberties with these tracks by rearranging them for the digital age. No matter what your feelings concerning remixing experimentation, Re-Bop: The Savoy Originals is a well-chosen primer collection for the jazz novice and a great-sounding disc for the completist.