Track Listing

1. Round Midnight - Duran Y Garcia
2. Original Oddstep - Vert (1)
3. Coffee Talk - Jazzanova
4. Jazzion - South Froggies
5. Chok-A-Blok Avenue - Barrio Jazz Gang
6. Yes It's True - Taxi (1)
7. Lo Fi Nu Jazz - Steiner, Ruben
8. Godsdog - De Phazz
9. At Last - Megashira
10. Theme To The Last Puma - Simmonds, Ian
11. Style - Jet Set Productions
12. GUBNUF - Wesseltoft, Bugge
13. Ocean Games - Funk 4 Sale
14. Deep In It - St. Germain
15. Les Courants d'Air - Grand Tourism

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #50721 in Music
• Released on: 2005-03-11
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .17 pounds

Customer Reviews

Addictively good...
Hidden in amongst the recent avalanche of "chill out" and "jazz café" albums - many of which should be filed under "distinctly boring" - is this French release put together by Olivier Delachanal & Fabien Barrau. Bravely sub-titled as "the finest electro-jazz compilation" it is in fact pretty close to what it claims: virtually all of the selections are first rate, most are difficult to get hold of and - here's the trick that so many compiler's miss - the whole set fits together as a seamless whole. Exhibiting on the way through more than enough real treats to show exactly what modern electro-jazz can deliver, it just rolls along leaving you itching to hit the replay button. Re-file under "addictively good".

Fantastic nu jazz collection from start to finish...
I hope that the 38 people who apparently found the above review helpful weren't also under the illusion that this IS a St Germain/Ludovic Navarre album.

Far from it. Check the tracklisting and you will see a very high quality (and relatively cheap)collection of European nu-jazz gems.

Highlights have to be the Jazzanova "Coffee Talk" remix (only available on a "reworks from Japan 12"), the silky smooth vocals of Taxi's "Yes it's true", and De Phazz's cheeky sample-fest "Godsdog", which leads perfectly into the summery latin d&b of Megashira "At last".

Then there's the Rubin Steiner track, "Lo-Fi Nu Jazz, with some fantastic stop-start percussion to keep things funky. Ian Simmonds "Theme to the last Puma" surprised me too, having found his dire synth playing on "Return to X" too much for my head.

In fact, the only dissappointing track I found was, funnily enough, the ONLY St Germain song on the album. You know exactly where it's going from the first few notes and it then it goes on, and on...Same can be said too of Bugge Wesseltoft's G.U.B.N.U.F which sounds like it should have been released when acid jazz had just been invented.

But 2 out of 15 ain't bad!

The spine of the sleeve states that this is the "finest electro-jazz compilation". Not quite in my opinion, but not far off. I'd certainly recommend any of the Future Sound of Jazz comps on Compost, Da lata, Jazzanova's "In Between" if this kind of stuff gets your toes tapping.

Buy it and enjoy!

if you like Saint Germain then...
I bought this on the assumption that it was Saint Germain, but as pointed out elsewhere it is not. However it does give a good feel for where SG is coming from even if its nothing to do with him.
Not being a serious jazz fan my faves differ from others, so for me Bugge Wesseltoft's G.U.B.N.U.F is a stand-out track and there are several other excellents present.
I agree that the (for real) Saint Germain track (to which I would add the Terry Callier piece) seem out of place.
Saint Germain live is currently one of the most blistering sets around, this cd gives us an idea of how such things come to be. Highly recommended jazz for non jazz purists.