Matthew Krouse
CD of the week
‘The purpose of this album is to invite the world to discover the authentic, dynamic underground sound of the Japanese and European new jazz scene.” Oh, all right then – whatever that means – let’s turn it on.
With such a heady pitch, brashly reckoning that the album is the “first concept album ever”, Bossa Tres … Jazz (Yellow Productions) seems to be definitely worth at least a snatch. Like so many contemporary dance albums it starts with yacking; this time it’s something in friendly Portuguese, then it proceeds to cook.
It’s a double album produced by Bob Sinclair with Yasushi Ide, reconstructed by Masters at Work, and it just doesn’t seem to stop. It ranges from the deepest house tunes to the wildest funk, and from that weepy Astrud Gilberto-style Brazilian vocal to that lazy Je t’aime- style French stuff.
It’s Girl from Ipanema to the point of no return. But it’s not only music, because with the right equipment it’s also a CD-ROM.
The kids of today might be reviving a bit too much of all this Latin rubbish, but if you like the style, this is one of the best yet.