Hip-hop/jazz fusionisters Us3 have forged the most elaborate union between the styles since the early days of Gang Starr and A Tribe Called Quest. Blue Note's vast catalog gives them a huge advantage over several similar groups in terms of source material, and classic sounds by Art Blakey, Horace Silver, and Herbie Hancock provide zest and fiber to their narratives. Indeed, when things falter, it's because the raps aren't always that creative. They are serviceable and sometimes ca   [ read more ]

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CD $44.63

You remember Us3 -- they had a huge club hit in 1994 with their acid jazz appropriation of Herbie Hancock's "Cantaloupe Island," which they muscled up with modern beats and samples and titled "Cantaloop (Flip Fantasia)." That single gave the venerable Blue Note label its first-ever platinum album. Subsequent releases made less of a commercial impact, and the original Us3 duo of Geoff Wilkinson and Mel Simpson eventually fell apart. Now Wilkinson is working solo and releasing mu   [ read more ]

CD $44.63

CD $44.63

For Say What!?, Geoff Wilkinson -- producer, mixer, and the man behind Us3 -- does something almost completely different: he leaves everything pretty much the same. He was so pleased with the mix of talent he brought together for 2006's Schizophonic that for the first time he decided not to play musical chairs, and left the unit intact. Although a tad less stylistically adventurous than Us3's last set, Say What!? is arguably more grounded and coherent in sound. Within, the band explores th   [ read more ]

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Though Us3's second album Broadway & 52nd lacks a single song as infectious as "Cantaloop (Flip Fantasia)," it holds up better as an album. Geoff Wilkinson is better able to fuse his samples and hip-hop rhythms with jazz sensibilities, and while the rappers weigh the record down with inane rhymes, the production is quite intoxicating. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide

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You remember Us3 -- they had a huge club hit in 1994 with their acid jazz appropriation of Herbie Hancock's "Cantaloupe Island," which they muscled up with modern beats and samples and titled "Cantaloop (Flip Fantasia)." That single gave the venerable Blue Note label its first-ever platinum album. Subsequent releases made less of a commercial impact, and the original Us3 duo of Geoff Wilkinson and Mel Simpson eventually fell apart. Now Wilkinson is working solo and releasing mu   [ read more ]

CD $15.18