fter turning the music world on its ear with its debut album
Hand on the Torch, an inventive, hip-hop retooling of Blue Note's jazz catalog, Us3 is back with its latest effort,
Broadway & 52nd. With
Broadway & 52nd, producer Geoff Wilkinson takes his pioneering jazz/hip-hop hybrid to another level, not content to stick with the ground-breaking formula he concocted for
Hand on the Torch. Mixing and matching live performances with new samples from the Blue Note jazz catalog, daring beat configurations and fresh young rap talent,
Broadway & 52nd presents yet another original creation, channeling the muse of this famed New York street corner-- the original site of Charlie Parker's Birdland.
Hand on the Torch, which spawned the top-ten single "Cantaloop (Flip Fantasia)," is rapidly approaching platinum status in the U.S. and has gone gold in the U.K., Japan, and Canada, making it Blue Note's best-selling jazz album ever. "Us3 takes fusion further than some have ever dreamed," raved Chris Farley in Time, and Entertainment Weekly gave the album an "A+," calling it a "compelling, danceable delight." Vibe deemed
Hand on the Torch "that rare jazz-rap mix that takes jazz's rhythmic kick to the front of the house," and The Wall Street Journal called it "the best extended marriage of jazz and rap to date."
Created over the course of two years, during which time Wilkinson split with his original Us3 partner Mel Simpson,
Broadway & 52nd was the result of some serious soul searching and catalog scouring on the part of Wilkinson, whose days as an underground London deejay led to his producing career.
"People say you've got your whole life to make your first album and six months to make your second when you've had a successful first one," says Wilkinson. "I think the delay has led to this album being a lot stronger than it might have been if we followed the first one up very quickly."
"I've gone deeper into Blue Note's back catalog to open a point of access to jazz for people who might not know where to start on their own," he explains. "I've used more obscure tunes to try to push people further into it."
Showcasing the rapping skills of East Coast newcomers KCB and Shabaam -- who was introduced to Wilkinson by old-school legend Chubb Rock --
Broadway & 52nd takes on a decidedly worldly flavor, with British studio musicians layering sounds over Wilkinson's carefully selected Blue Note samples and the rappers' verbal renderings.
"It has always been my intention to switch gears and change vocalists from album to album," says Wilkinson. "Much in the same way as Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers. Blakey would bring in new blood each time he created a record, and the approach keeps things more interesting."
Broadway & 52nd is in many ways a departure from
Hand on the Torch. One can hear the genre stretching on such tracks as "Sheep," a direct descendent from the poetry and delivery style of the beatnik era, and "Snakes," where Wilkinson combines an unusual 5/4 time signature with rap vocals and unusual eastern sax licks. "I wanted to create a 5/4 time signature on the first album but thought it might be too early so I debuted it here with 'Snakes'," says Wilkinson. "I've never heard a rapper rap in 5/4 before. It's exciting because I believe it's a first." After inspiring Shabaam to experiment with jazz poetry on "Sheep," and peppering the album with Middle Eastern horn references on tracks such as "Thinking About Your Body," "Snakes," and "Hymn for Her," Wilkinson continues paying transworld tribute on "Caught Up In A Struggle." "Struggle" features a sample of Horace Silver's "Sayonara Blues," an homage to the people of Japan.
Having played on
Hand on the Torch, saxophonists Ed Jones and Steve Williamson, trombonist Dennis Rollins, and guitarist Tony Remy reappear on
Broadway & 52nd. The magnetic Jones will again tour with the group when it visits the U.S. this Spring. Meanwhile, the addition of keyboardists Gareth Williams and Tim Vine, saxophonist Mike Williams, and melodica player Jonathon Gee brings more new blood to the proceedings.
Prior to Us3's inception in the early 90's, attempts had been made to bridge the gap between jazz and hip-hop. But none were met with the success enjoyed by
Hand on the Torch, which not only coupled the two genres, but also projected, more than any similar project, a deep knowledge of jazz.
The pressure was definitely on when creating its follow-up. "I was really conscious of finding rappers who had something to say," Wilkinson says. "We've accomplished that massively with KCB and Shabaam. They've got stories to tell and the delivery to tell it." "I like the philosophy of bringing new people in," he explains. "The music doesn't get stagnant and it keeps things fresher."
Wilkinson, who grew up in Yorkshire, England, which he describes merely as "hilly and wet," never expected to be a producer, a job cemented when Blue Note Records handed him their catalog after hearing one of his early dance club creations. In fact, Wilkinson received his college degree in geography, which despite his current occupation, hasn't been a total loss. "I never get lost," he says, "and I can tell the weather by looking at the clouds."