Dan’s last post focussed on Bill Evans’ version of ‘Theme From “Spartacus”‘ from the album Conversations With Myself where Evans overdubs three piano tracks to create a sort of musical conversation. This idea of overdubbing, specifically within a jazz context, made me think of an album that was released almost 50 years later but adopts a similar approach. That album is Miles Away by The Last Electro-Acoustic Space Jazz & Percussion Ensemble, released on Stones Throw Records in 2010.
The Last Electro-Acoustic Space Jazz & Percussion Ensemble is a fictional group and the brain-child of Madlib (real name Otis Jackson Jr.), a hip hop producer now considered a legend in underground circles and personal musical inspiration. Hailing from Oxnard, California and growing up in a musical household (his father Otis Jackson Sr. was a soul singer and his uncle the jazz trumpeter Jon Faddis), Madlib is a producer of many musical hats and has released music under a variety of aliases. The Loopdigga, the Beat Konducta, DJ Rels, Quasimoto… these are just a few of the many aliases Madlib has recorded under. It’s safe to say the man is prolific.
Miles Away is one of the chapters in his Yesterday’s New Universe jazz project where, taking a break from samplers and chopping up records, Madlib released a string of self-produced jazz albums attributed to numerous fictional groups and musicians. Inspired by the sounds of the 60s and 70s, Miles Away consists of ten tracks, each one dedicated to a different musical hero. Like much of Madlib’s music, the album has a sort of educational function and acts as a springboard for further musical exploration.
The track ‘Mystic Voyage’ is Madlib’s reinterpretation of the Roy Ayer’s original of the same name released in 1975. Roy Ayers was a vibraphone player best known for the soul-jazz and jazz-funk albums he released throughout the 70s. Madlib retains the funk of the original but loosens it up significantly, adding grit, a heavy dose of low-end and an undeniable hip hop swagger, three essential ingredients for a Madlib beat. Through use of overdubbing, Madlib manages to fuse this group of fictional jazz cats together into a coherent whole, producing a fresh new take on a well-known classic.
Find more jazz-inflected hip hop in our ‘It’s A Vibe’ playlist over on Spotify.
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