Deep Green

Al Green was the first great soul singer of the '70s and arguably the last great Southern soul singer. With his seductive singles for Hi Records in the early '70s, Green bridged the gap between deep soul and smooth Philadelphia soul. He incorporated elements of gospel, interjecting his performances with wild moans and wails, but his records were stylish, boasting immaculate productions that rolled along with a tight beat, sexy backing vocals, and lush strings. The distinctive Hi Records sound that the vocalist and producer Willie Mitchell developed made Al Green the most popular and influential soul singer of the early '70s, influencing not only his contemporaries, but also veterans like Marvin Gaye. Green was at the peak of his popularity when he suddenly decided to join the ministry in the mid-'70s…

Broadening his musical palette, Grant Green detoured into a number of "theme" sessions in 1962 - the light Latin jazz of The Latin Bit; the country & western standards of Goin' West; and the best of the bunch, the old-time gospel album Feelin' the Spirit. For Feelin' the Spirit, Green takes five traditional, public-domain African-American spirituals (plus the CD bonus track "Deep River") and gives them convincing jazz treatments in a quartet-plus-tambourine setting. Green's light touch and clear tone match very well with the reverent material, and pianist Herbie Hancock is tremendous in support, serving the needs of the music and nailing the bright gospel style perfectly. Similarly, Green's playing never gets too complicated or loses sight of the melodies, yet he never runs short of ideas - which goes to show that Feelin' the Spirit is indeed a labor of love…

Innovatively fusing traditional ethnic musics with state-of-the-art rhythms, the work of Deep Forest was best typified by their 1993 smash "Sweet Lullaby," which brought together the contemporary sounds of ambient techno with the haunting voices of the Pygmies of the central African rain forest…

Blue Breakbeats is an essential collection of six of the funkiest breakbeat heavy songs in Grant Green's deep Blue Note catalog. Prolifically sampled by beat thirsty hip-hop producers and stylistically influential in separating Green from Wes Montgomery's ever-looming shadow, these songs were compiled from Green Is Beautiful, Visions, Alive!, Carryin' On, and The Final Come Down by DJ Smash. While certainly nothing new here for the collector, it's a great starter piece for newcomers and those seeking out the original breaks sampled over and over on late 20th century hip-hop records. Playful grooves and classic drumbeats thump underneath some of the slickest jazz guitar work of the 1970s, while stellar instrumentation alone is worth the price of admission. With it being said that these groundbreaking Blue Note soul/jazz records are the foundation of hip-hop, these cuts are brick-by-brick testimonials.