Category Archives: Quotes

Recorded in the mould of the heady Jazz Funk styles of the late seventies ad early eighties ,loving it’s feel and the way it has wonderfully been put together. Personal favourites include ‘hey hey yeah yeah’’Song for Lonnie’’Buzzin’ and the wonderful cover of Freddie Hubbards ‘Little sunflower’.

This is the second album from this great Dutch group and on the ever-consistent label ‘Social Beats’ (also Dutch), who, currently, can do no wrong. Let’s make no bones about it, this album is aimed straight at the dancefloor and hit’s the bullseye. Dj’s with no patience will get frustrated because there are so many tracks one could play (Day By Day; Perugia; Max Roach; Broad Minds and the funky ‘What The Bleep’) but it’s also varied enough, tempo and style-wise, to suit the home-listener too. As you’d expect from the Dutch – with their great jazz heritage, the musicianship is outstanding, but there must be a special mention of the singer Linda Bloemhard, who shines throughout the album. – 8 out of 10

The Jazzinvaders project is a collaboration between producer/percussionist Phil Martin and members of famous Dutch jazz outfit The Houdini’s. Rejecting the producer-centric abstractions of the nu-jazz/broken beat set, ‘Up & Out’ is a groove-centred attempt at updating the classic latin and jazz-funk sounds of the 1960s and 1970s for the 21st century. This is a band with their sights set firmly on the dancefloor. Opener ‘Bonga Bonga Jazz’ sets the tone – a propulsive concoction of Latin riffs and funky horn stabs driven forward by an elastic monster of a bassline. Elsewhere there are nods to the pioneering fusions of Fela Kuti and the Jazzanova crew as well as some lovely vocal turns from Mette Burild and Linda Bloemhard. But for all its infectious vitality and the nods to recent dancefloor trends, ‘Up & Out’ remains a very retro affair that throws up no real surprises. Luckily what the set lacks in invention it more than makes up for in sheer exuberance – a welcome reminder of just how funky jazz can be.