Search - Jiva :: Sun & Moon

What a Terrific Album

bordersj2 | Boston | 02/06/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"It's been tough to find a lot of information about this group. They're out of Atlanta and this release, from what I've learned, is a Japanese only import. So that explains why it's a bit costly here. Moreover they've been around for quite a while, flying completely under the main-stream radar. They've also had a few random 12" cuts around being remixed from a diverse variety of producers/DJ's, like Thomas Naim and Joyce Hoze or "Tom & Joy". This album was released on Giant Step Records, the same label that I believe put out the "Soul Sessions" series, Nuyorican Soul and Donnie.



This is a terrific album. The best way I can describe Jiva's sound is really like fusion - a mix of Incognito/Fertile Ground/Brand New Heavies with a splash of bossa. It starts out smoothly with Matra 1 before the guitar preludes the title track, which is like a splash of live musicianship - it has amazing energy. Then there's a sweet bossa with "Stars", which glides more like a summer breeze. The track reminds me of an updated but even classier Francesco De Masi Italian bossa track. That's followed up with "I Realized", another strong song which really does feed off of a great vibe before "Free Falling" cuts on, which has another bossa undertone but this time with English lyrics. The highlight and probably most popular track of theirs was "Love Chooses Lovers", which has a distinctly 70's fusion feel to it. The prelude is noce before the wave hits and you've got the gliding bossa carrying the track.



I love the concept of their sound, and do recommend this. 4.5 stars, as I wish the album was a bit longer (it's just over 37 minutes long) - maybe adding in a few of the remixes out there but that rounds up to five and the focus with them is clearly on the quality of the music. You can get a few snippets of their music on the "Soul Sessions" series along with Boss House N' Breaks vol 3, and I'd imagine a few of the nu-bossa series will feature pieces of this album over the summer. If you do like this, you may like music by Incognito, Fertile Ground and Brand New Heavies but you'll probably also like music by Soul Quality Quartet, Tom & Joy, Rosalia De Souza's "Garota Moderna" and maybe S-Tone Inc. and Joyce. Definitely keep an eye open t osee some of these on the remix table & on vinyl as well."