Search - Various Artists :: Stolen Moments: Red Hot & Cool

Hip-hop, Acid Jazz and Coltrane music

Enrique Torres | San Diegotitlan, Califas | 03/01/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"First off let it be known by anyone reading this that I am not a big fan of rap. However, I have dabbled in listening to it as far back as the Run DMC days and like some of it. Certain artists have appealed to me in this genre, most notably Tu Pac and more recently A Tribe Called Quest. With the merging of of jazz and rap I was further intrigued and pleased with such artists as Digable Planets who breathed fresh air into the genre. The immergence of Acid Jazz and groups like Us3 also piqued my interest. That said, there are things I love about this disc and things I have to pass on. Conceptually it is a worthwhile venture as it is part of the Red, Hot + Cool series that benefiits AIDS. If the message in the music saves a few people and the money gets to AIDS organizations world wide than props to the musicians for dedicating their net proceeds. The merging of old school jazz and their musicians with a younger modern urban hip-hop style is innovative and for the most part works. There is enough good on this disc to outweigh the bad. Good stuff includes the international flair given jazz bass legend Ron Carter, who plays double bass here, by MC Solar who raps in a soft French style, Spearheads cool vocals over a jazzy funky beat that asks a question concerning AIDS "How am I gonna live my life if I'm positive , is it gonna be a negative"? in a story like fasion that follows him from being with lovers to going to the clinic and getting his results in the song entitled "Positive." The hip hop nation is represented equally with old jazz musicians for some very interesting results. "Flying High in The Brooklyn Sky" pairs a grey haired veteran Lester Bowie on trumpet with half his age Digable Planets for a smooth song. "Stolen Moments" by UFO is incredible with samples from Oliver Nelson's big band infused with the computer programming of Ayumi Obinata, mixed with some nice vibraphone and violin work spaced between vocals by Time Five all under the guidance of the United Future Organization trio of Tadashi Yabe, Toshio Matuura and Raphael Sebbag. The Roots are coupled with one of the grandfathers of Acid Jazz(before it was called that) Roy Ayers who plays vibes and a variety of other contributions for a song that probably appeals more to the younger hip-hop urbanite. Original funkmaster Bernie Worrel plays with the Groove Collective for a funky jazzy tune that is a multi-layered synthesis of horn interplay that has moments of Middle Eastern flight fancy. Us3 keeps it funky with tenor saxophonist Joshua Redman on "The Scream" with samples from the classic song by Pharoah Sanders(that is him on the cover) entitled "Upper Egypt and Lower Egypt." Not so coincidentally Pharoah Sanders is featured twice more on "This is Madness" and the trip -hop mix of "The Creator Has A Master Plan." Originally the people who made this disc wanted to include "A Love Supreme" by John Coltrane and give it the same "modern" treatment but this idea was dropped. Instead Branford Marsalis was asked to play the Coltrane masterpiece suite. Marsalis responded to the task but with the thought that this was his version and that he was not trying to play Coltrane like the original. The result is a beautiful addition to the Coltrane legacy. The second disc includes the Marsalis version of " A Love Supreme" that comes in at just over eighteen minutes for a recognizable version but clearly distinct. Also on the second disc the wife of John Coltrane, Alice Coltrane, contributes an untouched "A Love Supreme" taken from her 1971 disc "Alice Coltrane with World Strings Galaxy"(the original Lp featured Peter Max original art) in which she plays various keyboards in a pretty spacey tribute. Pharoah Sanders "The Creator Has A Master Plan" takes on another dimension, full of a world music vibe that barely sounds like the original since it is missing the Leon Thomas vocals and only five minutes in length. The mixing of chaotic urban messages and sounds with the Middle Eastern influenced horn of Sanders is refreshing and beautiful in it's own right. I play the second disc often primarily because of the Marsalis playing of Coltrane and the Sanders classic revamped in a trip -hop manner. There are far more good songs on this two disc set than bad, plenty of music for your money and it all goes for a good cause so therefore I recommend this disc to acid jazz and hip-hop fans alike. A companion disc is also available entitled Red Hot on Impulse."

Serious Stuff With a Serious Message

Gadgtfreak | Houston,Texas | 01/30/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Excellent collaboration of jazz,world and rap artists. Driving beats, heavy rhythms. A must have for any serious collector.
This is a serious cd for a serious disease."

Great Music, Great Cause

Peter Downing | Antigonish, NS | 03/11/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Firstly, the whole Red Hot series is a worthwhile endeavor, and the whole set gets a lot of credit from me for seeking to address the AIDS crisis, both financially and artistically.



Secondly the music here is top class. Highlights for me include hearing Umar Bin Hassan of the Last Poets alongside Pharaoh Sanders, The Watts Prophets collaborating with Don Cherry, The Pharcyde talking up condom use, and the Digable Planets working out on record again. None of the main album tracks misses a beat in my opinion, and even if the bonus cd is less recommendable it doesn't detract from the overall quality of the album.



The fact that the artists are directly confronting AIDS and issues of sexuality, particularly as they express themselves in North American black culture, makes this a landmark album. An absolute must-listen."