Shades of Blue: Madlib Invades Blue Note [Import]

Track Listings

1. Introduction

2. Slim's Return

3. Distant Land

4. Mystic Bounce

5. Stormy

6. Blue Note Interlude

7. Please Set Me At Ease

8. Funky Blue Note

9. Alfred Lion Interlude

10. Stepping Into Tomorrow

11. Andrew Hill Break

12. Montara

13. Song For My Father

14. Footprints

15. Peace / Dolphin Dance

16. Outro

Editorial Reviews
From URB Magazine
It’s a crate digger’s fantasy: free access to the archives of legendary Blue Note records, plus an open pass to sample and remix nuggets from their collection of classics. Left Coast space cadet Madlib lived out this dream, and the result is a true hip-hop oddity. Falling somewhere between mix CD, remix project, oral history and tribute album, Shades of Blue is, in essence, a love letter from Otis Jackson, Jr. to jazz. Interrupted by shout-outs from his jazz idols and snippets of Blue Note history, the album combines straight-up remixes, skewed cover versions by Madlib (under numerous guises) and one new composition. Of these, it’s the remixes that fare best, as Madlib brings his off-kilter, ear-rattling beats to bear on jazz-funk tracks by Donald Byrd and others. There’s a slightly outdated acid-jazz vibe surrounding the project, but at his best, Madlib’s mix of California dreaminess and underground grit transforms the well-known source material into something that sounds utterly contemporary.

Michael Endelman

Shades of Blue: Madlib Invades Blue Note,Madlib,Toshiba EMI,Jazz

Jazz Music: Shades of Blue: Madlib Invades Blue Note [Import]

Jazz Music: