On lazy Sunday afternoons, if I'm not sleeping, I like to just relax and listen to my favourite old tunes. For the past two decades, acid jazz has been a small genre with a high saturation of talent but little recognition. The bastard child of jazz, hip-hop, funk and downtempo beat music, it's difficult to dig up the undiscovered gems of acid jazz, even today with the vast resources of the internet.
In 1996, before I knew what acid jazz was, I discovered an incredible album that has yet to tarnish over time.
Erace by The Gotee Brothers was a collaborative project between many artists that included a charity foundation to promote equality and fight racism. The history is interesting, as the man leading the project was Toby McKeehan of 90s Christian rock group dc Talk, who was just starting his indie label Gotee Records that has since brought us punk, crunk and hip-hop artists like Relient K, Family Force 5, Grits and L.A. Symphony.
Here's one of my favourites from the album, “Yoknapatawpha (A Mental Mississippi)”. A delicious breakbeat leads the track, which is layered with funky riffs of organ and horns. Other highlights of the album include a complex acoustic guitar instrumental and a rendition of “Why Can't We Be Friends” that surpasses the original War version.
SOUNDS LIKE Alabama 3, The Herbaliser, k-os, The Roots
The Gotee Brothers - Yoknapatawpha (A Mental Mississippi)Download MP3 (YSI)BUY THE ALBUMThe album is out of print, but you can find inexpensive copies of the album from private sellers on Amazon, eBay and MusicStack.
