Release 1.0

Doctor Jazz's Universal Remedy

Kriztal Entertainment, 2004

http://www.piemontegroove.com/en/artisti/doctor-jazzs-universal-remedy

REVIEW BY: Christopher Thelen

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED: 07/09/2004

As much as we try here at The Daily Vault, it is simply impossible for a single reviewer to be completely schooled in every single form of music. You want to talk about world music? That's Duke's department. Modern-day pop? We'd probably funnel that over to AlwaysJB.

So, I have to admit that I am not the world-renowned expert on "trance" music, never having been hip enough to go to the clubs in my younger days. (Well, that, plus I wasn't interested.) But, to quote C. Montgomery Burns, "I know what I hate… and I don't hate this."my_heart_sings_the_harmony_web_ad_alt_250

The "this" in question is Release 1.0 from Italy's Doctor Jazz's Universal Remedy. You don't have to be completely immersed in the world of trance to appreciate the quality of music this quartet creates. For a disc that clocks in at around 68 minutes, the music is solid enough to make the time feel like only a minute has passed.

The group -- vocalist Miss Loulou (memories of Deee-Lite, anyone?), keyboardist Dr. Marcus, sampler Dr. Delavie and saxophonist Dr. Blade (Omigod! Live instrumentation!) -- knows how to lay down a solid beat, and make things interesting, no matter what the tempo of the song is. Granted, after hearing the leadoff track "Milt Shake," I expected that this disc would feature samplings of jazz musicians put to danceable beats. (Actually, that's not a bad idea for a future album, even if Us3 did that many years ago.)

In reality, the absence of pure jazz from the remaining tracks turns out to serve the group well. Tracks like "Groovy Night" (all three versions), "Thank You Very Much" and "Seven Reasons Why" all demonstrate a mastery of the genre. At no time does any one portion of the band feel like they're about to step too far into the forefront; instead, each member's contributions balance with the others well. That's a pretty tough skill to learn, much less master, but Doctor Jazz's Universal Remedy seems to have it down well.

Is Release 1.0 a disc which will light the musical world on fire? I don't believe so. But it is a very entertaining way to spend an hour or so, kicking back with a cosmopolitan and forgetting about all the troubles of life.

Rating: B

User Rating: Not Yet Rated


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© 2004 Christopher Thelen and The Daily Vault. All rights reserved. Review or any portion may not be reproduced without written permission. Cover art is the intellectual property of Kriztal Entertainment, and is used for informational purposes only.