An Ordinary Day in an Unusual Place | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | 15 May 2001 | |||
Genre | Jazz, hip hop | |||
Length | 1:15:53 | |||
Label | Boutique/Universal Jazz [1] | |||
Producer | J.C. Concato and Geoff Wilkinson | |||
Us3 chronology | ||||
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An Ordinary Day in an Unusual Place is the third album by the jazz-rap group Us3, released in 2001. [2] [3] DJ First Rate, Michelob, and Alison Crokett contributed to the album. [1] It was recorded in the home studio of Geoff Wilkinson. [4]
The album's first single was "You Can't Hold Me Down". [5] Us3 promoted the album by playing the 2001 London Jazz Festival. [6]
Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music | [7] |
The Sun-Herald | [4] |
The Sydney Morning Herald | [8] |
Times & Transcript | [9] |
The Weekend Australian | [10] |
The Weekend Australian called the album Us3's "most impressive outing yet, developing what began as a simple fusion of hip-hop, rap and jazz into a distinctively funky hybrid." [10] The Sydney Morning Herald deemed it "another classy blend of jazz and beats ... intriguing yet accessible." [8]
The Times & Transcript thought that "the tunes are mellow, with jazzy beats and jazzy bass and drums, but with rap style vocals and with the occasional instruments native to other countries, such as the sitar and the sundri." [9] The Newcastle Herald stated: "Not a masterpiece but a strong album of brassy jazz grooves, mellow raps and sweet soul vocals." [11]
Chart (2001) | Peak position |
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Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista) [12] | 40 |
Jazzmatazz, Volume 1: An Experimental Fusion of Hip-Hop and Jazz, is the debut solo studio album by American hip hop recording artist Guru. It was released on May 18, 1993, by Chrysalis Records. The recording sessions took place at D&D Studios, in New York. The album was produced by Guru, who also served as executive producer with Duff Marlowe and Patrick Moxey.
Hand on the Torch is the debut studio album by British jazz rap group Us3. It received widespread attention due to its mixture of jazz with hip-hop music, with material from popular jazz musicians of the 20th century being reimagined. The samples used on the album are from old Blue Note Records classics: the most famous was Herbie Hancock's "Cantaloupe Island", which Us3 used on the track "Cantaloop ". It came out as a single having two different music videos.
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