Verve Remixed – Verve
Verve Remixed
(Verve – 2002)
by Raymond Redmond
Verve gave the keys to their storied vaults to some of the more noted DJ’s in the world and let them remix tracks from the great vocalists of jazz. In some cases it works, in some cases they should have been more careful who they let in. The CD starts off well with mixes of Spanish Grease, How Long…, And Who Needs Forever. The Billie Holiday Track Don’t Explain has a very interesting mix, as does Ella Fitzgerald’s Wait ’till You See Him. The UFO remix of Summertime is abysmally boring and unimaginative (keep ’em out of the vault).
Billie Holiday’s Strang Fruit is pretty strange as well… to say the least. Purists won’t like any of this CD. Younger jazzers and others will relate more, but the basic flaw is not in the listeners. The problem is that most DJ’s don’t write music, so the remixes lack proper structure. Next time let’s get some PRODUCERS in there to do this and see what comes out.
