Brooklyn-based producer, composer and keyboardist Jesse Fischer has already won us over at SBHQ. But not one to rest on his laurels, Fischer has revealed the results of his latest remix project.
"Afro Blues" by Takuya Kuroda — whose Blue Note debut Rising Son was released earlier this year — sounds completely reinvented after Fischer's handling of the track. Where the Japanese-born, Brooklyn-based trumpeter and composer serves up more than seven minutes of straight-laced jazz — caressed by the tender touch of cymbals and kept up-tempo thanks to light drum tapping — the new version adds several more elements. There's an overabundance of funk, more pulsating percussion and space age Moog synths that take the melody down a number of moody tangents. Still playful and true to the improvisational roots of the genre, the music of "Afro Blues (Jesse Fischer Remix)" sways this way and that way, but still holds on to an anchor beat. What's more, Fischer's musicianship gets further put on display thanks to Hallelujah-worthy handclaps and expert guitar tricks, which manage to play games while simultaneously playing notes.
Credit goes to both artists for delivering equally pleasure-filled pieces of music, but kudos to Fischer for reimagining what was already a complex composition with an easy-to-access groove.
