Tuesday, March 24, 2015

Tuesdays with Media: Sahara 72

There are a lot of different subgenres of jazz.  Some these are ignored and end up fading into the background of history.  With today's example, that happened, but it only applies to the subgenre's title.


At the time that "Sahara 72" was released by the Bobby Hughes Experience on the album Fusa Riot, acid jazz was still a viable form of jazz.  It is generally considered to have been around since the '80s, but in the last decade or so, the name has become less favorable, with many artists opting to call their music jazz funk or jazz rap, or even neo soul.  It's the same kind of music, with elements of funk, hip-hop, and electronica, just with a new name.

Now, I hope that you listened to the song posted today because I'm about to share something that should surprise you, but only if you heard the song: this song is by a Norwegian band.  "Bobby Hughes" is a pseudonym of Espen Horne, who likely thought that he'd be more popular in America if he had a more familiar sounding name.  His style has a nice funk sound to it, but it's also a nice fusion of other genres with some soul-grooves, some Latin beats, some super smooth stylings, and some stuff that I don't even know how to categorize except that it's awesome.

I should point out that to me, all of these songs sound unique and original, but I've been listening to jazz for years -- to the less experienced, it may all sound more similar than I think it is.  That's not a dig at the uninitiated, it's just that I've had more time to notice nuances that others might not.  It's like how my artist grandma can look at a painting and notice techniques and colors that were used that go completely unnoticed by me.

Still, if you want to add some variety to your playlist with some funky Nordic fusion-jazz, I honestly can think of no other options.  But with a band like the Bobby Hughes Experience, what other options could you need?

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