The influence of jazz on hip-hop is never as evident as on cuts of the latter that sample the former, and that legacy in transition is rarely as fully fleshed out as on Turntable Jazz, a recent podcast by DJ ZedVantz. The set packs together 11 cuts, including a Billie Holiday remix and more great acoustic bass lines, plinkety piano riffs, stripped-bare beats, and guttural scat than you can throw a sampler at (MP3). If the Cotton Club had a resident DJ, Turntable Jazz is what he’d sound like on a good night. The full track listing of the ZedVantz podcast is as follows:
“You Let Me down Billie Holiday RMX” – Free the Robots
“I’ve Got That Tune” – Chinese Man
“Good Lord” – Kormac
“First Met You” – Funky Fresh Few
“Fire” – A-ko
“My Spider Walks Again” – Mooch
“Another Gone Record” – Rube
“Big Band Jump” – Rube
“Soul ‘69 (part 2)” – A-ko
“Artichaut” – C.M.R.
“Swing Set” – Cut Chemist & Numark
More info on the podcast at rhythm-incursions.com, which includes a brief and informative interview with the DJ. More on ZedVantz, who’s based out of Toronto, Canada, at myspace.com/djzedvantz.