Jazzanova: In Between

This six-man collective hailing from Berlin, Germany are pretty much the alpha and omega of nu-jazz, broken beat, or whatever else you want to call it. They are one of the original collectives to shape and meld the nu-jazz genre, and they are still coaxing its malleable boundaries into new configurations and alloys. Meanwhile there are a lot of other producers chasing their shadow, but it all comes full circle with Jazzanova. Incredibly, for a group that has such an established sound and following, In Between is their debut artist album. In Between will both surprise and delight Jazzanova’s fans. The same deep, soul and jazz vibes that hallmarked previous work are still present, but their beatscapes range from the shuffling dancefloor patter of "Another New Day" to the syncopated, hip-hop influenced "The One-Tet" featuring the rhymes of Capital A. Ursula Rucker lends her provoking vocals to the delicate funk of "Keep Falling". Flossing his sensuous vocals like the D’Angelo of the knob-twiddling set, Vikter Duplaix melts his tones over "Soon" and "Wasted Time". Jazzanova has produced a definitive album that spans genres, timezones and moods, but remains distinctively and effortlessly their own. Others will have to keep on chasing.