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by Frederick Bernas
In 1992 Geoff Wilkinson produced the groundbreaking jazz/hip-hop crossover track Cantaloop (Flip Fantasia)," gaining international recognition with his Us3 project. Fourteen years and six albums down the line he's still going strong, but it could all have been very different. Here he tells AAJ contributor Frederick Bernas about the highs and lows of his long and convoluted musical journey.
For a man whose achievements are so widely respected, Wilkinson comes across as a genuine, open person--not ...
read moreUs3: Questions
by James Taylor
I'm a child of the hip-hop generation, so a lot of great music, I'm not ashamed to say, came to me through hip-hop. Us3 turned me on to Herbie Hancock in the same way that Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg turned me on to Parliament and DJ Shadow turned me on to David Axelrod.So imagine my excitement when I heard that Us3 was resurfacing, retooled with a new lineup behind mastermind Geoff Wilkinson, with their first stateside release ...
read moreUs3: Broadway & 52nd
by Chris M. Slawecki
It's hard to imagine a more hallowed jazz address than broadway & 52nd , the site of the original Birdland.
In 1993, British underground DJ turned hip-hop producer Geoff Wilkinson shook up the jazz world with Hand On The Torch, a collection of hip-hop and rap tunes based on samples from classic Blue Note recordings, not only with the label's blessing, but released by Blue Note. Cantaloop (Flip Fantasia)" went top ten, and exposed Herbie Hancock's Cantaloupe Island" ...
read moreUs3: Hand On The Torch
by Jim Santella
Much of the talk about Us3, hip hop, and its mixture of rap with jazz has centered around the sampling of legendary jazz tunes. While rap remains the centerpiece, jazz sampling takes a back seat to the fine mainstream jazz presented by the members of Us3, including trumpeter Gerard Presencer, guitarist Tony Remy, trombonist Dennis Rollins, pianist Matt Cooper, and saxophonists Ed Jones, Mike Smith & Steve Williamson. The arranging, programming, and effects are created by Mel Simpson and Geoff ...
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