Us3 Hand On The Torch Rarest

The jazz/hip-hop fusion collective Us3 scored a major hit in 1994 with 'Cantaloop (Flip Fantasia),' a song that displayed the group's fondness for sampling classic recordings on the Blue Note label (in this case, Herbie Hancock's 'Cantaloupe Island'). The group was founded in London in 1991 when concert promoter and jazz writer Geoff Wilkinson met Mel Simpson, who was writing music for television shows and ad jingles and had once played keyboards with John Mayall. The two produced an independent single, 'Where Will We Be in the 21st Century?,' which sold less than 250 copies.

In 1992, their song 'The Band That Played the Boogie' attracted the attention of Blue Note owner Capitol Records, which gave Simpson and Wilkinson free rein to sample anything from the catalog. The two immediately went to work, hiring several musicians and rappers Kobie Powell and Rahsaan Kelly, with Tukka Yoot joining later. The sessions resulted in the hit 'Cantaloop' and the album Hand on the Torch.

Features Bonus Track and 6-Page Deluxe Packaging! Hand on the Torch is the debut album for the jazz-rap group Us3. It received much attention because of its. Hand on the Torch by Us3 (CD, 1993, Capitol Records (Label)) EX Condition! #V108 4.5 out of 5 stars - Hand on the Torch by Us3 (CD.

The group toured Japan and Europe, gradually weaning itself away from using samples in a live setting, and played a well-received show at the 1993 Montreux Jazz Festival. Hand on the Torch was ignored by most jazz publications, but was chosen Album of the Year by Japan's Swing Journal, and Us3 were named Jazz Musicians of the Year by Britain's The Independent. After a nearly three-year delay, Us3 returned in 1997 with Broadway & 52nd, an album that received positive reviews but failed to generate a hit. The band -- though it was mostly Wilkinson and guests at this point -- continued to release new material into the new millennium, however, including 2005's Questions and 2007's Say What!? A 20th anniversary edition of Hand on the Torch appeared in 2013, featuring a bonus disc of remixes and instrumentals.

~ Steve Huey.

I popped this in on a whim, after finding it in my collection thinking I had sold it long ago. This is excellent, I didn't remember this being that good.

Hip Hop/Jazz that holds its own against Gang Starr's Step In The Arena, Brand New Heavies' Heavy Rhyme Experience and A Tribe Called Quest's Midnight Marauders and Guru's classic Jazzmatazz, Volume 1. This features extensive Blue Note sampling and more than formidable MCing in Rashaan Kelly and Kobie Powell (with a little Reggae flavor on one track from Tukka Yoot). One track even sounds a bit like slam poetry.

A forgotten genre classic. This album has aged really well. What US3 did was prove that you could mix hip-hop and jazz, and they did a great job of it. 'Cantaloop' was a massive hit and is still fresh today. Within the sampled beats and bass there is some great solo trumpet, saxophone and piano to give a bit of flavour for that nu-jazz generation.

The lyrics are your basic 'I'm-a-better-rapper-than-you' though. The fact that the music is great makes it all worth it. I do wish there was an all instumental album. Download command and conquer generals zero hour crack. Credit karma login. A surprise track is 'The Darkside'. It doesn't really have any jazz elements in it but it instead has this creepy feel to it as the song takes you through the 'eyes of a black man'. This album is something that was really hard for US3 to follow up with but I'm glad to see them still around.