Juno’s series of 12-inch reinventions celebrating its tenth anniversary has thrown up some remarkable gems by names including Urban Soul, Cybertron, Imagination and Faze Action. Number seven is up there with the best, if not the best as Carl Craig’s loose lineup of Motor City jazz musicians and mavericks see one of the finest examples of their 2002 explorations into merging jazz and techno remixed by Henrik Schwarz and Mark E. The original planted Detroit trumpet legend Marcus Belgrave and pianist Geri Allen’s wild flights over a stellar deep house chord progression, all drenched in Craig’s unique brand of electronic soul. Schwarz turns the piano into cataclysmic metor shower riffing, lashed with strings then joined by the brass, bongos and a sinuous guitar. He also contributes a live edit, accentuating the trumpet. Both mixes are fairly jawdropping, then Mark E. steams in, boosting the riff, increasing the deepness and using the strings to build tension. He also contributes a mix which homes in on the strings and piano to atmosphere-building effect. Both sets of mixes are spread over two twelves [the CD including bonus track Confetti Bomb]. Towering stuff which really does take the music onwards and upwards.
5 Out Of 5
Reviewed By: Kris Needs
