Gang Starr
Jazz Thing
With the original UK 7" of this release now as rare as hen's teeth, and with the group having recently reformed for one last album together, the Mr Bongo replica re-release of this 1990 masterpiece by Gang Starr couldn't be more timely. While both versions presented here have common elements, the 'Movie Mix' - so-named for the song's appearance on the soundtrack to Spike Lee's mythic jazz biopic 'Mo' Better Blues' - goes in a few different directions to the 'Video Mix'. Rather than just drop in an instrumental for the B-side, DJ Premier instead shows his versatility by switching up the base track (Kool & The Gang's 1971 'Dujii') and layering in other samples. In more ways than one, his virtuosity here echoes the improvisation of a jazz musician, akin to Denzel Washington's Bleak in the movie.