Favorite Things, John Coltrane
Coltrane has been a great influence, not just on me but arguably on all contemporary jazz artists. And not just in terms of horn playing either. If you had to sum him up, Coltrane is a visionary who took the art form to new heights. This song is so cool because it has such a universal message but it's also incredibly personal. It also has a melody which stays in your head.
Flight Time, Donald Byrd
When I came up with the idea for Jazzmatazz in '93, I was viewed as just a hip-hop player. Thanks to the help of Donald Byrd, who put word out in the jazz community, my desire to forge a union with them was welcomed. This song is reflective of his feelings about touring and travelling when he signed to Blue Note. Travelling is quite crucial to Byrd, he even has his own pilot's licence. He's known as the definitive trumpet player of jazz, but to me he has also been a mentor.
Expansion, Lonnie Liston Smith
A lot of these guys who I worked with did more than just straightforward jazz. The song goes through different changes, it contracts and exchanges. It expands. It's something of an understatement to say Liston Smith was a pioneer of jazz/funk fusion in the 70s, and I'm proud that I've had the pleasure of working with him.
Take 5, Dave Brubeck
When I performed at the Coltrane festival in Philadelphia in 2006, we covered this song but interpreted it in our own, hip-hop influenced, way. It's a classic which has been covered so many times that we wanted to give something of ourselves to it. This is part of the reason why so many people outside of Brubeck's fans and even jazz know this song when they hear it, because it's been remade with different vocals and instrumentals so many times, but the melody remains the same. And it's a classic.
Everybody Loves The Sunshine, Roy Ayers
Ayers brought the funk and he brought the soul. This song was sampled by Mary J Blige and it was a direct interpretation, but just very slow and relaxed. The vibe of Ayers' playing is unique and instantly recognisable.
Watermelon Man, Herbie Hancock
Watermelon Man has a cool rhythm and a Caribbean rhythm, and from that perspective Hancock was another fusionist, Liston Smith. He was also one of the most extraordinary pianists ever.
Breezing, George Benson
Benson crossed over from the jazz world to real commercial fame but without compromising or leaving his roots behind - for that he has a lot of respect. He had his finger on his pulse; he didn't overdo it or forget where he started from. His force in music is natural. And if you talk jazz guitar, you're talking about Benson.
Night Crawler, Bob James
We (Guru and Solar) had the pleasure of working with James on Jazzmatazz 4 for reinterpolation of this song - "inspired by" is what we say. Basically, we took the key components of Night Crawler and we reworked them, spending long hours mastering it so as to duplicate the original 70s sound as best we could. Then James played an amazing keyboard solo and that really finished it off.
Friends and Strangers, Ronny Laws
When he comes to Ronny Laws, he's just such a brilliant, brilliant jazz musician that you can't make an album inspired by legends and not include him. Laws brings something cutting edge to his music, he intrigues people. He is also a beautiful person who I feel humbled by.
Love Supreme, John Coltrane
Let's finish where we started because Coltrane takes me back to Harlem, to the 1930s and 40s, when black people were in a different state of mind. There was a collective optimism that his music represents, and this song brings me in touch with it. It's as if we're still there, at the Savoy or the Apollo theatre. The thing that Coltrane represents is the kind of spirituality that we are trying to revive with Jazzmatazz. Coltrane was an artist who compromised and sacrificed for his art, the opposite of selling out. Hip-hop today is not real; it's synthetic. What we're trying to do is continue that sense of integrity and that passion.
