Russell Gunn - Ethnomusicology (1998)

Ethnomusicology, Vol. 1, one of a growing number of jazz/hip-hop hybrid projects, finds trumpeter Russell Gunn enlisting the talents of turntablist DJ Apollo. The most prevalent sound, however, is that of a solid jazz group that includes the likes of tenor saxophonist Gregory Tardy and pianist/keyboardist James Hurt. Amid substantial blowing over hard-hitting, upbeat funk grooves and a smattering of swing, one hears samples from Jeru the Damaja, Kurtis Blow, and Run DMC, as well as a brief voiceover from KRS-One (and another from Wynton Marsalis -- just one overt example of the diversity of Gunn's influences). "The Blackwidow Blues," written by Branford Marsalis, is based on a classic Boogie Down Productions loop. Borrowing a common hip-hop conceit, Gunn begins the album on a faux-pedagogical note, greeting listeners (in a distorted voice) as his students at "Groid University" and making tongue-in-cheek reference to his Ph.D. in "extreme groidness." The term "groid" is left unexplained, even though it seems to loom large in Gunn's vision -- it's the name of his publishing company, for instance. DJ Apollo's presence winds up being somewhat peripheral, although he's given the floor on "DJ Apollo Interlude," 22 seconds of fierce cutting and scratching. But when Gunn ends this snippet with a canned group exclamation -- "Wow!" -- it diminishes the moment with a palpable self-consciousness. Unfortunately, that's not the album's only self-conscious moment. Yet there are a handful of strong tracks, including "Folkz," a cover of Woody Shaw's "Woody 1: On the New Ark," and the closing "Mr. Hurt," the latter a dizzying reinvention of Cole Porter's "What Is This Thing Called Love." The saccharine R&B ballad "Doll," on the other hand, is a dud. As is often the case in the realm of new ideas, Gunn makes confident strides but stumbles along the way. Both he and the jazz/hip-hop genre are still finding their legs.~Ethnomusicology, Vol. 1 Review by David R. Adler