Colour Club - Colour Club (1994)

Issued in fall 1994, the Colour Club's self-titled JVC debut was an attempt to mix smooth jazz with hip-hop. The lush "Freedom Words" has soundbites of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., with the next track, "The Great Issue," in the same vein. "Trust in Me" has the driving pulse of a Tony! Toni! Toné! track (e.g., "I Feel Good") and background vocals that suggest a hyperactive Take 6. The catchy bass-led "Consumption" recalls Marcus Miller and received smooth jazz radio play. The highlights are "The Cultures of Jazz," "Howbotsumtinlikdis," and the matrimony-themed "Don't Wait Too Long." It was a bold move by JVC, whose biggest artist at the time was Paul Hardcastle, to release this album. Stylistically, it could have been a bid to pick up more urban radio play, though it's questionable how many smooth jazz radio stations "got it" at the time of its initial release.~© Ed Hogan /TiVo