My first introduction to Jazzanova was through their remix of Ian Pooley's "What's Your Number" which was (to me) a surprise choice for Muzik magazine's remix of the year in 1999. I say surprise, because I hadn't heard of it. I assumed it would be like the Daft Punk remix of another Ian Pooley track so kind of housey / techy, that kind of thing. So to find they had taken it it off in a jazzy / broken beat style was both eye opening and very pleasantly surprising.
They then really caught my attention again in early 2001 when Gilles Peterson opened his show with "That Night". I knew from the instant I heard it (plus the repeated wearing out of the tape) that I had just heard one of the records of the decade. This view was cemented a few weeks later when Gilles did a special show from Plastic People with Alex doing a special mix. About the third track in, he started teasing me with those intro vocals for a minute or so over the previous track and then dropped the full version. Although my bedroom was about 6ft square, I am certain the party I was having to that track equalled the atmosphere I was getting over the radio that night.
As I was still collecting only cds at that time, it took me more than a year and a trip to Germany to finally get my own copy of the single and it has been a prized possession ever since.
The Jazzanova boys completed the hattrick in 2003 when they took what, for me, was a slightly underwhelming Masters at Work album track and added their own little bit of magic. On paper the combination looked too good to be true - Masters at Work + Roy Ayers + Jazzanova. Thankfully, the hype was more than justified in my eyes and some of their later work may not have touched me in the same ways these three tracks did, I am certain they will have another surprise just around the corner.
Masters At Work featuring Roy Ayers - Our Time Is Coming (Jazzanova's Guestlist Mix)
