MUSIC

On Tuesday, April 5, 2005, Verve Records will release Verve Remixed 3; the newest collection in Verve’s popular series of jazz remixes. The album features some of the top producers, DJs, and bands from today’s contemporary music scene reinterpreting and reinvigorating classic songs from The Verve Music Group’s unparalleled archives. Each song presented here has been transformed from its original form into a modern hit stacked with irresistible beats. The re-workings range from reverent to surprising, from moving to mischievous. Verve Remixed 3 includes the following 13 songs:

Nina Simone “Little Girl Blue” - Postal Service Remix
Billie Holiday “Speak Low” - Bent Remix
Anita O’Day “Sing, Sing, Sing” - RSL Remix
Sarah Vaughan “Fever” - Adam Freeland Remix
Shirley Horn “Come Dance With Me” - Sugardaddy Remix*
Blossom Dearie “Just One of Those Things” - Brazilian Girls Remix
Astrud Gilberto “The Gentle Rain”- RJD2 Remix
Sarah Vaughan “Peter Gunn” - Max Sedgley Remix
Jimmy Smith “Stay Loose” - Lyrics Born Remix
Hugh Masekela “The Boy’s Doin’ It” - Carl Craig Remix
Nina Simone “Lilac Wine” - The Album Leaf Remix
Billie Holiday “Yesterdays” - Junior Boys Remix
Dinah Washington “Baby, Did You Hear?” - Danger Mouse Remix

"I'm very excited about Verve Remixed 3,” says co-producer and Verve Music Group A&R Director Dahlia Ambach Caplin. "The opportunity to make another record working with the Verve vocal catalogue, which continually yields gems that inspire the artists and producers to create such special collaborations, combined with all the things we learned from working on the previous albums, allowed us to make a record we’re very proud of."
“Verve Remixed 3 is a testament to the talents we worked with" says co-producer Todd Roberts. "They each transcended the idea of a remix by digging deep into the spirit of the original songs.” Verve Remixed 3 follows in the hallowed footsteps of its groundbreaking predecessors Verve Remixed (2002) and Verve Remixed 2 (2003). Those acclaimed collections featured the likes of Thievery Corporation, Tricky, DJ Spinna, and Felix Da Housecat reinterpreting works from the legendary artists of jazz such as Astrud Gilberto, Billie Holiday, Betty Carter, and Nina Simone, respectively. Combined, the two previous Verve Remixed releases have sold over a half-million units.

Verve Remixed 3 will be available on CD and as a triple-vinyl LP.

Song Information

Since its debut in 2002, Verve Remixed has paired some of the world’s most adventurous DJs and producers with some of the best jazz music in history. The pioneering series has achieved the rare feat of becoming both a critical and commercial success, culling the esteemed catalog of Verve Records and tapping into the creative visions of an influential generation of beat-makers. Verve Remixed 3 continues the series' mission of shaping jazz into vital contemporary music, this time with a new lineup of all-star beat-makers.

"Little Girl Blue" – Postal Service remix – Nina Simone
No other track on Verve Remixed 3 declares the new territory being explored than the opening track, a remix of Nina Simone's "Little Girl Blue," done by indie-pop darlings, Postal Service. "Little Girl Blue," was one of Simone's most cherished songs to perform, a lyrical number that was also the title track of her debut album. Simone introduced the world to her rich, spiritual blues on that song – and on the remix, Postal Service producer Jimmy Tamborello, incorporates the original’s melody (lifted from the traditional Christmas carol “Good King Wenceslas”) and uses bubbling beats and a shape-shifting digital groove to evoke a dazzling, wintry wonderland.

"Speak Low" – Bent remix – Billie Holiday
In meeting the challenge of working with one of the most recognizable yet heart-wrenching voices in music, the English group Bent heap great reverence on Billie Holiday by preserving the intense intimacy that colored all her music. Bent, popular for their lush, organic dance-floor escapes, show a knack for nuance and instrumentation on their version of "Speak Low," gently smearing Holiday's muted tones and turning the song into part nighttime samba, part orchestral serenade.

"Sing, Sing, Sing" – RSL remix – Anita O' Day
Anita O' Day was one of the boldest voices of her day, male or female, and her lustrous swing helped shatter the image of women who sang with big bands. "Sing, Sing, Sing" was written by Louis Prima and was a favorite of Benny Goodman. But nobody gave it the sass that O' Day did, and on this delightful reworking, the Manchester production trio, RSL, tap into a motley mix of styles: big band strut, scatting be-bop funk and twisting Latin jazz. Like RSL's acclaimed dance 12"s, this cut was made with the DJ in mind.

"Fever" – Adam Freeland remix – Sarah Vaughan
"Fever" has been a favorite of jazz vocalists for decades, a vessel for their different personalities. Some craft it as a seductive plea; others, like Sarah Vaughan, treated the track as a bold emotional declaration. No version of the song, though, sounds like it does in the hands of Adam Freeland. The dance-music guru drives a thumping, relentless rhythm that's as moving as it is flamboyant. Jumpin' jack jive piano riffs tussle with snake-like horns and Vaughan's breathy release, making this an inimitable, lusty jazz come-on.

"Come Dance With Me" – Sugardaddy (Tom Findlay from Groove Armada and Tim Hutton) remix – Shirley Horn
Shirley Horn boasts one of the more unique stories in jazz history as a singer in her prime who sacrificed her career to raise her daughter. Horn "leaves" this song, too, a cover version of her sweet and seductive, "Come Dance With Me," by Sugardaddy, a collaboration between Groove Armada's Tom Findlay and producer/vocalist Tim Hutton. Under the direction of Findlay, "Come Dance With Me," is turned into a sumptuous, twilight house number that, perfect for – what else? – dancing.

"Just One Of Those Things" – Brazilian Girls remix – Blossom Dearie
The Brazilian Girls met in New York as four musical souls from different corners of the globe who coalesced under the auspices of one international groove. Like their individual back-stories, their worldly cover of this Cole Porter tune bears a certain cosmopolitan panache. With this track, it's easy to see how the Brazilian Girls ended up as a signature artist on the Verve/Forecast roster.


"The Gentle Rain" – RJD2 remix – Astrud Gilberto
Astrud Gilberto is the "Girl From Ipanema," and on this remake of her Brazilian folk song, taken from the singer's second album, visionary producer RJD2 shows why he's considered one of the most studied, ambitious producers of his time. RJD2 isn't just a beat-maker, he's a thoughtful composer, and he crafts Gilberto's original into a six-minute epic love song that breathes with movement and life. Gilberto is re-contextualized as a voice of the '70s pop and soul era (think Steely Dan) and, like he's done on his own two albums, RJD2 imaginatively defies the bounds of geography and time.

"Peter Gunn" – Max Sedgley remix – Sarah Vaughan
Newcomer Max Sedgley was paid the highest compliment last year when, after releasing his 12" dance single, "Happy," big beat wizard – and no stranger to dance floors himself – Fatboy Slim called and asked if he could remix the tune. Listening to Sedgley's take on "Peter Gunn," one of Henry Mancini's most iconic tunes, as sung here by Sarah Vaughan, it's not difficult to see why Fatboy Slim was intrigued. Sedgley puts a premium on the beat, crafting a bounce from a barrage of percussion, big brassy knuckles from the original and the bombast of Vaughan's original.

"Stay Loose" – Lyrics Born remix – Jimmy Smith
Lyrics Born is known mostly for the robust rhymes he delivers as part of the Quannum collective, one of indie hip-hop's most revered crews. As charismatic an MC Lyrics Born has proven to be, he's just as distinctive behind the boards. Here, he plays with Jimmy Smith's, "Stay Loose." The 1968 original found the legendary organ grinder singing vocals in front of a soul-struttin' big band. With a funky barrage of drums, brassy horn stabs and hip-shakin' organ riffs, Lyrics Born creates a frolicking, feel-good jam smothered with Smith's own saucy blues-beat poetry.

"The Boys Doin’ It" – Carl Craig remix – Hugh Masekela
For South African jazz musician Hugh Masekela, his 1975 album, The Boys Are Doin' It, was documentation of his love affair with the afro-beat sounds of Fela Kuti, whom he had played with in London just a short time before. The song – like the album – is a rich and raucous affair, full of vibrant life. Carl Craig is one of techno's preeminent composers and for his remix, he strips down the song into a mesmerizing, minimal groove. It's the eloquence of Craig's re-telling that is a testament to his genius: he's able to convey the rhythm, energy and robustness of Masekela's message with just a few beautiful sounds.

"Lilac Wine" – The Album Leaf remix – Nina Simone
Like Postal Service, Jimmy Lavalle's The Album Leaf moniker, turned the notion of indie rock upside down by using a new electronic language to communicate. With spare, bursting notes, The Album Leaf's music is a pastoral, digital lullaby. On one of Verve Remixed 3's most original-sounding tracks, the remix of "Lilac Wine," encapsulates all the tender, heartfelt and melancholy that made this a Nina Simone standard. One gets the sense that this is the kind of gripping, adventurous music Simone would have made were she still alive.

"Yesterdays" – Junior Boys remix – Billie Holiday
The Junior Boys turned in one of 2004's best indie-pop albums, Last Exit, creating a hybrid electronic sound that was influenced by a hodge podge of styles - jazz vocalists to Timbaland, house music to rhythm & blues. For Verve Remixed 3, they rework the jazz standard, "Yesterdays," a favorite of artists like Chet Baker and Cab Calloway but here sung by Billie Holiday, into a minimalist, ghostly lullaby. The Canadian duo amplify the smallest sounds into impressionistic rhythms, distorting Holiday's croon to compel both the sadness and beauty in her song.

"Baby, Did You Hear?" – Danger Mouse remix – Dinah Washington
Long before he imaginatively backed one of rap's greatest, street-savvy voices with music from the world's most popular band for his infamous bootleg, "The Grey Album," Danger Mouse was making home-tested musical alchemy in his bedroom laboratory that drew from a dynamic, diverse variety of genres. Here, the newest member of The Gorillaz tackles the versatile sass of Dinah Washington, whose "Baby, Did You Hear?" was one of her signature favorites. Danger Mouse paws with hyper-speed beats and a cobra-like bass-line that gives the song an urgent groove. His layering of background voices and ghostly distortion of Washington's verses only heighten the songs haunting charm.