Album Notes

“Welcome to Our World of Horns”


Welcome to the birth of, Hip Funky Jazz.” Hip Funky Jazz is the true fusion of Hip Hop, Funk and Jazz. Classic Hip-Hop tracks are interrupted and transformed into jazz masterpieces with a strong funk blend to add the extra favor. Oakland based, Living Remix, are masters of this new sound. Founding members DeWayne Martin and Shawn Granberry have put together an incredible team of musicians to create Living Remix. “We are combining the foundation set Unwrapped Volumes 1-4 on Hidden Beach Recordings with a live show that melts the favors of Hip Hop, Funk and Jazz into a new genre, Hip Funky Jazz,” says Shawn G. Living Remix has a goal to bridge the gap between Hip Hop and Jazz audiences through outstanding musicianship and a live stage show that mirrors the great Lionel Hampton Band, funk of James Brown’s JB’s with a injection of a M.C. Hammer show. “In our first project, Welcome to Our World of Horns, we focused on interpretations that allowed us to create great horn arrangements with incredible horn solos. We also picked Hip Hop tracks that would high-light our high energy stage show and show the world what Hip Funky Jazz is all about,” says Martin. Living remix is a part of a emerging scene on the West Coast, which is bringing talented musicians back to the forefront, bridging the gap between Jazz and Hip hop and uniting young and old through infectious instrumental interpretations. But in the first project, “Welcome to Our World of Horns,” Martin and Granberry take their project to an even higher level. “We chose many Hip Hop interpretations that originally had very negative themes and transformed them into powerful spiritually uplifting pieces that offer hope, faith in God and peace between neighbors,” says Shawn G. “I am great fan of Fela Anikulapo Kuti, the father of Afro-Beat, our project is dedicated to him and we feel we are continuing his struggle to uplift, unite and point out social injustice around the world through our music,” adds Shawn G. “The interpretations offer excellent musicianship and superb horn arrangements full of improvisation,” says Martin. Bare witness to Hip Funky Jazz!