Mixerr Album Reviews #2,264

New York hip-hop producer Luis Vega released a much overlooked yet under appreciated jazz hop EP called Luis Vega - Hip Hop Jazz EP where the sounds of hip hop meet jazz music. The EP is a fusion of jazz, funk, deep house, and hip hop. This entire EP is downtempo instrumental hip hop and instrumental jazz. However most of this EP is just breaks. The sound from this EP is similar to those jazz hop singles from the New Breed label out of New York City, New York. You can never go wrong with 90s jazz hop.
 
(Luis Vega is not to be confused with Louie Vega of Masters at Work. This person is obviously mistaken for Louie Vega from Masters at Work because of the name of course.)



Saxy Nine serves at the opening track where a lovely jazzy saxophone solo is played over a funky beat. The beats are extremely loud and thick. Now the beats have set on an equal level as they are evenly adjusted through a pan filter.


Bass Liner is a short but downtempo jazz instrumental with looped upright bass playing behind the layers of instrumentation used in this song. Upright bass is accompanied by 2 piano keys played in E minor flat followed by a single drum kit. One thing that is noticeably different is that the beats are thinner than usual as that is not the case with all other songs on this EP.

Sadly the song is less than a minute long. Luis Vega dropped the ball on this song because he could have extended the duration and made this song much longer than it already is.


East Side Joint uses a fusion of jazz rock sound where an electric guitar is played over upright bass and saxophones. You can also hear a faint piano playing gently in the background for a short period of time right after the beginning. The beats are as extremely loud as beats of the opening track were. Some of the kick drums and toms seemed to have been distorted. The saxophone notes are thick, jazzy, and extremely sultry to ones ears. East Side Joint uses a filter which muffled the song. Treble seems to have been reduced significantly.

East Side Joint is one of the longest songs of this EP which is about 6 minutes and 20 seconds long (6:20). Whenever Luis Vega composes and produces a song longer than 5 minutes, he creates a timeless masterpiece. That is why East Side Joint is one of the best songs off his jazz hop EP.


Sax On Friday is another jazz instrumental which is backed by a saxophone and thick beats. The song uses a jazz fusion.

Hungry Bass another downtempo jazz instrumental with looped upright bass playing behind the layers of instrumentation used. Upright bass makes this song monotonous thus creating a monotone vibe. The beats are as thick as on East Side Joint, Sax On Friday, and Saxy Nine.

Keyboard Joe is the concluding track which is backed by a grand piano on stage, upright bass, shakers, and the obligatory beats. However this song uses electronic synths from a keyboard rather than actual live instrumentation as is the case with all the other songs on this EP.

I rate this EP 5/5*****!!