London Jazz Classics Vol.1

When Soul Jazz Records first released this compilation in 1993, London's jazz dance underground was still coalescing around a loose constellation of record shops and smoke-heavy basement clubs. DJs such as Gilles Peterson and Patrick Forge were excavating obscure Brazilian fusion, Latin jazz and jazz-funk records with the zeal of archivists and the instincts of dancefloor tacticians. This compilation captures that sensibility beautifully. Alive!'s 'Skindo Le Le' spirals through dense hand percussion and sinewy bass movement, while Carlos Franzetti's 'Cocoa Funk' balances incandescent Fender Rhodes passages against clipped brass arrangements. Elsewhere, Emilio Santiago's 'Bananeira' glides with loose-limbed samba propulsion. More than a scene document, the compilation still radiates a restless, cosmopolitan elegance.