Sam Suffy: 40th Annversary

Marc Moulin's debut LP is a compelling and unique mosaic of jazz, soul, and electronic elements that employs sampled sounds and sequencers to startling effect, vividly anticipating the music of the not-so-distant future. While rooted in collective improvisation, cuts like the opening "Le Saule" and "Le Beau Galop" foreshadow the emergence of house music via their underlying electronic motifs; more impressive still is the five-part, 17-minute epic "Tohubohu," a remarkable update of musique concrete sensibilities that creates drumbeats from water drops and pits trumpeter Richard Rousselet against a herd of hippos. But for all its complexities and innovations, Sam Suffy is above all a sublime listening experience, closer in spirit and scope to trip-hop than the more abstract fusion classics it follows. Blue Note's 2005 30th anniversary reissue (which includes video content and a new remix of "Tohubohu") should earn the album the classic status it demands. ~ Jason Ankeny