Saint:Germain Des Pres Cafe

hough branding types of music is sometimes a necessary evil, the sterile electro-jazz certainly isn't the best term for this set of earthy, slightly clubbed-up productions/performances, the combined efforts of several top European independents (Compost, F Communications, Irma, Studio !K7). The sounds and styles on display here have strong links to West London's broken-beat collective, the Parisian/American jazz-house community (St. Germain, Kevin Yost, Joe Claussell), and Munich's earthy breakbeat maestros (Jazzanova, Beanfield), though the compilers succeeded in creating a tight compilation even while drawing tracks from at least a dozen different crowds. Dance fans and aficionados of coffee-table beats will be able to agree with much of this collection, though jazz fans may have trouble keeping up interest with the lack of solos. Highlights are numerous, from Ian Simmonds' "Theme to the Last Puma," Grand Tourism and Terry Callier's "Les Courants d'Air," and St. Germain's "Deep in It." ~ John Bush|