In tandem with the release of Re-Bop: The Savoy Originals, the jazz label also issued a corresponding album under the name Re-Bop: The Savoy Remixes. The originals, while they may not have always been the most famous from the artists' repertoires, are still a nice collection of songs. But the purpose of Remixes isn't the jazz. Rather, it's what big-name producers can do with it. It's an unusual take on the music, since most of it was originally bop, which, as a style, was all about experimentation and breaking out of the normal jazz structures, and now, with the producers' interpretations and remixes, what once was improvisational is now put into clean 16-bar phrases. For that reason, the album is much less for the jazz fan who likes hip-hop than it is for the hip-hop fan who likes jazz. For the latter, Remixes offers a lot. The producers are all talented and highly respected in their own right, and understand how to mix a song. They choose the grooves that are most exemplary of the track, add their own contemporary drumbeats, remove instruments that they deem unnecessary (which often means pianos), and piece it back together -- focusing on rhythm as opposed to solo work -- into something that, while it certainly resembles the original, also reflects the personality of the producer. The version of Cal Tjader's "Minority" is a perfect example of this. Much of Tjader's vibes are left intact while Swift adds the appropriate scratches, and Large Professor brings in drum programming that moves the song along like it belongs in a movie chase scene. It works well, making "Minority" modern and relevant without disregarding Tjader's contributions. Also good is Ali Shaheed Muhammad's (from A Tribe Called Quest) remix of Curtis Fuller's "Five Spot After Dark." The producer cuts up and rearranges the song while still keeping its groove and overall sound intact, and it's very enjoyable. Unfortunately, not everything is as successful. Saint Etienne adds so many extra instruments to Herbie Mann's "Yardbird Suite" (and removes Mann's flute!) that the song takes on an entirely different, electronic-based feel that doesn't quite make sense, and Boots Riley's (of the Coup) remix of Dizzy Gillespie's "Shaw 'Nuff" speeds up the horns so much that it sounds more like a G-Funk track than something by the man who also wrote "Salt Peanuts." Even King Britt's take on Gillespie and Sarah Vaughan's "Lover Man" comes up a bit short, turning Vaughan's sparse, evocative voice into a cheesy sounding vocal track. These exceptions aside, Re-Bop: The Savoy Remixes is a nice blend of two important and explorative genres, and really shows off the innovation of both sets of artists and how they can work well together. [The second disc is simply a five-song sampler off some of Savoy's latest Nu Groove material.] ~ Marisa Brown, All Music Guide