Name: The Tortoise & the Hare
Brand: Cool Hunter
SKU: 1166594
Price: 11.81 USD
Availability: InStock

Performer Notes

Jazzyfatnastees: Mercedes Martinez, Tracey Moore (vocals).
Additional personnel includes: Gregory Tardy (tenor saxophone).
Producers include: J. Swift, R. Nichols, Mercedes Martinez, Tracey Moore, Anthony Tidd.
Recorded at The Studio, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and Avatar Studios, New York, New York.
Personnel: Anthony Tidd (guitar, piano, drum programming); Curtis Chambers, Randy Bowland, Ben Kenney (guitar); Emma Kummrow (violin); Davis A. Barnett (viola); Larry Gold (cello); Yosvany Terry (alto saxophone); Scott Storch (Fender Rhodes piano, keyboards); James Poyser (organ, Wurlitzer organ); Kamiah "Little Klang" Gray (keyboards, drum programming); Randy Nichols (keyboard bass); Aaron Draper (drums); Dafnis Prieto (percussion); Melvin Lewis, Pedro Martinez (drum programming).
Audio Mixers: Jon Smeltz; Axel Niehaus.
Recording information: Giant Little Studio, Philadelphia PA; The Studio, Philadelphia PA.
Photographer: Michael Schreiber.
All the elements that made Jazzyfatnastees grassroots favorites are in place for their sophomore effort, The Tortoise & the Hare. Tight, inventive vocal harmonies and rich intertwining melodies, which helped to define the duo's sound on their debut record, The Once and Future, have been refined and intensified by time. The "hip-hop for overachievers" approach to production is also notably stronger. The record features a slightly different cast, including New York Latin jazzers Yosvanny Terry, Dafnis Prieto, and Pedro Martinez, as well as those favorite old friends from the Roots. Although it takes the ladies a couple tracks to warm up to their usual steamy hot intensity, they make it there. The first few tracks lack the gut-level street cred of the previous record, especially evident in the lyrical triteness of "All Up in My Face" and the regrettable bossa nova section in "Something in the Way." Their taste for intricately layered tracks and their use of an acoustic influence in hip-hop prove deliciously evocative as the disc progresses with tracks such as "El Medio" and "Adolescent Blues." Having charted in Billboard's Top 100 Hip-Hop/R&B Albums is certainly a feather in this independently released record's cap. Such strong forward motion from a group that made a great first impression certainly deserves the industry's attention. This is a record not to be missed. ~ Evan C. Gutierrez

Professional Reviews

Entertainment Weekly (11/1/02, p.70) - "...[A] silky blend of jazz, soul, R&B, and hip-hop with rock, disco, and salsa accents... ..." - Rating: A-

Album: The Tortoise & the Hare
#	Song Title	Time
1)	Something in the Way
2)	Medio, El
3)	All Up in My Face
4)	Four Lives
5)	Adolescent Blues
6)	Compelled
7)	Tumbling
8)	Show Your Face
9)	Tortoise and the Hare, The
10)	Give a Dog a Bone

Album: The Tortoise & the Hare
#	Song Title	Time
1)	Something in the Way
2)	Medio, El
3)	All Up in My Face
4)	Four Lives
5)	Adolescent Blues
6)	Compelled
7)	Tumbling
8)	Show Your Face
9)	Tortoise and the Hare, The
10)	Give a Dog a Bone