Jazzanova

Jazzanova surfaced in 1997 via the intricately textured “Fedime’s Flight,” a cut whose dancefloor jazz-funk leanings aligned more closely with vintage offerings from Azymuth and Lonnie Liston Smith than with prevailing releases of the era. Absent a handful of sampled elements, the piece might have passed for an overlooked late-’70s recording, yet the ensemble’s moniker—itself the title of a sought-after 1971 Ira Kris album on the trailblazing German jazz imprint MPS—alerted experienced collectors to its contemporary European origins. From that point forward the collective has fused a vast range of source material, thereby shaping underground club communities worldwide. Key full-length projects include In Between (2002), Of All the Things (2008), and The Pool (2018), each integrating programmed and acoustic elements alongside an assortment of vocalists and MCs. The members have supplied dozens of remixes, performed extensively as both live acts and selectors, and run the JCR and Sonar Kollektiv imprints, which issue side projects and material by kindred artists. In 2022 they delivered Strata Records: The Sound of Detroit — Reimagined by Jazzanova, reworking highlights from the label’s celebrated archive.

The lineup of Alex Barck, Claas Brieler, Stefan Leisering, Axel Reinemer, and Jürgen von Knoblauch came together with the goal of crafting tracks suited to their DJ sets of jazz, soul, funk, disco, MPB, and related period fusions. Their activity began in 1995, coinciding with Leisering and Reinemer’s EP under the Real Dope Thing banner; that English-language rap outfit drew from Gang Starr, Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth, and the Native Tongues collective. Jazzanova likewise mined obscure vinyl troves but channeled those finds into groove-centered hybrids built from samples, electronics, and live playing rather than straight hip-hop. Their first release arrived on JCR that same year as a three-track self-titled EP anchored by “Fedime’s Flight,” which attracted early support from BBC DJ Gilles Peterson. This led to a run of remix assignments for 4hero, Koop, Men from the Nile, and Ian Pooley, later gathered on the two-disc The Remixes 1997-2000. Additional commissions continued alongside Jazzanova EP 2 (1998) and the atmospheric broken-beat soul single “That Night” (2001), the latter featuring lead vocals by Vikter Duplaix and marking the first of many guest-artist collaborations.

The group’s expansive debut album, In Between, reached stores in 2002. After five years of accumulated work, the set reinforced their standing through precise rhythmic construction and appearances by Duplaix, Ursula Rucker, Clara Hill, and Doug Hammond. Remixed, issued a year later, presented reworkings of selected 12" and album cuts by Kyoto Jazz Massive, Ayro, King Britt, and Bugz in the Attic. For several subsequent seasons, fresh Jazzanova material surfaced primarily as DJ mixes, among them …Mixing (2004), Blue Note Trip (2005), and …Broad Casting (2006); The Remixes 2002-2005 also appeared during this interval. Amid further compilations and additional Sonar Kollektiv output, their second studio album, Of All the Things, emerged in 2008, its throwback-soul emphasis bolstered by lead performances from Leon Ware, José James, Paul Randolph, and Phonte. Remix activity persisted via the Upside Down series spanning 2011 and 2012. In the latter year Leisering and Reinemer, together with the touring incarnation of the group, captured Funkhaus Studio Sessions, a studio-live document of their shows with Randolph handling front-of-stage duties. Touring, club engagements, compilation curation, and personal commitments occupied the ensuing period. The Pool, the collective’s third studio album, arrived in 2018, juxtaposing nostalgic disco-funk textures with contemporary trip-hop and featuring vocal contributions from Randolph, Jamie Cullum, and Charlotte OC.

Earlier, in 2012, DJ Amir and his 180 Records label secured rights to remix, remaster, and reissue selections from Detroit’s storied Strata Records catalog. In 2020 he finalized a distribution agreement with BBE Records and invited Jazzanova to rework and remix a dozen chosen tracks. BBE released the resulting Strata Records: The Sound of Detroit — Reimagined by Jazzanova in 2022.