Medicine Show 7 (2LP)

Madlib Medicine Show #7: High Jazz is an all-new Madlib jazz production. High Jazz, the name itself a tribute to the landmark jazz-fusion album released by Stanton Davis's Ghetto Mysticism in 1976, shows a marked development in Madlib's craft. Since the introduction of Madlib's Yesterdays New Quintet releases nearly a decade ago, the producer's core group of musicians and collaborators (known collectively as "Yesterdays Universe") has grown by the dozens. The notoriously elusive, publicity-shy and anti-commercial ethic of the group has kept many of the recordings from every being released, while others have been pressed anonymously, kept within the group or distributed only among private collectors. Among the newly released tracks on High Jazz are a collaboration with extraordinary jazz/hip-hop drummer/producer Karriem Riggins - together they make up Jahari Masamba Unit; the debut of groups Generation Match, The Big Black Foot Band, and RMC, a Madlib, Riggins & James Poyser collab; and a 15-minute live piece by Yesterdays New Quintet (recorded at a secret show in 2000). The 15-track album runs a total of 61 minutes.