Verve bastardizes jazz classics

Verve Remixed
Various Artists
Verve Records Here's what probably happened... One of the record execs with the publishing rights to these classics walks in and asks, "Hey, why don't we try releasing some classic Nina Simone but make it techno?" So the execs take him seriously and decide to do all the damage they can by screwing with Billie Holiday, Sarah Vaughan, Astrud Gilberto, Dinah Washington and Ella Fitzgerald. That's the best excuse I can think of for releasing Verve Remixed. While this complete bastardization of jazz divas' classic tunes isn't all bad, the concept is harmful enough. The idea that anyone would dance to any arrangement of "Strange Fruit," an incredibly graphic and stirring song about lynchings, sounds more likely to come from the KKK than a reputable record company. It's not that this version celebrates "the smell of burning flesh," but the fact that it's arranged for club dancing seems to trivialize the message. "Is You Is or Is You Ain't My Baby?" has horn synths that might sound well arranged if you can get past the mid-'80s Casio keyboard quality tones. The "Tom and Jerry" episode where they sing it seems a more dignified context. The remix of Carmen McRae's "How Long Has This Been Going On?" only works because the remix incorporates some clever time changes and stops that add variety and emphasize McRae's elegant voice. Nina Simone's "Feelin' Good" has James Bond-style horns and keeps enough of the jazz feel, but gets old after six minutes. Most of the tracks are way too long for dance mixes and put you in a trance after several minutes. These classic recordings deserve more respect from a major label. Verve should know better than this, but to its credit, it is releasing the "Unmixed" companion CD with the original recordings that were used in the remixes here. Producers, DJs and mixers may be craftsmen, but they're certainly not musicians. This album makes it painfully obvious.