Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » LiveHuman: ScratchBop

LiveHuman: ScratchBop

By Mark F. Turner
January 28, 2017
View read count

DJ turntablism and jazz may seem like strange bed-fellows but have often found a creative bond in live events and recordings. For many years, musicians on both sides of the equation have blended instrumental performances with the skill of scratching vinyl / DJ mixing such as

Herbie Hancock

piano
b.1940

" data-original-title="" title="">Herbie Hancock's Rockit (Columbia, 1983) and Chillin' in Batumi (Exitus, 2013) with pianist

Beka Gochiashvili

piano

" data-original-title="" title="">Beka Gochiashvili and

DJ Logic

turntable

" data-original-title="" title="">DJ Logic. Recorded live at San Francisco's Tin Castle, the jazz/hip hop trio called Livehuman—DJ Quest (Carlos Aguilar), drummer Albert Mathias and bassist Andrew Ross Kushin—shed some light on the art form in ScratchBop .

The procession of bowed bass strings and shimmering cymbals in the "A is 4 Ambient" intro are not what you'd expect from a jazz/hip hop trio. The house quickly starts jumping with the swinging "Miles from Miles" as DJ Quest scratches and manipulates the vinyl; extracting what lies between the grooves to generate an extraordinary pseudo saxophone solo. "Birdfood" contains everything from a sweet drum solo, horn section, and piano riff. It's an impressive show of synchronization and improvisation listening as the trio adapts to challenging time signatures and different moods.

"Magic 4 Beginners" is like watching Savion Glover tap dance to

Charlie Parker

saxophone, alto
1920 - 1955

" data-original-title="" title="">Charlie Parker bebop. Kushin's walking bass and Mathias' drums create the perfect groove for DJ Quest's scratch techniques. There's an urban street feel yet eclectic quality to tracks like "the Rub" and "Sleepwaker" with their hip beats, sonic flavors and musicality. What Livehuman brings to the jazz turntable is anything but one-dimensional.

Learn more about our star rating system

Track Listing

DJ Quest: turntables; Albert Mathias: drums; Andrew Ross Kushi: bass.

Personnel

LiveHuman

A is 4 Ambient (intro); Miles From Miles; Rotten Rainbow; Magic 4 Beginners; Sheep Leap In Repeat; the Rub; Pretzel Talk; Sleepwaker; A is 4 Ambient(reprise); Death of a Satellite; Birdfood; A is 4 Ambient.

Album information

Title: ScratchBop | Year Released: 2017 | Record Label: Self Produced

PREVIOUS / NEXT

Masters Legacy Series, Volume 1
< Previous

The Roc
Next >

Support All About Jazz

All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who make it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

Go Ad Free!

To maintain our platform while developing new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity, we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for as little as $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination vastly improves your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.