It’s 1942 again, at least it seems with Savoy Record’s release, ‘ReBop: The Savoy Remixes.’ Nostalgia permeates heavily through this disc as well as the beats and scratches that accompany the classic sound. The label, founded in Newark, NJ, was home to some of the finest talents in jazz, namely Charlie “Bird” Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Billy Ecksteine, and Charles Mingus just to mention a few. These artists and their original approach to the music laid a foundation and fostered a contemporary movement for some of the hottest hands on the pulse of progressive music making. We witnessed, in the late eighties, the flawless marriage between hip-hop and jazz, giving us the now appropriately titled “ReBop” swing, which is thoroughly exemplified on Savoy’s latest release.

It’s probably DJ Jazzy Jeff’s interpretation of “Night in Tunisia,” that places the recording squarely on the dance-floor with a lurking bass line that provides major groove assistance. Needless to say, Jeff’s scratching techniques are exquisite. He uses a sparse piano to lead the melody; different than Dizzy’s muted horn leadership, but stylish and swinging more than ever. The Basement Boys move things around too with their rendition of “Minor Vamp.” But by far, The Large Professor’s remix of Callen Radcliffe Tjader’s “Minority,” is witty and intelligently done, exhibiting the perfect union between hip-hop and jazz. Tjader’s vibes dance in and out of rapid scratches which “Extra P’” places on the track as a cohesive accompaniment. The music’s movement is swift, seeming to conjure up the spirit of Lindy-hop dancers. King Britt, however, takes a fluent and house oriented stab at Sarah Vaughn’s “Lover Man.” It’s eloquent and sophisticated, Bossa tinged and fluid just like Vaughn’s timeless sound and it makes for a good take on his mother’s favorite Sarah Vaughn song.

Britt’s track, I believe, is the turning point of the remix project. The mixes seem to morph into a dignified brand representing the classiness of jazz music. DJ Ali Shaheed Muhammad from A Tribe Called Quest is an absolute jazz aficionado like the other producers involved with the recording, but his re-working of Curtis Fuller’s, “Five Spot After Dark,” is remarkably soulful and the quintessential sound for the fusion of jazz and hip-hop genres. A Hammond B-3 organ stalks the rhythm section of the tune, while the high hats swing airy percussion, yet the 4/4 swing of kicks and snares retain its hip-hop authenticity. It’s dark, bluesy, and funky all in one. The same can be said about Diamond D’s, “Bohemia After Dark,” though it’s lighter in mood, it still blends the two genres masterfully. DJ Spooky gives a lesson in horn riffing with his take on “KoKo.” Spooky isolates his horns, meshing them with other riffs and rhythms. From a jazz student’s perspective, the riffing on the track is a well taught.

Maybe it is 1942 again, the year when Savoy was established. The jazz sound is timeless and has maintained its legacy in hip-hop and dance music, which makes the Savoy remixes equally nostalgic and contemporary and a product of inevitability,