In the second installment of his “COVID-themed” remix series, the Brooklyn-based drummer-producer reworks jazz classics and modern recordings.
Kassa Overall isn’t being glib when he calls his Shades of Flu series “COVID-themed.” It was cruel that the pandemic hit America at the same time the Brooklyn-based drummer-producer’s excellent second album, I Think I’m Good, dropped, forcing him to go to ground when he should have been out riding the crest of a wave. Remixing has provided an outlet during this strange period in the jazz world. By taking apart old records and piecing them back together in audacious new ways, Shades of Flu encapsulates the adaptability of musicians forced to create in their bedrooms and basements. The sometimes tumultuous nature of Kassa’s mixes also reflect the peculiarity of present-day existence. There’s an element of chaos to this music you wouldn’t associate with Shades of Blue: Madlib Invades Blue Note, the series’ clearest inspiration.
Shades of Flu 2: In These Odd Times improves upon what made last year’s Shades of Flu: Healthy Remixes For an Ill Moment great. Once again, Kassa remixes jazz recordings, both old and modern, but this time he recruits musicians from his inner circle, such as Dezron Douglas, Brandee Younger, and Tomoki Sanders (son of Pharoah), to add new improvisations to the old arrangements. Yet Shades of Flu remains highly personal. It’s easy to picture Kassa thumbing through his vinyl shelves to get a feeling for which of his favorite cuts he can reinterpret. Like the first album, the set takes the form of one single track with Kassa’s voice wandering in and out of the mix to guide you, giving it the feel of a DJ set.
As before, one of the most prominent sounds Kassa adds is a flat, thumping style of programmed percussion. Placed under jazz recordings’ acoustic timbres, it creates a natural tension. Those drums are present on Kassa’s take on Kris Davis’ “Diatom Ribbons,” from the prolific Canadian pianist’s 2019 album of the same name. Kassa jumps around different points of the arrangement, focusing on short piano riffs or simply letting the brass solos ride out, deconstructing Davis’ work like a mad scientist obsessed with unraveling the composition’s mysteries. To top it off, in the intro, he shouts out each musician’s first name, like a jazz hypeman.
Specters of hip-hop history fly through Shades of Flu 2. Kassa loops the word “one” throughout the Heath Brothers’ late-night funk number “Smilin Billy Suite Part 1” in a way that’s reminiscent of Ghostface Killah’s “One.” The opening bass riff of “The Creator Has a Master Plan” gestures toward A Tribe Called Quest’s iconic Lou Reed sample, and Kassa takes the low-hanging fruit by editing in one of Rakim’s most famous bars: “Thinking of a masterplan.” Most surprisingly, he adds what appears to be Kanye West’s drum intro and vocal ad libs from “Heard ‘em Say” into Wayne Shorter’s “Ponta de Areia.” There are even elegant guest verses from Stas THEE Boss of THEESatisfaction and Nappy Nina to match the cool double bass of “I’m a King” (which doesn’t list its source material), while one voice—probably Kassa’s—is slowed to a hypnotic crawl, evoking the spirit of DJ Screw. He understands that remixing and rap can’t be disentangled.
Despite some radical alterations, Kassa typically preserves the general tone of the songs he reworks. There are times when you get the impression he just wants to vibe to his favorite records with you. On a new mix of Roy Hargrove’s beautiful midnight jazz tune “Never Let Me Go,” he embellishes the soft piano with just a few extra elements. And he preserves the Hitchcockian air of Chick Corea’s “Trio Improvisation Part 2,” a claustrophobic cut for piano and violin, but takes it to another plane by adding panicked voices and percussion that sounds like a ticking clock.
The set ends with Kenny Baron’s “Passion Dance” as Kassa takes the original’s storm of piano keys and adds jittering drums to form a more tweaked-out piece. The young futurist’s final act is to bask in the sound of applause. And so he should. With Shades of Flu 2: In These Odd Times, Kassa Overall once again proves that COVID measures can’t deter his determination to push jazz into strange new realms.
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