The easy comparisons here are to group like Tribe Called Quest, Digable Planets, and US3, but The J. Davis Trio (JDT) sound has something original and refreshing. True, Stuart bring the old school flow, but you can’t help but bop your head. It’s the Southside garage-jazz that group brings that really sets them apart from the rest. With Flav-R-Ice on bass, Benjamin Pendulum on trumpet, and The Planet on Drums, these four have constructed an album filled with soulful jazz tracks and passionate rhymes about the city we all love.
I think that’s what make JDT unique, is their perspective and entrench in the Chicago streets they are. Whether it is talking about chillin’ at The Vic (“These Things Happen” (mp3)) or DePaul or Homewood or Flossmoor or Hyde Park, JDT have created an album that is a tribute jazz and hip hop fusion, but also to Chicago. Another aspect of this album that I really enjoy is the guest appearances, from the violin of Susan Voelz to the vocals of Stolie to the rhymes of O Type Star and Luchbox Law. These Things Happen is the groups third album and it was originally released in April of 2007. They are re-releasing the album through their own label Yo Yo Smuggler Records on December 9th, and as I float through these tracks they still sound fresh and need to be heard.