js Although DJs had been mixing jazz and hip-hop since the mid 80s, it took a while longer for the musicians to catch on to this inevitable merger, and even longer for the more established big names in the scene. When Branford Marsalis assembled Buckshot LaFonque in 1993, he became one of the first well known mainstream jazz musicians to get with the new school beats. His live appearances during this time revealed a hot new brand of modern funk jazz with influences ranging from Eddie Harris to Ornette’s Prime Time. Unfortunately, a lot of this energy didn’t make it on to the two CDs Buckshot released during their brief career.

“Music Evolution”, Buckshot’s second and final CD, is a lot like their first. There are some good solid modern funky jazz jams framed by mostly lackluster rap tunes and generic RnB ballads. On each of their two CDs there are one or two raps that connect, but generally the rap material is a little on the lite side. On the plus side, one of the best tunes on “Evolution” is “Wisenveritas”, a hard charging sampled JB beat topped with some very funky tenor work from Branford. Another top cut is “Jungle Grove”, on which the band plays rapid fire be-bop over new (for then) high speed jungle beats. Other than those two standouts, there are a couple other good groove numbers on here, and the rest is nothing special.