Lack of Afro Presents Jazz Crates is a new collection of classic hard-bop samples with a modern, soul-jazz slant. Performed by acclaimed band The Jazz Defenders, inspired by Blue Note Records and recorded and engineered by Rudy Van Gelder, using high-end vintage kit, the pack contains 869MB-worth of 24-bit audio across 240 loops. What you end up with is essentially six tracks, all of which have been chopped into a mix of sections and shorter loops, with live drums, upright piano, Fender Rhodes, tenor sax, horns and upright bass parts to choose from. As this is all taken from an authentic live performance, there's mic bleed on many of the loops, but this actually helps add to the vibe, giving the audio a sampled-from-record sound. That said, the layout and the mixture of single parts together with a mixed, combi loops is a little confusing at times. Overall, though, the exceptional extended performances could make this a very useful tool for anyone looking to cereate more authentic-sounding jazz tracks.

Music Tech Magazine Verdict

9/10

Original Source Music Tech Magazine