Us3 – Hand On The Torch

• Description
• Release details

• The British jazz / hip-hop fusion collective Us3 was formed in London in 1992. Among its notable members were producers Mel Simpson and Geoff Wilkinson. The group scored a major hit in 1994 with “Cantaloop (Flip Fantasia),” a track that showcased the group’s penchant for sampling classic recordings from the Blue Note label (in this case, Herbie Hancock’s “Cantaloupe Island”). The piece was included on their debut album “Hand On The Torch”.

  The album was the result of their relationship with Blue Note owner Capitol Records, who gave Simpson and Wilkinson free rein to sample anything from the Blue Note catalog. Along with several musicians and rappers Kobie Powell and Rahsaan Kelly, they sampled a number of Blue Note classics, from Art Blakey and Thelonious Monk to Horace Sylver and the aforementioned Herbie Hancock. By the release of “Hand On The Torch,” Us3 had created one of the most sophisticated connections between styles and became one of the Blue Note label’s best-selling jazz albums.

  “Hand On The Torch” includes an insert.
• Artist: Us3

  Label: Blue Note

  Format: LP

  Units: 1

  Country: Netherlands

  Genre:
  Hip Hop & RnB

  Style:

  Jazzy Hip-Hop