Michael Leonhart & JSWISS - The Alchemy EP
"The Alchemy EP" is a collaborative project from Grammy Award-winning trumpeter, producer, and orchestra leader Michael Leonhart, and rising rapper JSWISS. The union formed after a spark of creative chemistry during a monthly residency at NYC venue Jazz Standard, during which JSWISS guested with the Michael Leonhart Orchestra for performances broadcast on NPR & WBGO.
Marrying the worlds of hip-hop and jazz, Leonhart and JSWISS meet in the middle, with both having plenty of experience crossing genre lines. "The Alchemy EP" expands on hip-hop's history of sampling jazz and dabbling with live instrumentation -- à la A Tribe Called Quest or The Roots -- incorporating orchestral elements and infects grooves to go with JSWISS' thoughtful approach and clever lyricism on subjects varying from Black empowerment, to love, to a celebratory tribute to his late grandparents. The last three songs on the EP are inspired by and focus on significant themes from "Manuscript Found In Accra" by Brazilian author Paulo Coelho, coincidentally more famously known for his classic book "The Alchemist".
Marrying the worlds of hip-hop and jazz, Leonhart and JSWISS meet in the middle, with both having plenty of experience crossing genre lines. "The Alchemy EP" expands on hip-hop's history of sampling jazz and dabbling with live instrumentation -- à la A Tribe Called Quest or The Roots -- incorporating orchestral elements and infects grooves to go with JSWISS' thoughtful approach and clever lyricism on subjects varying from Black empowerment, to love, to a celebratory tribute to his late grandparents. The last three songs on the EP are inspired by and focus on significant themes from "Manuscript Found In Accra" by Brazilian author Paulo Coelho, coincidentally more famously known for his classic book "The Alchemist".
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