LiL ♎ JaBBA - WeRKS

This may well be my favourite tune from 2k12 so far. It is an immaculately arranged collage of jazz samples that ebbs and flows in a way that perfectly recalls jazz's malleable structure. Indeed, this is where jazz music should have headed after the trane mastered it, and I'm not complaining about the Meters or Parliament, I'm complaining about Pat Metheny and all the lifeless drivel that calls itself jazz in the modern day. 'Werks' is a blistering workout of pulsing rhythms, screeching sax blasts, and mellow horn washes and swirls. Within its 4 minute run time, it stomps through several different vibes - from frantic to soothing to tense - all situated, amazingly enough, within a restrained sonic palette. Jabba has been dancing around the boundaries for a while; this tune sees him smashing them down and fixating on a refined and idiosyncratic sound that is perfectly balanced between music's past and future. Spend some time with it, lap it all up and enjoy it.