Fast Paced Jazz or Jazztronica for my Driving Playlist

December 23, 2008 7:31 PM

I'm having trouble finding music of a particular genre... kind of like "action jazz music." or maybe cinematic jazz music?

I'm creating a playist called Night Racing.... the kind of tunes you can drive fast two at 1am when you have the road all to yourself. The soundtrack to the anime "Metropolis" comes to mind, but any kind of fast tempoed, groove heavy, jazz chart, electronica remix, soundtrack or something a long those lines would be perfect. The only song in my playlist right now of that type is the Zero dB remix of Peace Orchstra's "Henry." and Branford MArsalis "Elysium (the first 4 min of it anyways!) Any help is greatly appreciated!!

happy holidays!

By the by, I checked out similar posts, and picked up a bunch of new albums from it cause they sounded great, but I'm looking for something more on the live side that the DJ side

posted by FireStyle to media & arts (30 comments total)

The music from the Cowboy Bebop anime might be what you are looking for.
posted by vrakatar at 7:42 PM on December 23, 2008 [2 favorites]

Yoko Kanno somehow a 26 episode anime series produced dozens of CD's... also Jesus Built My Hotrod is total driving music.
posted by zengargoyle at 7:47 PM on December 23, 2008 [1 favorite]

I've always thought that 'Dodge the Dodo' on 'From Gagarin's Point of View' and 'When God Created the Coffeebreak' on 'Strange Place for Snow', both by the Esbjorn Svensson Trio, had a kind of action-movie feel to them. Also check out The Bad Plus - a lot of their stuff, to my ears, could be music to the chase scene in an early 60's Bond flick
posted by eclectist at 7:56 PM on December 23, 2008 [1 favorite]

Lalo Schifrin (the composer of various movies), specifically his Magnum Force stuff, sounds like a fit.
posted by DolorousEdd at 8:21 PM on December 23, 2008

John Zorn?
posted by vrakatar at 8:28 PM on December 23, 2008 [2 favorites]

Did a 1700 mile road trip, and every time I put on Charles Mingus's "Better Git it Your Soul" I stepped on the pedal a little harder. Incredible mix of solos and tempos and basic hootin and rootin the players on. I'm sure it's just an auditory hallucination, but it seems like it gets faster as it goes. However stupid it sounds, I just stuck it on for reference while I'm posting this, and while sitting in a chair, can still see places flying past my windows in a blur. I would highly recommend it.
posted by timsteil at 8:37 PM on December 23, 2008

Your radio station, good sir/ma'am.
posted by Inspector.Gadget at 8:49 PM on December 23, 2008 [1 favorite]

thanks for the suggestions... some of the tracks are pretty fly... I thought of another good example... the gran turismo video game soundtrack. Jazzy tunes like that... sounds like electronic drums with live jazz quartet.
posted by FireStyle at 8:51 PM on December 23, 2008

Holy smokes! Inspector.Gadget linked a seriously good resource there.
posted by vrakatar at 9:35 PM on December 23, 2008

Seconding Yoko Kanno's Cowboy Bebop soundtrack.
posted by Muffpub at 10:23 PM on December 23, 2008

I'll 2nd SomaFM's Secret Agent. It used to be my constant companion as I worked. Until I bought every track they play. And Lalo Schifrin, most famously the composer of the original Mission: Impossible theme.

The Beasite Boys' The In Sound From Way Out! always makes me feel like taking on the City.

Browsing though my music I might also suggest:
Ursula 1000: Ursadelica
Some of David Holmes's sound tracks (Ocean's 11 and 12)
Maybe a few Verve Remixes.
posted by Ookseer at 10:47 PM on December 23, 2008

The first track from Exploding Star Orchestra's We are all from somewhere else might fit the bill.
posted by hydrophonic at 10:49 PM on December 23, 2008

Amon Tobin (specifically Supermodified and Permutation, and specifically not Foley Room).
posted by box at 11:23 PM on December 23, 2008 [1 favorite]

There's always Herbie Hancock's Future Shock
posted by paultopia at 12:57 AM on December 24, 2008

You need the KPM production music library's Music for Dancefloors and Action Drive.
posted by phrontist at 3:14 AM on December 24, 2008 [2 favorites]

United Future Organization - United Future Airlines, The Planet Plan
Marden Hill - Hijack
posted by nomisxid at 5:03 AM on December 24, 2008

I second Amon Tobin's Supermodified and Permutation although I'm not sure if the tempo will be fast enough for you. I think those albums are better described as periodically frenetic than fast paced. The tracks don't jump around a lot melodically, it's more about rhythm and layering --> permutations

I don't drive but Amon Tobin is great to listen to when I'm walking or busing around in the city at night.
posted by quosimosaur at 6:11 AM on December 24, 2008

I would recommend some Raymond Scott. Do you know the music that plays in cartoons as the characters are chasing each other down the hallway? That's Raymond Scott - some time, literally Raymond's music. His music was used a lot in Ren and Stimpy.

Listen to Powerhouse, which is at the top of the list here.
posted by Brettus at 7:36 AM on December 24, 2008

Crime Jazz!
posted by bink at 9:09 AM on December 24, 2008

Look into Barry Adamson. The EP The Negro Inside Me has 3 or more that would fit the bill (mid-temp 'Dead Heat' for example) and there are others.

This John Zorn/Naked City CD probably also has some tracks for you ('Batman').
posted by K.P. at 9:43 AM on December 24, 2008 [1 favorite]

Seconding the KPM stuff if you can find it. Its all pretty amazing.
posted by zennoshinjou at 10:23 AM on December 24, 2008

What you need is My Life With The Thrill Kill Kult's album "Hit and Run Holiday". It is the go-to soundtrack for late night sleaze-rocking and a celebration of the road at night.

"I'm tired of just driving around, let's go some place.
Alright, like where we going?
Anywhere, just as long as we stay out good and late!"
posted by FatherDagon at 10:29 AM on December 24, 2008

If you like Future Shock, Hancock and Bill Laswell did a few more albums along similar lines--Sound System and Perfect Machine in the '80s (they also worked on Village Life, with Foday Musa Suso, around that time, but it's probably not what you're looking for), then Future 2 Future around the millennium.
posted by box at 11:17 AM on December 24, 2008

I think Bink is right and that you are looking for CRIME JAZZ and its sequel, called (I think) CRIME JAZZ: MUSIC IN THE SECOND DEGREE.
posted by Mr. Justice at 5:03 PM on December 24, 2008

The Propellerheads decksanddrumsandrockandroll - the spy jazz funk does me right!
posted by noahv at 6:17 PM on December 24, 2008

you will definitely find some on the kobayashi routine jazz, but there is a lot to sift through.
posted by edtut at 3:04 AM on December 25, 2008

Mark. Goddamn. Ronson.
posted by Jon_Evil at 5:36 AM on December 25, 2008

My term for it is "whoopass jazz!" Try: Nicola Conte, Ursula 1000, luxuriamusic.com, 18th Street Lounge Records, Ishtar Records. Seconding United Future Organization. I always get great new directions to pursue from browsing the Dusty Groove website. And look up Clarke-Boland Big Band if you want music that's more ['60s big band] jazz than -tronica.
posted by oldtimey at 12:26 PM on December 25, 2008

I don't really have any new recs, but I'm seconding

Mark Ronson (specifically his album Version, which is big band jazz/funk covers of British number one singles)

Propellerheads: Decksandrumsandrockandroll (remember Spybreak, the song from the lobby scene in the Matrix? This is a whole album of that.)

Yoko Kanno's Cowboy Bebop Soundtrack, which was performed by Japanese Jazz-Rock group The Seatbelts.
posted by sleeping bear at 11:12 AM on December 26, 2008

oh man.... this music is soooo fly!! this is exactly what I was looking for. AskMe FTW! =)
posted by FireStyle at 4:48 PM on December 29, 2008