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Back to Renovation Reviews Kelly Rossum Renovation Trumpeter Kelly Rossum hails from Minneapolis, but plays as sophisticated a brand of soul jazz as anyone on either coast. With a Miles Davis-like mute and a hip-hop influenced backbeat, his second CD, Renovation, swings freely, easily and comfortably between bop, house, free jazz and chill. It's a new generation of acid jazz, the logical and artistic extension of what US3 started a few years back, melding the instrumentation and improvisation of jazz to the hypnotic rhythms of the latest club sounds. The best part of his new album is that he's written some great new songs for it. The opening track, “Cheap Cigars,” has a memorable little background riff which Rossum plays melody atop of; “Life on Mars” is an aggressive, muscular straight-ahead piece that gets right in your face and never backs down. There are some interesting covers, too – Hendrix's “Little Wing” is turned into an introspective mood piece, while Ornette Coleman's “Bugpowder” is, if anything, more frenetic than the originator's wildest sessions. Rossum's sophomore effort is brave, fun and listenable – and a near-perfect answer to anyone who claims jazz is dead. Jim Trageser Turbula.net Vol. III, Issue III “Please take time to visit this great website!” — Kelly Read Next Review