Jazzmatazz, the first solo album by Gang Starr’s Guru, is a logical extension of this musical symbiosis. Released more than 25 years ago, Jazzmatazz is the first successful example of fusing straight-ahead East Coast hip-hop with live jazz artists.

Guru enlists a cast of jazz heavyweights to cut loose and show their love. Given Gang Starr’s connection and his own deep and abiding love for jazz music, Guru putting together the Jazzmatazz project as his first solo album made perfect sense. Guru’s smoky, deep baritone always sounded like the spoken equivalent of a Ron Carter bass solo, and through his production for Jazzmatazz, he creates a sound that is perfectly suited for his vocals.

“My main concern was to maintain my street credibility and to represent the hardcore rap crowd because they got me to where I am now,” Guru says in the album’s liner notes. Guru worked to preserve the integrity of both the jazz and rap sides of the equation.

Guru generally followed one formula throughout the recording process. First, he’d put together the rhythm track (the drums and the bassline) and come up with the concept and title for the song. Second, the jazz performer would then record his soloist material over the existing rhythm track. Finally, Guru would lay down his vocals over the completed instrumental. The result succeeds in honoring both its rap and jazz masters. Both the lyrical and musical sides shine, as all involve shift tones and tempos from upbeat to mellow to melancholy.

Jazzmatazz became a continuing side project for Guru throughout the ’90s and ’00s. He released the second and third volumes during the interims between Gang Starr projects, and released the fourth in 2007 after he left the group. The first Jazzmatazz is the finest of the entries, and proof positive that Guru could take the lead on a project and excel.