Della Sol Quintet - Serenade (M-Sol) [Jazz / Beats]

Della Sol Quintet is an unhurried jazz project led by New Zealand guitarist and composer, Matteo Callahan. He hit the ground running last year by gathering a pool of obviously like-minded musicians and rapidly developing a nice line in cultured, classic-sounding, old-school hip hop tempo and indebted jazz, that will sound just the ticket on a lazy Sunday morning or during late-night downtime.

Credits are thin on the ground for "Serenade", but it seems he's got good taste in band members. The track starts off in ambient synth fashion, a gentle touch on the drum kit hinting at the genre to come, before a languid, well-worn but always welcome, drum beat shapes the soundscape, then boom, a bassline with more bounce to the chill-out ounce lethargically bumps through the speakers, and the track's smoky jazz meets hip hop beats credentials are cemented.

Rhythm destination set, it's time for the saxophone to enter the picture, a smooth refrain looped to perfection as the synths provide some astral ambience, teeing up a smooth and sensual horn line that floats through the speakers in no hurry whatsoever, and then hangs invitingly in the air. Throw in some gentle keyboard noodling to round things off and it's as welcome a trip back to laid-back, back in the day jazz-hop as you'll hear this year.

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Playlist Companion

Find DSQ in the Slow Hop Playlist.