Chicago, Illinois, USA
Jazz Fuzz is a Chicago based musical collective that has spent the last fifteen years exploring the intersections of deep jazz, psychedelic soul, golden era hip hop, and electronic production. Founded by two neighbors, Aaron Landsman and Clark Nelson, the project began with a simple premise: make beats together. Landsman, a tech junky and aspiring producer and musician, and Nelson, a longtime DJ and record collector, had talked about making music for a while. After listening to a Candeia track that Nelson recognized had a baile funk beat, he called Landsman and the Jazz Fuzz partnership was born.
Their initial efforts were sample based, drawing on sources from Nelson's massive record collection. Think golden era hip hop production, with breaks and samples running through the gamut of genres, with plenty of stops around the world. Directed towards the dance floor, tracks were deeply layered with a cinematic soul quality, as well as a psychedelic vibe. Dub production techniques would also often come into play. The weirder the better.
Eventually live musicians were added and the duo produced an album by rapper Raw Thesus titled "Maywood ILL". Somewhere along the way Jazz Fuzz evolved into a live band with Landsman playing guitar, Nelson picking up the bass, and friend Alan Jeong playing drums, keys, and sax. Veteran drummer Marcus Casa Madrid eventually filled the full time drummer role, letting Jeong concentrate on sax and keys. They concentrate mostly on original material written by Landsman and Nelson, with each handling vocals.
Today, Jazz Fuzz continues to evolve as both a studio project and a live ensemble, maintaining their commitment to deep, soulful, and psychedelic music that draws from a global palette of influences.
Jazz Fuzz on Tropical Diaspora Records
The connection between Jazz Fuzz and Tropical Diaspora Records came like all the histories behind Tropical Diaspora Records releases—through the connection with DJ Garrincha, the label's founder and curator. Between 2017 and 2020, DJ Garrincha lived in Chicago, where he forged many connections and made good friends in the Windy City. Among those friendships was the one with Clark Nelson. Clark is a vinyl collector and Brazilian by heart. Both are DJs and love vinyl, and they played many times together alongside others in Chicago's vibrant underground scene. Their shared passion for rare grooves and deep digging created a natural bond that would eventually lead to this collaboration.
When Tropical Diaspora Records began work on the Banda Jardes - Nego Vem Samba remaster project, DJ Garrincha knew exactly who to call. Jazz Fuzz was the perfect choice to create the first official remix of "Grilos Da Vida". Taking the sun-drenched, brass-filled soul of the original 1976 São Paulo samba-rock hit, Jazz Fuzz masterfully blended it with their signature sound—a cool, hypnotic fusion of deep jazz, walking basslines, and a subtle electronic groove. The result is a transatlantic conversation between the vibrant energy of São Paulo and the sophisticated, late-night vibe of Chicago.
The original "Grilos Da Vida (Nego Vem Sambá)" by Banda Jardes is the stuff of Brazilian vinyl lore. Released in 1976 from the district of Guaianases in São Paulo, it became a phantom record—everyone in São Paulo's vinyl shops knows of it, almost no one holds it. The single surviving copy was entrusted to Tropical Diaspora Records by the late composer Regis Moreno himself under a solemn promise: to reissue the music with integrity.
Jazz Fuzz's edit is digital only. It follows the label's deliberate policy: two exclusive vinyl editions (Bugiganga Tropical Vol. 1 and Cities of Diaspora Vol. 1) remain the only physical pressings of "Grilos Da Vida". All edits, including this one and the Dub Manual Edit from Olinda, Brazil, are reserved for streaming and download.
Discography on Tropical Diaspora Records
2025: Banda Jardes – "Grilos Da Vida" (Jazz Fuzz Edit) [Digital Single]
Follow Jazz Fuzz
@jazzfuzzmusic