Marlena Shaw – Woman Of The Ghetto (Akshin Alizadeh Remix)

9th June 2021 · 2010s, 2014, Dance, Jazz, Music, Soul

Marlena Shaw’s soul classic Woman Of The Ghetto gets a  summery makeover fusing mellow dance grooves with jazzy sax by Akshin Alizadeh.

Alizadeth is a producer from Azerbaijan who has made a series of remix albums called Street Bangerz (the title probably sounds cooler in the clubs of Baku).

Floating on a mellow groove, the sax transports the song into a different dimension, perfectly complementing those jazz-funk keyboards.

I don’t know his other work, apart from a version of Southern Man that made me yearn to hear Neil Young’s original, but I’m told he’s a pretty decent musician in his own right, playing the violin and piano since childhood.

His music is strongly influenced by jazz, combining funky grooves and hip hop beats. Which is roughly what he brings to Marlena’s tune.

It sounds like something from one of those Buddha Bar albums of chillout grooves that you hear in beach bars all over the world – although not, I suspect, in Clacton, Camber Sands or Southend.

So break out the Mai Tais, settle back on a sun lounger, and press play…