Mocean Worker- swingin' beats

It's not like Mocean Worker thought up the idea of resurrecting big band swing to modern hip-hop beats- Boogie Down Productions did it (toasting Sidney Bechet) and so did Jurassic 5 ("Swing Set" on 2000's Quality Control) and hundreds of others I can't think of right now. But Gothamite MW (aka Adam Dorn) does it with such panache and soul, especially on his fifth album, Cinco De Mowo! (hear some of it on his MySpace page). His special guests include not only a virtual appearance by Rashaan Roland Kirk but also live in-person spots by Herb Alpert and Marcus Miller. MW's Les McCann and Nuyorican tributes are also joyful fun. Hopefully, his cross-style experiments will not only interest rap fans into old-school jazz but also do the opposite too and get some jazzbos interested in hip-hop. I mean, Guru's shown that connection's been there for years and as ill-advised as it sounded, Miles was on the tip at the end too.