Tracked live at The Blue Room at Third Man Records and released in March, Starlito w/Brassville finds the venerable Music City MC leading a big band with a stacked horn section — making huge artistic leaps, again, for something like the 20th year running. Placed in the context of Brassville’s deep Southern jazz-funk, Lito’s staccato vocal approach cuts a Grant Green-like groove. While it doesn’t get as jazzy as, say, Juicy J covering Gershwin — a real thing that happened! — Starlito and Brassville walk a path between Miles, The Meters and the Mizells that evokes neon-soaked nights and foggy mornings. Lito’s casual delivery and complex emotional landscapes put the bow on the package, making Starlito w/Brassville one for the ages.
