Groove Planet | Future Music (US)

Delivered in Apple Loops, WAV files and REX files, this collection of bass and drums construction kits is well-focused, well-arranged and, well, really good-sounding. By starting with a hot drummer and bass player locked in together over song structures, then seperating out the corresponding loops, the producers of this 500MB+ set come as close to a live vibe as you're likely to get from a sample collection. Fans of original acid-jazzers from Donald Byrd to Roy Ayers will dig on the crisp, detailed snare work and ride cymbal change-ups, along with the meaty basslines that mostly eschew popping and slapping for a moe old-school fingered approach, coupled with some dark tonalities that keep it from straying into "happy Jazz" territory.