Guru (b. Keith Elam 18 July 1966 Roxbury, Massachusetts, USA), a veteran jazz musician, has been able to create and sell a long-lasting commercial and creative product. N’Dea Davenport (Brand New Heavies), Courtney Pine and Branford Marsalis were among the participants in the first installment. Also, Lonnie Smith, Donald Byrd, Lonnie Listeon Smith, and MC Solaar, a French rapper, were involved. This was a creative combination that was highlighted by the single ‘No Time To Play’ featuring the vocals and lyrics of Dee C. Lee (Style Council), which helped to relaunch his career. The Jazzmatazz project was founded in Gang Starr’s ‘Jazz Thing,’ a collaboration with Marsalis that Spike Lee used to theme Mo’s Better Blues. In 1995, a second volume was released, which featured a duet featuring Chaka Khan, and production work by Solsonics. The third volume was released in October 2000. It featured a more urban sound, featuring contributions by Macy Gray, Donell, Kelis, Craig David and Angie Stone. Production work was done by Guru, Dallas Austin, Neptunes and DJ Scratch. Allmusic
