Vente Caffeinato
Music inspired by Coffee and Tropical Fruit Drinks
Caffeine Jazz
Caffeine Jazz, or CafJazz, is defined as “music inspired by coffee and tropical fruit drinks.”
This simple definition belies the complexity of this genre, which rose out of the coffee houses of Seattle, Washington and Portland, Oregon. Typical elements include Latin percussion, sampled sounds, and lyrical content typical of the genre.
Elements of the music which evoke coffee are bongo drums (used in the coffee house style rather than as in traditional Latin music), percussive sounds and rhythms meant to evoke the sound of percolating coffee, the hissing sound of steaming milk, or the grinding of coffee beans.
Elements of the music meant to evoke tropical fruit drinks include light, bouncy rhythms which evoke the feeling of tropical places, and cool relaxing melodies. CafJazz also makes heavy use of the conga, which - although not typically used in the classic coffee house - along with the bongo powers a lot of traditional Latin music.
This genre is closely related to the Exotica and Lounge genres, though with more Latin influence.
The avatar of Bongohead Bob to the right depicts the ying-yang of the two aspects of Caffeine Jazz. Coffee is represented by the beatnik, who although is against the establishment in principle, nevertheless understands he can never do anything of value without working hard. And the Rasta colors represent the fact that all of us should spend more time on an unnamed tropical island, sipping fruity ice cold drinks and forgetting the cares of our little piece of the world.
