The prolific
De-Phazz was a jazzy, lounge-oriented downtempo project led by German-Austrian producer
Peter "Pit" Baumgartner, who surrounded himself with a shifting cast of collaborators that featured vocalists
Barbara Lahr,
Karl Frierson, and
Pat Appleton, as well as drummer
Oli Rubow. Albums like
Detunized Gravity (1997),
Godsdog (1999),
Death by Chocolate (2001),
Daily Lama (2002),
Days of Twang (2007), and
Big (2009) explored various terrains of 21st century lounge music, much of it balancing samples with live instrumentation, with innumerable cross-sections of jazz, soul, easy listening, and Latin music.
Baumgartner was also no stranger to outside work; he remixed
Ella Fitzgerald's "Wait 'til You See Him" for the first
Verve Remixed compilation, as well as
Kool & the Gang and
a-ha. ~ Andy Kellman, All Music Guide
