Reginald Chapman is a trombonist based in New York that for years has been making his name playing in all sorts of different scenarios, from Broadway to classical and jazz performances to brass bands and indie rock groups like Foxygen. In 2018, he teamed up with Portland label Fresh Selects to release his debut solo album, Prototype. While it’s not quite time for a sophomore album, we now have Prototype Remixes to tide us over.

As readers are probably aware, remix albums always come down to the two main factors of source material and the producers brought in to do the remixes. In terms of source material, Chapman had an excellent debut with Prototype, as he brought together jazz, R&B, funk, hip hop, and more in to his own coherent style. With the complex and fun musicality on the album, I can only imagine that there were a few producers just chomping at the bit to remix some of this material and put their own spin on things. For this particular collection, we get 13 different producers, with everyone from Stro Elliot to Hot 16 to Drew Dave to Omari, just to name a few. While everyone does their own thing, the common thread throughout is that everyone is smart enough to still let Chapman’s trombone playing shine over the top of each track. So yeah, now things might be a little more downtempo or boom bap or house influenced, but you’re still getting this bright and energetic and soulful trombone soaring over each track. The only real problem, and it’s a small one, is that we get a few repeats, especially with four different versions of “You Go To My Head.” Each version is really nice and well done, but the different versions aren’t radically different enough to not feel like we went back to the well one to many times. That said, this remix collection does the ultimate job that it’s asked to do, which is to make you realize what a great album Prototype was and let you appreciate a few talented producers as well.

It might be a minute still until we get a sophomore full-length album out of Reginald Chapman, but Prototype Remixes is a nice way to tide yourself over until it’s here. It will remind you of Chapman’s talent and vision, while also letting some talented producers get their own shine with some creative reimagining happening as well.