Dinah Washington, Rae & Christian - Is You Is Or Is You Ain't My Baby

2004

Dinah Washington, Rae & Christian - Is You Is Or Is You Ain't My Baby (2004) Director: Kevin Lofton Era: Verve Remixed Era / Early-2000s Jazz-Electronic Revival (2002–2004) - A period defined by major labels licensing classic jazz vault recordings to contemporary electronic producers, bridging post-war jazz heritage with early-2000s club culture and lounge aesthetics. High curatorial value as a convergence artifact: it documents the Verve Remixed series at its commercial peak, preserves Kevin Lofton's directorial work in the music video format, and represents Augenblick Studios' engagement with major-label commissions prior to their rise to prominence with Wonder Showzen and Ugly Americans. As an animated music video for a posthumous jazz vocalist remixed by a contemporary electronic duo, it is a rare and well-documented example of multi-era cultural synthesis in early-2000s music video production. Context: This video sits at the intersection of two distinct cultural moments: the posthumous commercial rehabilitation of classic jazz vocalists through electronic remix culture, and the early-2000s revival of high-quality independent animation for promotional use. Released under the Verve Remixed series, which debuted in 2002 and became a globally influential template for jazz-electronic crossover, the video uses 2D animation to visualize Dinah Washington's 1950s vocal performance recontextualized by Manchester-based duo Rae & Christian's downtempo remix. The choice of animation rather than live-action grounds the video in mid-century aesthetics, reinforcing the source material's era while appealing to a contemporary audience raised on MTV animation. The Verve Remixed project was significant in demonstrating that pre-rock jazz recordings could achieve commercial chart viability in the early 2000s, a development with lasting impact on catalogue marketing strategy in the music industry. Director notes: Directed for Augenblick Studios (Brooklyn, NY), an independent animation studio founded in 1999 by Aaron Augenblick. The video was produced for The Verve Music Group (UMG) as part of the promotional campaign for the Verve Remixed series, with copyright © 2004. The production combines Lofton's background in MTV-era animation with a commission rooted in the early-2000s jazz-electronic revival. The Dailymotion upload credits confirm: 'Film Producer: Augenblick Studios / Film Director: Kevin Lofton / Composer Lyricist: Louis Jordan, Billy Austin / © 2004 The Verve Music Group, a Division of UMG Recordings, Inc.'