Mel Simpson (Us3) is dead yesterday in London !

**Marcodj** · August 11th, 2004, 03:48 AM

Hello everybody,

I am really sad because yesterday died a friend of mine: MEL SIMPSON !

Yesterday Mel has passed away after a long battle with cancer.

Its big track was Cantaloop (Flip Fantasia / 1993). Us3's MEL SIMPSON and Geoff Wilkinson isolated a funky segment of Herbie Hancock's Cantaloupe Island, looped it and added samples, beats and Gerard Presencer's sparky trumpet to make a novel hybrid of funk and muzak that delighted boutique owners and TV producers around the globe.

The musical heart of Us3, MEL SIMPSON and Geoff Wilkinson, snipped, looped and blended well crafted musical songs out of the golden vault of truly classic Jazz Blue Note Records still owns.

Goodbye MEL !

**Videoskooter** · August 11th, 2004, 05:28 PM

Rest in peace and respect!

Just the fact that they were one of the first "modern" groups to be signed by the legendary Blue Note-label was already an achievement and they were worth it.

**K-Bee** · August 12th, 2004, 01:57 AM

Sad news indeed :cry:
I always liked US3...they had the guts to be different in a gangsta hip hop world...I truly respect that.

**Mixmachine** · August 12th, 2004, 08:55 PM

I'm sorry to hear this bad news, I certainly like their style, My local Smooth Jazz station still plays “Cantaloop Flip Fantasia” and only about a year ago after finally getting the song and band’s name I was able to track down this song on a Jazz compilation CD (instrumental), they also did the soundtrack for the movie “Get Shorty” with some cuts similar to “Cantaloop”, still need to get this CD.