Jazz Archives

On Jupiter is a great album recorded in 1979, about a year after Lanquidity. After easing in with the fairly brief title cut, a fairly mellow affair featuring June Tyson on vocals, listeners are treated to the all-out disco-funk of "U.F.O." Anchored by a monster bassline courtesy of Steve Clarke, this tune has fun ensemble vocals and great solos on guitar and tenor sax. This is as funky as Sun Ra ever got and really must be heard to be believed. Side two consists of "Seductive Fantasy," a lovely piece composed on top of a three-note bass ostinato that features lots of great piano from Ra and some interesting guitar sounds from either Skeeter McFarland or Taylor Richardson. John Gilmore gets plenty of room on this track as well and Luqman Ali's drumming is superb. This album is well worth picking up, but being one of those Saturn rarities makes it pretty difficult to do so.

:::Review by Sean Westergaard:::

Sun Ra - On Jupiter (1979)

1. On Jupiter 4:01
2. UFO 8:35
3. Seductive Fantasy 17:09

Credits
Alto Saxophone, Flute, Oboe – Marshall Allen
Alto Saxophone, Flute, Percussion – Danny Ray Thompson
Artwork By – Art Yard
Baritone Saxophone – Julian Pressley
Bass – Richard Williams
Bass Clarinet – Eloe Omoe
Bassoon, Flute, Percussion, Drums [Ancient Egyptian Infinity Lightning Drums] – James Jacson
Cello – Unknown Artist
Drums – Reg McDonald, Samarai Celestial
Drums, Vocals – Luqman Ali
Electric Bass – Steve Clarke
Electric Guitar – Skeeter McFarland, Taylor Richardson
Percussion – Atakatune
Piano, Electric Piano, Organ, Vocals, Composed By, Arranged By – Sun Ra
Tenor Saxophone, Percussion, Vocals – John Gilmore
Trumpet – Eddie Gale
Trumpet, Vocals – Michael Ray
Violin – Unknown Artist
Vocals – June Tyson

Space Probe dates from 1969-1970, and is a bit of an odd album. "Primitive" starts things out; basically it's a percussion piece featuring James Jacson's log drum and lots of hand percussion. There's just a bit of what sounds like bass clarinet at the beginning, but it doesn't last long. "Conversion of J.P." is a less cacophonous, percussion-oriented piece, highlighted at the beginning by the flute playing of Marshall Allen. Then Ra's piano enters about eight minutes in and takes the tune in a very different direction with the same percussion backing. Ra's playing here is fascinating, though not at all flashy. "Space Probe" is a side-long tour de force by Ra on the miniMoog, and he amply demonstrates that nobody handles a Moog quite like Sun Ra. It could be the sound effects to a '50s sci-fi flick, no problem, or a demonstration of how weird the miniMoog can get. It ain't easy listening, but it's pretty stunning all the same for those with adventurous ears.

:::Review by Sean Westergaard:::

Sun Ra - Space Probe (1978)

1. Space Probe 17:57
2. Earth Primitive Earth 6:12
3. Circe 0:47
4. Solar Symbols II 5:05
5. Dance Of The Wind 2:55
6. Recollections Of There 4:51
7. Destiny 0:54
8. The Conversation Of J.P 13:44

Credits
Clarinet [Bass] – John Gilmore
Drums [Hand] – Nimrod Hunt
Drums [Log Drum] – James Jacson
Flute – Marshall Allen
Synthesizer [Moog], Piano, Other [Intergalactic Instruments] – Sun Ra
Vocals – Thea Barbara

The Sun Ra Arkestra looks both forwards and backwards in time on this obscure small label LP. Ten years earlier, one could not have imagined Ra and his men romping through "On the Sunny Side of the Street" or reinventing "Flamingo." However, those versions certainly sound quite original, and there is no mistaking the band for any other orchestra on "Space Fling," "Manhattan Cocktail" and the trademark "Space Is the Place." The music on this album features a version of the Arkestra consisting of six reeds (including John Gilmore and Marshall Allen), three trumpets (including Michael Ray and Eddie Gale), two trombones (with a young Robin Eubanks), the French horn of Vincent Chancey, guitarist Dale Williams, three bassists, four percussionists, singer June Tyson and the leader's keyboards. A stimulating set.

:::Review by Scott Yanow:::

Sun Ra - The Other Side of the Sun (1979)

A1 Space Fling 7:37
A2 Flamingo 4:44
Composed By – Anderson, Grouya
A3 Space Is The Place 9:48
B1 The Sunny Side Of The Street
Composed By – J. McHugh 9:35
B2 Manhattan Cocktail 9:54

Credits
Arranged By – Sun Ra
Bass – Ben "Jereeboo" Henderson, Bob Cunningham, OscarBrown, Jr.
Composed By – Sun Ra (tracks: A1, A3, B2)
French Horn – Vincent Chancey
Guitar – Dale Williams
Percussion – Artaukatune, Eddie Thommus, Luqman Ali, William Goffigan
Photography By [Cover] – Jay Edgerton
Piano [Acoustic], Electric Piano [Fender Rhodes], Percussion, Bells, Vocals – Sun Ra
Producer – Sun Ra
Reeds – Danny Davis, Danny Thompson, Elo Omoe, James Jacson, John Gilmore, Marshall Allen
Trombone – Robin Eubanks, Tony Bethel
Trumpet – Eddie Gale, Michael Ray, Walter Miller
Vocals – June Tyson

Along with Lanquidity, Nuclear War is one of the rarest discs in Sun Ra's enormous catalog. Recorded in 1982, Nuclear War disappeared until 2001 when the Chicago-based Atavistic label made it part of their exceptional "Unheard Music Series." Originally Ra was so sure the funky dance track was a hit, he immediately took it to Columbia Records, where they immediately rejected it. Why he thought a song with the repeating chant "Nuclear War, they're talking about Nuclear War/It's a motherf***er, don't you know/if they push that button, your ass gotta go/and whatcha gonna do without your ass" would be a hit is another puzzle in the Sun Ra myth. Even with the danceability factor, without heavy censoring, the song would never be played on the radio. Severely depressed by the rejection, but still determined, Ra licensed the track to Y Records, a post-punk label out of Britain. Initially a vinyl 12" was released with "Sometimes I'm Happy" on the flip side. Two years later, Nuclear War was released as an album, but only in Italy. The remaining tracks include four originals and three standards, Ellington's "Drop Me Off in Harlem," "Sometimes I'm Happy," and "Smile." The latter two are highlights in their own right thanks to the gorgeous vocals of June Tyson.

:::Review by Al Campbell:::

Sun Ra - Nuclear War (1982)

1. Nuclear War 7:44
Vocals – June Tyson
2 Retrospect 5:40
3 Drop Me Off In Harlem 5:03
Written-By – Ellington
4 Sometimes I'm Happy 4:27
Vocals – June Tyson
Written-By – Caesar, Youmans
5 Celestial Love 5:30
6 Blue Intensity 5:14
7 Nameless One No. 2 3:59
8 Smile 4:25
Vocals – June Tyson
Written-By – Chaplin

Credits
Alto Saxophone, Flute – Marshall Allen
Baritone Saxophone, Flute – Danny Ray Thompson
Bass – Hayes Burnett
Bassoon, Percussion [Infinity Drum] – James Jacson
Congas, Percussion – Atakatune
Drums – Samarai Celestial
French Horn – Vincent Chancey
Piano, Synthesizer, Organ, Vocals – Sun Ra
Tenor Saxophone – John Gilmore
Trombone, Vocals – Tyron Hill
Trumpet – Walter Miller

A hard-to-find, alternately chaotic and tightly organized mid-'70s session that was issued on the Cobra, and then Inner City labels. Sun Ra provided some stunning moments on the Rocksichord, while leading The Arkestra through stomping full-band cuts of atmospheric or alternately hard bop compositions, peeling off various saxophonists for skittering, screaming, at times spacey dialogues.

:::Review by Ron Wynn:::

Sun Ra - Cosmos (1976)

1. The Mystery Of Two 5:47
2. Interstellar Low-Ways 4:45
3. Neo Project #2 5:15
4. Cosmos 2:50
5. Moonship Journey 6:30
6. Journey Among The Stars 5:50
7. Jazz From An Unknown Planet 8:10

Credits
Alto Saxophone, Flute – Danny Davis, Marshall Allen
Baritone Saxophone, Flute – Danny Thompson
Bass Clarinet, Flute – Elo Omoe
Bassoon, Flute – Jac Jackson
Drums – Larry Bright
Electric Bass – R. Anthony Bunn
French Horn – Vincent Chancey
Keyboards [Rocksichord] – Sun Ra
Tenor Saxophone – John Gilmore
Trombone – Craig Harris
Trumpet – Ahmed Abdullah

Second full Jazz Q studio album is their top release. It's interesting to notice how fast jazz band, founded in mid-60s became free jazz/experimental band in late 60s and turned to bluesy jazz- rock in early 70-s.
If you ever heard Jazz Q split album with Blue Effect (where they are more free jazz part, balanced with bluesy jazz rock by Blue Effect ), you will be surprised from very first sounds of this album. First of all, band have female vocalist now ( Joan Duggan), and then they play totally different music there.
Joan's vocals are in the key of Nico, with similar timbres, just stronger. Music on this album is keyboards-dominated jazz rock, influenced by Brian Auger, with often jazzy drumming and great Frantiek Francl guitar solos over it. Music is very bluesy, far not so complex and experimental as on band's split debut.
Excellent jazzy musicianship in combination with light psychodelia of Joan's vocals and perfect guitar work bring this album on forefront of similar albums (in fact this release could be placed at the same level with best Auger/Driscoll releases).
Best album of one of the best Czech jazz fusion bands from early 70-s. Very recommended!

:::Review by snobb:::

Jazz Q - Symbiosis (1973)

1. From Dark to Light (6:05)
2. Lost Soul (6:05)
3. Starbird (7:25)
4. The Wizard (16:25)
5. Epilogue (3:25)

Credits
Backing Vocals - Jiř Rotter , Leek Semelka , Pavel Dydovič , Vladimr Mik
Bass - Vladimr Padrůněk
Clarinet - Jan Kubk
Congas - Jiř Tomek
Double Bass - Alexander Čihař
Drums - Michal Vrbovec
Electric Piano, Piano, Organ, Harpsichord, Leader - Martin Kratochvl
Guitar - Frantiek Francl
Lead Vocals - Joan Duggan
Trumpet - Radek Pobořil

With two WR members emanating from Miles' Bitches Brew line-up (Zawinul and Shorter), it was obvious that their first album would be heavily influenced by it. But to everyone's surprise, WR's debut only took BB as a starting point and expanded on it, pushing the musical adventure a notch further and improvising so well and inspired, that you'd swear the whole thing is written. The duo enrolled the Czech-born Miroslav Vitous, (which will become an indispensable early WR's pillar) than secured Brazilian-born percussionist Airto Moreira and drummer Alphonse Mouzon, thus creating a real supergroup or an all-star line-up as the jazz circles prefer it. Released in 71 on the Columbia banner with a strange abstract artwork, WR's debut would take the JR scene by storm.
Right from the first twitches of Milky Way, we just know we're in for a long strange trip, as the music flirts with atonalities, then reaching a strange metamorphosed Miles jazz-funk (Umbrellas) that takes away the pleasantness and replacing it with cold hard improvising. On Seventh Arrow (a Vitous track), Zawinul's Fender Rhodes takes us sky-bound with Shorter's sax hovering like a mosquito around our ears until Zawinul derails the train into cosmic heights with his weird synths layers. The album's highlight is the Zawinul-penned Orange Lady, starting out lazily under the noontime sun, and then simply roasting under the scorching sun.
The flipside opens on the magical Morning Lake, with zawinul's Rhodes layering the track as to allow vitous to soar with his bass, while Shorter's sax is the cool breeze setting the mist apart to let the sunrays grace our ears. Waterfall, as you'd guess, is definitely more rapid than the Morning Lake, but obviously the cool Shorter breeze is not yet shaking the night's torpor. Shorter was being short-changed in terms of songwriting credits up to now, but he gets to close the album with two tracks, first the again-slow (but brooding and menacing) Tears (astounding track with celestial voices) and the funkier Eurydice, which is much closer to conventional jazz than the Z-S duo had done in quite a while.
An impeccable album, but not likely suited for everyone as it is much slower than you'd expect a WR album, especially for those more familiar with the Pastorius days. Personally, I always preferred the Vitous-era as they were truly groundbreaking and along with its successor, this album is clearly teir most progressive.

:::Review by Sean Trane:::

Weather Report - Weather Report (1971)

1. Milky Way (2:33)
2. Umbrellas (3:27)
3. Seventh Arrow (5:22)
4. Orange Lady (8:43)
5. Morning Lake (4:25)
6. Waterfall (6:20)
7. Tears (3:25)
8. Eurydice (5:45)

Credits
- Airto Moreira / percussion.
- Alphonze Mouzon / drums, voice
- Wayne Shorter / soprano & tenor saxophones
- Miroslav Vitous / acoustic & electric basses
- Joe Zawinul / acoustic & electric pianos

Additional musicians
- Don Alias / percussion
- Barbara Burton / percussion

Floating Anarchy
Here & Now's debut album is a stunning, if slightly inconsistent effort; when it's good, it kicks serious donkey and ranks up there with the very best space/prog has to offer. You will be hard pushed to find better.
If you're familiar with "Floating Anarchy" (listed under Gong), then you'll have an idea of what you're in for, as this is "The Here and Now Band" referred to on that album. Here & Now mix punk, reggae influences and space rock into a sound reminiscent of Gong and Hawkwind, and it's easy to hear where the Ozric Tentacles got their sound from (the Ozrics regularly supported Here & Now in the early 1980s before their first album release).
The first track is actually entitled "What You See is What You Are" on my original vinyl copy - and on the Here & Now fan sites. A catchy, spacy keyboard hook is joined by a unison female vocal and the bass/drums/guitar pile in with a driving riff for a pair of verses and chorsuses that are pleasant but don't attempt to progress. But the interesting bit is to follow; the instrumental section kicks off into a different dimension - a spine-tingling space bridge that could have been lifted from "You", but with the Here & Now twist; Kieth da Bass driving Kif Kif le Batteur's jazzy percussions under some superb Hillage-esque guitar from Steffi Sharpstrings - we get the feeling that this is something the Ozrics would like to have achieved.
"Nearer Now" is a well-written song with fabulous "walky" bass lines. There seem to be snippets of early Pink Floyd and Hawkwind here. There's a punky edge, and the song is in a fairly standard format - but somehow this is unmistakably prog rock, with the catchy yet unpredictable melody lines, contrapuntal instrumental parts and ambiguity of key base. Around 3:40 the instrumental section kicks in, and Steffi S provides spine-tingling and melodic guitar solo lines treading once more into Steve Hillage's shoes with something that might have come from "Green".
"Grate Fire of London" is the centerpiece for me. An absolute masterpiece in itself and worth the price of the album. Smoky keyboards swirl around ambient guitars as Sooze ba Blooze sings "I'm gonna find you again" in a pure voice - comparisons to Annie Haslam may be appropriate here, but the space whispers are more similar to Shakhti Yoni. Percussion and bass increase the dramatic tension, and we get colours of "Angel's Egg", but with added chaos and sirens. The instrumental section from around 5:02 onwards is peculiarly regressive in some ways, in that it hearkens back to "Flying Teapot" and even "Camembert Electrique", but with Keith's pounding bass lines. Steffi's unison guitars and Kif Kif's precision drumming confirm the "Camembert..." links - but the music does not kick in, leaving anticipation for what happens next...
...which I find somewhat unsatisfying. Keith's bass has a fantastic rich sound, da Blitz works some great spacey keyboards, Sharpstrings provides some really subtle stabbing accompaniment - but the overall effect is of a very repetitive and unimaginative song "This Time". When the change comes it's chaotic - but in a disorganised way. The "stream of consciousness" male vocals are probably the best feature of this track - although I might take issue with the line "If you wanna lot of chocolate on your biscuit join a club..."
"Seventies Youth" is delightfully "Dippy Hippy" and a simply wonderful song. At the same time, it is the foundation of the songwriting path that Here & Now would follow. The albums that come after this, up to "Been and Gone" all develop the style presented in this track - but are very hard to track down. Notable points; It's just a great song with superb textures - not harmonically adventurous, but slightly Bowie in flavour, and very psychedelic.
"Improvisation" is just that. 11 minutes of blissful Here & Now style improv - although you just know that the structure was pre-arranged... H & N demonstrate what it is to play with feeling - this is how it's done, boys and girls, and this would only be out of place on an Ozrics album because it outclasses the Ozrics all over. Otherwise, you might be forgiven for thinking this was the Tentacular ones with Hillage on lead and beautiful and sometimes slightly disturbing female backing vocals. Enjoy this one at maximum volume and dance around your clothes, which are probably in a pile on the floor by now...
But close the curtains, OK ;0)
Easily the proggiest of Here & Now's output of the 1970s and 1980 (the remainder of their albums focus on progressive songwriting, incorporating ever deeper punk and reggae influences), "Give and Take" possesses something of a mysterious otherworldly quality and comes highly recommended, despite the fact that I can't really award masterpiece status, mainly because of "This Time".

:::Review by Certif1ed:::

Here & Now - Give & Take (1978)

1. What You See Is What You Get (5:23)
2. Nearer Now (5:42)
3. Grate Fire Of London (7:33)
4. This Time (4:46)
5. Seventies Youth (5:00)
6. Improvisation (11:04)

Credits
- Steffy Sharpstrings / guitar, vocals
- Keith tha Missile / bass, vocals
- Gavin da Blitz / keyboards, synthesizers
- Kif Kif Le Batter / drums, guitar, vocals
- Suze da Blooze & Annie Mandrake / Choir of Angels

Wow!! I never start my review with wow. But apparently this group remains to be discovered by a lot of people, and that includes me. Talk about unearthing a gem here. Out of nowhere comes from the underworld this strange band that knows what drama is. As a matter of fact, some of their music can even be called operatic having not only a string section but also a moody wind section as well: jazzy feel on those very Spanish Conquistador dramatic themes. Yes, the music is often grandiose (sometimes bordering on the cheesy) and being somehow what Days Of Future Past should've been. Does this sound intriguing? Ya betcha!! These guys are drawing musical circles around you and they are twiddling with your unstabled brains with their incredible musical meanders and those orgasmic Mellotrons washes. For their second album, leader Browning opted for another horn section, and inside the quartet baritone singer Hoban stepped in to take the keyboards.
I am generally not an opera fan (and certainly do not like the "high culture" snobbery always present at those events), but here I will not only make an exception, we are in for a real rock opera, much more than the great Townsend threw at us into his trips and anguishes (go back to sleep, Rick!!). This music is really classical music fused with rock and might just be on the best example of fusion ever (even if I repeat the word cheesy). But the rock parts are hovering between early Crimson with a great (and much more than that) rhythm section, jazzy Spanish horn section drawing of Rodriguez-type of Aranjuez Concerto. Just flabbergasting if you let yourself taken by the waves of the music. The four tracks (two short and two epics) are gut-wrenching, fascinating, orgasmic, grandiose hair-raising (hear the Farewell of Dancer, the first epic) and yet flow so easily together to form one gigantic track. So much that the heavily rhythmic jazz rock of City Night Life simply does not shock, but actually perfectly and lovingly out-of-place, just like it was meant to be. Too bad for an excellent drum solo that lasted a minute too long, though. The title track starts on a slow operatic style but the crescendo is breathtakingly implacably progressive. Stupendous flutes with the whole orchestra pushing the oboe and other winds (the trombone gets some superb underlines), the whole thing resonates a bit like those unique and crazy Finns of Haikara (their first album really) due to the same Crimson influences but also Magma's works on choral works and interplay with rock. Stupendous, incredibly flawlessly played and written, this is nearing perfection although on the duration, not throughout the whole album, but close enough to be a masterpiece.
Just some 35 minutes-long, this album is easily the best thing to have come from down under, crushing any other pretenders by far, even (especially ;-) Sebastian Hardie. A second reissue saw the light of day in 06 (along with the never re-issued debut The Armada) with a 13-min+ bonus Browning-penned instrumental track Eagle Odyssey, which is not of the same era, recorded purposely for this album's bonus and entirely symphonic (no group or rock instruments). However it fits the album so well, that you don't even notice any difference and most listeners discovering the album now, will most likely integrate it in the album's oeuvre as if it had been there from the start. Sibelius and Strauss come to mind, when listening to this piece.
I'm not exactly sure how I should take the fact that this group was never being exposed (not even sure there are that many collectors who know of the group) and that they are finally getting exposition some 30 years later. This was obviously not a cheap record to make back then, so it is hard to understand how this group was never promoted properly. I just can't believe there are still some incredible albums that are finally getting a bit of attention some 30 years later (but this is also what keeps this old geezer up to his progressive obsessions ;-). Because music like this is only waiting for progheads to love it. One of my shocks this year!!!

:::Review by Sean Trane:::

Rainbow Theatre - Fantasy Of Horses (1976)

1. Rebecca
2. Dancer
.. a) Straicase
.. b) The big time
.. c) Spin
.. d) Theatre
.. e) Farewell
3. Caption for the city night life
4. Fantasy of horses
.. a) Early light
.. b) Frolic
.. c) Trappers
.. d) Captives
.. e) Frolic
.. f) Escape
.. g) Cliff edge

Credits
- Julian Browning / guitar, keyboards
- Ferg McKinnon / bass
- Graeme Carter / drums, percussion
- Keith Hoban / vocals, organ
- Frank Graham / trumpet
- Martin West / saxophone, clarinet
- Ian Relf / trombone
- Tricia Shevenan / flute
- Chris Stock / oboe
- Karin McGechie / violin
- Stephen Daunt / violin
- Nya Murray / violin
- Rowan Thomas / alto
- Sara Glenie / violoncello

Jean Louis's self-titled debut merges avant-jazz, math rock and noise into a stylish and highly energetic whole that kicks your ass from start to finish.
This three-piece, consisting of Aymeric Avice on trumpet, Joachim Florent on double bass and Francesco Pastacaldi on drums, creates an enormous sound with their heavy, groove laden melodies and tasteful electronics. The players here are really top-notch musicians and know how to play their respective instruments. The rhythm section likes to play math rock-esque grooves, while the noisy trumpet either joins in, or adds flourishes over the top with the use of a mic and effects pedals. This rhythm section rivals that of any of the great bands from the 70's, magma included and they rock out harder than most so-called rock bands out there. The drumming on this album is some of the best in any genre, but Joachim Florent on bass is really the glue that hold the band together. He is an absolute magician, changing from finger to bow and even thumping his bass with a drum stick on the song Airbus, his constantly shifting rhythms and deep grooves are really impressive to listen to and really brings a cohesiveness to the overall sound of the band.
The album starts off with the track Tourlac and what a start it is! This track really gets the album off to a rolling start with a screeching trumpet flowing into an incessant bass drum that soon gives way to a stop start section with all three instruments playing together. The bass and drums continue of a sick groove while the trumpet goes on a tangent, using electronics that sounds like multiple distorted trumpets all playing in unison. The song then moves into a quiet section with the bass playing a slow, chilled out rhythm while the trumpet adds various electronic flourishes. The track eventually builds and builds back to the original groove with a slight slowing down of tempo here and speeding up there and then winds down into a quiet ending with the trumpet and bass.
Maximator, starts with a somewhat slow and low key groove from the bass and drums which is then rudely interrupted by a howling trumpet that comes in from nowhere and transforms the song into a noisy beast. This is certainly the most aggressive track on the album and moves along quickly like a thrash metal song until its untimely end where the trumpet fades back out into the darkness. The first of the untitled tracks is a minimalist interval that serves the purpose of bringing the tracks together, whether it is successful is up to debate, but it is by no means unpleasant and is over soon enough. It consists of a heartbeat followed by speedy tapping on the cymbals and a moaning, creaking bass in the background.
The third track on the album called Zakir, begins with a serene bass playing by itself and is joined by a marching snare that is then soon accompanied by Aymeric's trumpet that plays in unison with Francesco's drums. The bass soon joins in the march and a siren then sounds announcing the start of an unexpected bass solo where Joachim's groove is embellished with tiny guitar-like effects and ghostly howls from the trumpet. The rest of the band then joins in and they play a wonderful , distorted, mid-paced groove together that eventually evolves into a into a blistering tempo that really makes the heart pump and then back into a quiet section with the bass thumping quietly while the trumpet plays a soft tune. The song ultimately regains its momentum and then ends with a stylish thud.
After another untitled track very similar to the first, the band performs Airbus. This is the real standout track on the album, by means of its incredible groovyness and suberb angular melodies. It launches with a groove (there's that word again!) in which all three instruments participate, and melts into a subdued free jazz-esque section until the Joachim announces the return of the marvelous math rocky rhythm that dominates much of the song with the pounding of a drumstick on his stand up bass. They continue of this super sweet groove until the trumpet plays a kind of rolling circular pattern where the music comes into a sort of free-jazz section. The drums play and the bass pulses as they build into a running start as the trumpet screams over top of them, shouting into the mic. The swinging groove returns and becomes faster and ever faster and frantically runs to the finish line, ending in a noisy mess of muddled sound.
Tranche is another terrific track that blends heavy riffs and intense jazz into a wonderful combination. The beginning is a heap of different sounds floating in and out as the bass is bowed in a steady fashion. The track progresses to a pulsating rhythm and gets really cooking about midway through, where the trumpet pumps out more guitar riffs and the the drummer constantly pounds on the snares. This song is Aymeric's finest as his trumpet soars above the constantly shifting backing rhythms.
Chasseurs En Transe is started with the marching of the snare drum and the track is set in motion by a constantly thumping bass drum. The song rolls along at a good pace with the horn screeching and wailing all over the place. This section is a real thumper that moves into one of the most swinginest sections on the album before making room for one of the free jazz-like parts of it. The track ends with the return of the original melody and a bass that fades out.
Another untitled and then the finale of the album, a song called Kasams. A song that starts with several loud bangs that shifts into a rapid tempo. The bass throbs and the trumpet plays, sounding like many, as the song then dissolves into a pulsating bass where the drums cease and eerie noises creep in and out. The tune builds back up and the drums return with a flurry of notes and beats that takes the tune to even greater heights. The band continues on a scorching pace, deconstructs it, only to build it back up again. They conclude it with a huge breakdown, a few minutes of silence, a solo trumpet and then a bass solo as an afterthought to thank the listener.
Jean Louis's debut is nothing short of spectacular and is one of the finest RIO/Avant-prog albums to be found anywhere. The band is definitely not one to be missed, with their great interplay and undeniably weighty grooves and will appeal to jazz, noise, and math rock fans. This album is an absolutely essential one for any serious collector of avant-garde music and to any prog fan in general.

:::Review by Evolutionary Sleeper:::

Jean Louis - Jean Louis (2008)

1. Tourlac (6:57)
2. Maximator (2:31)
3. ... (1:10)
4. Zakir (9:31)
5. ... (0:50)
6. Airbus (7:00)
7. Tranche (6:17)
8. Chasseurs En Transe (5:44)
9. ... (0:43)
10. Kasams (8:45)

Credits
- Aymeric Avice / trumpet
- Joachim Florent / double bass
- Francesco Pastacaldi / drums