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A really compelling blend of jazz and electronics – served up here in a way that's very different than any other project of its nature! This isn't one of those records where reed improvisations mix with free analog electronics, yet it's also not one where electric rhythms provide the base for jazz samples – as Konrad Agnas criss-crosses all sorts of lines and styles with the record – sometimes reveling in the acoustic warmth of the saxophone work of Per Texas Johanssen, other times letting rhythms get crisp and crackling from his own drums, informed with work on an OP1 synthesizer! Torbjorn Zetterberg provides some amazing bass – almost funky at times, and certainly some of his most soulful work on record – and the group also features Hammond B3 and piano from Johan Graden. Titles include "Manech Och Vargen", "Bismillah", "Half Year Song", "Siwa", "Untitled 1972", "Don Rythmicon", "Rite Of Passage", and "Arthur & Jeremiah". CD

A compelling chapter in the long and wonderful career of reedman Per Texas Johansson – a set that features a larger ensemble interpreting his ideas, and working with a really incredible combination of horns! The group perform three longer compositions under the direction of Johan Siberg, and there's an insane criss-crossing of instruments throughout – a variety of clarinets from Per, plus other reeds from Johan Horlen, Astrid Le Clercq, Fredrik Ljungkvist, Alberto Pinton, and Linus Lindblom – plus trumpets from Joakim Agnas, Emil Strandberg, and Karl Olandersson – and trombones from Mats Aleklint, Mats Agelid, and Lisa Bodelius! The horns really shape the sound here, but there are some other elements in the mix – vibes from Mattias Stahl, bass from Par Ola Landin, piano from Rasmus Borg, and drums from Konrad Agnas – but all elements that really step back at many points and let the woodwinds and brass direct the music. Titles include "Livet I Tre Delar", "Klarinet", and "Orosmoln". CD

The hippest installment so far in the Brazilika series – a mad mix of musical styles from Finders Keepers mainman Andy Votel – all in a freaky, funky, fuzzy blend of sounds! The tracks here are much grittier than the work we're used to hearing from the Far Out label – as Votel's dug through the 60s and 70s vaults of RGE/Som Livre Records to come up with rare Brazilian rock, funk, and other heavy styles from back in the day! As with Votel's reissues on Finders Keepers, there's a sound here that's informed by beathead record collecting – a love of older grooves directed by current musical developments – all with a definite ear for the wilder side of the sound spectrum. Most tracks have a pretty heavy groove – and the styles run from psychedelic rock through Tropicalia-inspired tunes, to post-bossa, Bahian sounds, and more. Titles include "Funga Funga" by Trio Soneca, "Careta" by Betinho, "Modulo Lunar" by Os Brazoes, "Terra Livre" by Abilio Manoel, "Os Bichos" by Trio Soneca, "De Vera" by Novos Baianos, "Ciladas" by Pery Ribeiro, "Se Voce Pensa" by Moraes Moreira, "Flores Belas" by Tim Maia, "1974" by Gerson Conrad & Zeze Motta, "Gamboa" by Brazilian Octopus, "Deixe Entrar Um Pouco D'Agua No Quintal" by Os Mutantes, "Periscopio" by Azimuth, and "Gotham City" by Os Brazoes. CD

The title's a great one for a number of reasons – first because there's some nicely muted trumpet on the session, played both by Magnus Broo and Goran Kajfes, both players we really love – and secondly, because the energy of the session is nicely muted too – like a fire that's kept slow-burning and under control, but which ends up delivering a lot more heat over a lot more distance – and that's saying a lot from a lineup of players who could easily go off like a firecracker! There's a strong sense of composition and individual identity here – kind of an evolution of a Charles Mingus spirit, but taken to territory that's perfect for the contemporary Scandinavian lineup – which also features Mats Aleklint on trombone, Mattias Stahl on vibes, Alexander Zethson on piano, Johan Berthling on bass, Konrad Agnas on drums, and Martin Kuchen on alto sax – the last of whom composed the three long titles on the set – "A Muted Reality", "The Hidden Balcony", and "Fkk Down Fkk Off". CD

Way more than just a James Bond cash-in record – and instead an ultra-hip jazz session from the west coast scene of the 60s! The James Bond at the helm of the record is actually Jimmy Bond – the great bassist who worked on some key sessions of the late 50s and early 60s as a sideman, and who turns out to be a surprisingly great leader on this rare mid 60s date! The record is more jazz than anything else – played with a crime/spy bent, to be sure – but also flowing with really great solos and a fair bit of a bossa influence in the rhythms! The group here is more than hip enough to make the record work – with Harold Land on tenor sax, Bobby Bryant on trumpet, and Buddy Colette on flute and tenor – all working in a sextet led by Bond, with plenty of round, warm, almost modal lines on his bass – punctuated nicely by piano from Joe Parnello and drums by Joh Guarin. Arrangements are by Dick Groove – who keeps things very groovy – and many of the tracks here are actually original numbers written by Bond and Warren Baker, titled after Ian Fleming books that had not yet been made into movies at the time of this album! Titles include "Casino Royale", "Moonraker", "For Your Eyes Only", "007 Theme From Dr No", "Man With The Golden Gun", "Diamonds Are Forever", and "Live & Let Die". CD

An album that's quite unlike anything else we've ever heard from this great European reedman – a set that seems to have Per Texas Johansson working in deeper tones, richer colors, and a bolder sense of music than before – more focus on the overall sound of the group, yet still with plenty of improvisations from individual members! There's often a strong bottom to the record – sublime work on bass from Petter Eldh, who's one of the secret heroes of the date – and who also seems to inspire bolder piano work from Johan Graden too – in a lineup that also features Mattias Stahl on vibes, Konrad Agnas on drums, Josefin Runsteen on viola and violin, and Johan Linstrom on pedal steel. Yet the real master of color here is Johansson – who blows oboe, bass clarinet, tenor, and other reed instruments – opening up with a sense of majesty that we're not sure we've ever heard before! Titles include "Var Ar Musiken", "Sent I Livet", "Mardrommen", "Dem Sista Isen", "Det Meningslosa", and "Stor Radila". CD

A really great change in the music of Swedish guitarist Johan Lindstrom – music that expands the vision of his previous record, and also explores some more song-based territory – while still allowing for lots of musical contributions from other players we love on the Moserobie label! You know something's different when Elvis Costello steps in on the first track for a bit of spoken lyrics to a song he wrote with Lindstrom – and things continue to move in other ways throughout – with vocals from Sofie Livebrandt on two tracks, amidst work from Jonas Kullhammar on saxes and flute, Per Texas Johansson on clarinet and tenor, Jesper Nordenstrom on piano and organ, Mats Aleklint on trombone Torbjorn Zetterberg on bass, and Konrad Agnas on drums! Most tracks are relatively short, but work together well – and there are definitely moments of improvisation amidst some of the more structured elements of the record – on titles that include "What What", "Homeward", "Trombone Interlude", "Edwards Chacone", "Music Orbit Box", "Septet Serenade", "Echoes Across The Dunes", and "Worms Of Underground". CD

The super-sound of Henry Mancini, served up here in a special SACD set! The first half of the package features cuts from two different RCA albums that collect together some of the best of Mancini's music from the 60s – key soundtrack numbers and other instrumentals – in a lineup of tracks that includes "Charade", "Hatari", "Peter Gunn", "Lujon", "Breakfast At Tiffany's", "The Brothers Go To Mothers", "Pink Panther", "Dear Heart", "Cheers", and "Baby Elephant Walk". Concert Sound has Mancini working with larger orchestrations than usual, in an expansion of his usual 60s groove! The tracks here are all somewhat long – suite-type numbers made up from smaller songs wrapped together in new Mancini arrangements that have a really cool feel in this setting! The orchestra is somewhat large, with strings and woodwinds – but in true Mancini fashion, there's also key solos from players who include Pete Candoli and Conrad Gozzo on trumpet, Dick Nash on trombone, Ted Nash on alto sax, and Jimmy Rowles on piano. Titles include "Peter Gunn Meets Mr Lucky", "The Music Of David Rose", "Academy Award Selections", and "A Tribute To Victor Young". Mancini Salutes Sousa is a very weird one – as Henry Mancini pays tribute to the work of John Philip Sousa! As you'd expect from Sousa's marches, most of the work has a parade band military sound – and Mancini, despite his grooviness, hardly breaks format to change the style of the work. The approach has touches of some of Mancini's more military soundtrack work – and the recording quality definitely has a classic Hollywood approach – but overall, it's still Sousa. Titles include "The Gladiator", "Washington Post", "National Fencibles", "The Thunderer", and "Drum Corps". CD set also features the rare bonus track "Man Of The World" – originally only on a 7" single! CD

One of the most ambitious Cecil Taylor projects of the 80s – a special project performed by a large ensemble at a jazz festival in Poland – an incredible group who really expand the vision in Cecil's music! Make no mistake, Taylor is definitely the leader here – his piano and vocalizations really direct the entire set – but the music brims over with contributions from giants who include Tomasz Stanko and Enrico Rava on trumpets, Conrad Bauer on trombone, Jimmy Lyons on alto, Frank Wright and John Tchicai on tenors, Gunter Hampel on bass clarinet and vibes, and William Parker on bass. The performance features one long piece, but graced with all these really beautiful themes amidst the freer improvisations – coming across with a global vision in jazz that's maybe not unlike some of Charlie Haden's Liberation Music projects, but freer and bolder overall! CD

The sound here is wonderful – a combination of elements from players we already love, but in a different way than some of their other records! One of the most distinct elements of the set comes from the work of Per Texas Johansson – who plays a variety of clarinets throughout, and evokes a sense of postwar modernism, especially as he combines with the vibes of Matthias Stahl – which are every bit as delightful here as on other records, yet again nicely different. Ingebrigt Haker Flaten has a lot more space and gentle swing than usual – and we're guessing a lot of credit for the record goes to the work of drummer Konrad Agnas – whose open style on the kit only seems to increase the sense of late 50s modernist experimentation on the record. Titles include "Slow", "Gone", "Tea", "Foolin", "Skin", "Deep", and "All". CD

A set of recordings that must have left every single member in the group completely exhausted – as the 6CD package brings together material recorded over three great nights in early 2020 – all of which feature Barry Guy at the head of a unique version of his London Jazz Composers Orchestra! The material follows very strongly in that mix of structure and free improvisation that Guy pioneered with the LJCO many years back – and the lineup here is a mix of British giants and younger musicians from the European scene – the latter of whom bring some great life to the idea of the group! Guy is at the head on bass – and the larger group plays together on the final two CDs, but then breaks into different groupings on the first four CDs – combinations of players that include Augusti Fernandez on piano, Michael Niesemann and Jurg Wickihalder on alto, Simon Picard on tenor, Torben Snekkestad on tenor and soprano, Julius Gabriel on baritone, Konrad Bauer and Alan Tomlinson on trombones, Henry Lowther and Martin Eberle on trumpets, Phil Wachsmann on violin, Bruno Chevillon on bass, and Lucas Niggli on drums and percussion. The smaller groups work on CD1 through CD4, recorded at Alchemia – and CD5 and CD6 feature full LJCO performances at Manggha Hall on the last of the three nights. CD