A Round Two KO from Timo Lassey – modern jazzy sounds with classic resonance from the Finnish saxophonist and his killer combo – featuring a couple of standout vocal numbers featuring Jose James and with sharp production by Teddy Rok! The group delivers timeless jazz with passion and verve – no mere revivalists here, this is a group that drives deeply grooving swing, bop, Latin jazz and other classic influences with contemporary swagger. Jose James is one of our favorite contemporary vocalists and he always exudes a jazz depth, but to hear him in a setting where can go all in with it is wonderful – but those numbers don't steal any fire from the instrumental grooves that are the heart & soul of the set. Tenor & baritone sax man Timo Lassey is backed alto Ari Jokelainen, the always excellent Jukka Eskola oin trumpet, Mikko Mustonen on trombone,Georgios Kontrafouris on keys, Antti Kotjonen on bass, Teppo Makynen on drums and Abdissa Assefa on percussion. Includes "The More I Look At You", "Shifting Winds", "Ya Dig", "Some Love", "Deeper Into", "Fooling Rosetta", "Backyard Puma" and "Buzz Beater Stomp". CD

A mighty nice selection of tracks from the contemporary underground in Porto – work that's much warmer, acoustic, and jazz-based than you might guess from the image on the cover – and which, together, is so wonderful that we're thinking of booking a trip to Portugal, just to visit this scene in person! Many tracks have some sort of rhythm program, but they're almost all warmed up by live jazz solos in a variety of styles – and mixed with others that have more acoustic elements and a stronger acoustic presence too – which makes for a wonderfully soulful array of tracks, some of which have some resonance with work from the Brazilian scene as well. Titles include "Crazy Beat" by Hugo Danin & The New Vibe Sessions, "Kintsugi" by Bardino, "Leftwing" by Minus & MrDolly, "Magenta RK" by Johnny Virtus, "Out Of The Gate" by Sair, "Do Outro Lado Do Mar" by Pedro Ricardo, and "Red Cosmos" by Azar Azar. LP, Vinyl record album