Latest releases reviewed

KAI BIG BAND
Projections
No label
****

This stunning double is the recording debut of the KBB, a 14-piece ensemble of the best young jazz musicians here. Made after a 10-day run at Dublin's Project this year, Projections catches the band, which includes the usual brass and reeds, plus french horn, violin, viola and electronics, in fine form and on top of an ambitious, challenging programme of eight pieces by Nick Roth, Daniel Jacobson, Sean Carpio, Justin Carroll, Cathal Roche, Colm O'Hara, Bill Blackmore and Matt Berrill. The range is striking, from Roth's authoritative orchestral development of the motif of Innehølder, through the cornucopia of ideas in Jacobson's The Ten Paramis, to the near eastern flavour of Roche's Tigsti and the - relatively - straight ahead I Can't Think and Baiking by Blackmore and Berill respectively. The band's solo strength and its ability to handle the orchestral complexities, rhythmically and harmonically, of both the formal and the free, are striking.

STEFON HARRIS
African Tarantella
Blue Note
*****

Vibes and marimba player Harris further enhances his reputation as an arranger and orchestrator with this lovely visit to some of Ellington's later works. Using a nonet, including trombone/ clarinet/flute and strings, along with a standard rhythm section and himself, he addresses three pieces from the New Orleans Suite and two from The Queen's Suite, with three more from his own The Gardner Meditations. Imaginative and sensitive in its use of colour, rhythmically flexible, and deft in its pacing of ensembles and soloists, his is a creative response to the Duke; this is not Marsalis Heritage Music. Nothing is overdone; there's a satisfying sense of completeness to everything. It's fresh and beautiful, with Harris's own pieces as impressive as those of the man he honours.

RUSSELL MALONE
Live at Jazz Standard Vol One
MaxJazz
***

Those who know Malone as the seemingly infallible provider of the musical equivalent of le mot juste may be surprised at the visceral qualities of the fine guitarist on this live album. Supported by his highly competent working rhythm section of Martin Bejerano (piano), Tassili Bond (bass) and Johnathan Blake (drums), Malone leads a straight-ahead date on which the quartet, urged on by the audience, swings mightily. Sometimes the excitement takes over, especially on the closing Malone Blues, where the guitarist delivers a BB King imitation. But the best performances are on stronger material, such as Milt Jackson's soulful Heartstrings, Frank Rosolino's jaunty Blue Daniel and Malone's own Flirt, which benefits from the brevity of the solos. One for the fans. www.maxjazz.com