Jaga Jazzist, the behemoth nine-piece jazz and prog rock band from Norway has unleashed another album, One-Armed Bandit, on the world.  Jaga can be hard to argue with, they have been steadily contributing to many more musical scenes than those listed above for the last 15 years. As a matter of fact, of any band I know, they might be the hardest to quantify in terms of style. Having said that there is always one common thread, which is some form of jazz a influence.

Admittedly I was a little disappointed at first.  2002’s A Living Room Hush had me with a few choice tracks that bled my two favorite lines, jazz and drum & bass, and I had hoped there would be more to come. There really was no bleeding of lines. Hopes dashed from the outset as I started to try and take it in through a different pair of ears. It was only when I picked up a message from Flying Lotus on Twitter where he sang their praises by “wishing music like this was around when I was younger.”  If FlyLo is down then I must have missed something. That cat’s ear is so in tune he is one of the few folks I would allow to soundtrack my life.

One-Armed Bandit is by far an extraordinarily well produced album.  All sound, no matter the genre, comes through crisp and well defined by not only musical style, but experimentation and production. “Toccata” stuck with me and envoked the memory of the first time I heard Phillip Glass’s composure for the movie Koyaanisqatsi. That film, at its worst, was ground-breaking and left my jaw on the floor.  Then it hit me and I had the ears that FlyLo had.

This offering from Jaga Jazzist isn’t so much about genres or even radio or club/bar play. This is a seminal, timeless body of work that was built on 15 long years of musicians’ experiences with their instruments as a craft–a passion.  The sound this album makes is akin having your favorite song from every cult film you have ever adored on one disc. If this sounds a bit ambiguous than look no further than the man who did the production and mix down for it, John McEntire of Tortoise. Now do you see where this is heading? Good, now go check it out and see what Flying Lotus and I are on about.

Tracklisting

1. The Thing Introduces…
2. One-Armed Bandit
3. Banafleur Overalt
4. 220 V / Spektral
5. Toccata
6. Prognissekongen
7. Book Of Glass
8. Music! Dance! Drama!
9. Touch Of Evil

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