This extraordinary band take earlier forms of jazz and do radical things to them. It’s not done to mock or parody them in any way, but to coax out hidden delights and add a few of their own. In its early years, jazz was dance music, and these 16 tracks include such numbers as Scott Joplin’s Ragtime Dance, Cole Porter’s Dream Dancing and Sidney Bechet’s Premier Bal, all subtly made over. It’s witty and stimulating, and it depends on the superb musicianship of just four players – two Germans, an American and an Englishman – their pinpoint accuracy of timing and tonal delicacy, not to mention originality and sheer instrumental technique. I know of nothing else quite like it.
