Roger Rota - Octo [Aut Records 042]

Coming in only recently despite already being released in November 2k18 as cat.no. 042 of the Berlin-based label Aut Records is "Octo", the latest album piece realized by sax player and composer Roger Rota who's diving deep into the realms of Contemporary Jazz with an eight piece group of musicians over the course of this longplayer. Opening with "Cordes" the group sets the bar high in terms of creating an amalgamation of Jazz Noir and monster grooves whereas the follow-up "Nine" leaves the aspect noir behind and paves the way for things to come with an even bigger wave of killer grooves that seem to be the trademark specialty of Roger Rota and his fellow contributors on their mission to bring Jazz with all its facets back to the dancefloor, even in its most improvisational moments. With "Star" we see the group start out on a calm, slightly Balearic tip only to experiment with variations in tonal and pitch shifts as well as seemingly electroacoustic background movements as a foundation for a deeper, dramatic BarJazz attitude, "Two" weighs in more of a hounded Rock meets Klezmer meets espionage flic vibe before taking a surprising turn breakdownwise mid-composition whereas "Inda Trio" keeps up with its predecessors pace albeit being on a more uplifting, 80s infused tip, "Fro Be Ach" employs a classy, widescreen panorama approach for broadway soundtracks and romantic black-and-white movie productions of yore before "Ten" brings forth hints of high class 70s Psychedelia for contemporary Jazz heads. Furthermore track eight named "Eleven" weighs in a calm, autumnal, yet touching take on deep emotions, "Liturgic-Lale" brings on a solemn, yet spring-like and frolicking naturalistic Folk-infused feel whilst "Cose Preziose" brings back an excellent BarJazz vibe for sipping on classy cocktails and the final cut "Gidambaa" caters a surprising serving of thrilling JazzFunk for a closing. Highly recommended, this.