Jan Klare - Alto Eager - Young U [Umland Records 055]

Released on June 20th, 2k22 via the ever expanding Essen-based label Umland Records is "Alto Eager - Young U", the latest, and well extended..., longplay outing by composer x producer x instrumentalist Jan Klare who - alongside fellow collaborators Elisabeth Coudoux, Joao Sousa and Florian Walter - put together a roughly two hours and 2CDs spanning album effort which sets out to fuse the sound of analogue real life instruments with a foundation laid down by the Akai Electribe S sampler. The journey starts with the touching parallel harmonics brought forward by the opener that is "Alone Muskle", a name most probably referring to the lockdowns, quarantines and periods of isolation throughout the pandemic situation in which this album (...or collection of pieces created over the course of this period, depending on one's very own perspective) came to be followed by brooding, dark crimescene Jazz vibes of "Metapimp" which also employs the principle of parallel, interwoven harmonic threads which seems to one of the main feats and thematic concepts running through this album. Furthermore pieces like "Tesla Vuck" provide a light-hearted, frolicking melodic interplay and winded correspondance, "Blas Mon Candle" caters a deeper, melancholia-infused Jazz approach for intimate late night listening, the "Fires Escape March" even touches on fever'ish DeltaBlues vibes whilst "Amarylis" provides a spiralling, screaming whirlwind of repetetive improvisation climbing up to fever'ish ecstatic heights, "Wolfs Aldi" rocks dancefloors with a proper metallic sci-fi Breakbeat x BigBeat vs Jazz fusion attitude and therefore is our personal favorite on this entire album before the concluding cut that is "Cramp" presents another short, yet well groovy dancefloor excursion atop of heavy, reverberating and almost 808 like beat magic just to name a few. Due to its extended playtime and oftentimes improvisionational nature not necessarily a gateway album that's about to lure novices deeper into the world of Jazz but rather a specialists piece for those well and long acquainted with the subject.