The second effort from British avant-dance ensemble
Up, Bustle and Out in collaboration with Cuban composer and multi-instrumentalist Richard Egües is another dreamy, complex, and sometimes befuddling mishmash of son, acid jazz, funk, and sneaky elements of electronica and drum'n'bass. Recorded at Sonocaribe Studio in Havana, the album features contributions from a huge host of guest musicians, and veers from slow and steamy jazz outings, like "Mariel Port, Spanish Town" (featuring bassist Jim Barr of
Portishead), to the reggae-influenced "Sane Men Surround" (featuring a poem by Graham Greene) and the gently jungly "Jazz Sepulchre" (featuring, appropriately enough, a tantalizingly brief
Charlie Parker sample). But the most satisfying numbers are those that draw most deeply on Cuban sources, specifically "Descarga Caramelo" and the penny whistle-driven "Picazon," both of them prominently featuring massed men's voices and relatively straightforward Cuban rhythms. [A U.S. version of the CD was also released.] ~ Rick Anderson