Never stagnant and always ambitious, UK-based Leo Records brings some of the most creative and wild sounds to modern ears. Here is their latest cache…
The trio Pilgrims consists of John Wolf Brennan/p-etc, Tony Majdalani/perc-voc and Marco Jencarell/g mix South Asian sounds,and harmonies with 
Bassist Luca Sisera Roofer teams with Michael Jaeger/ts, Marurus Twerenbold/tb, Yves Theiler/p, Michi Stultz/dr and guest Alexey Kruglov/as for 8 pieces that are advertised as “Absolutely Live Improvised.” Easy to believe, as the material is spontaneous loose and intuitive throughout. Lots of time is spent with rhythm sounding like scurrying animals in the dead of night, as the reeds tentatively foray on “Re: Foo? Roofer?” and” Et.c. A Ton did not act E.” Something like playing with erasers and sucking on reeds mix with tentative pulses on “Music is UM” and “S..Use X…” while sax squawks dominate “Ac ultra ar-Luca” and vocal shushing closes the album on “Use caps…” Who brought the beer?
The sextet Elements is comprised of Pat Battstone/p-perc, Marialuisa Capurso/perc-el, Adolf LA Volpe/el-g, Mariasole De Pascali/fl, Francesco Massaro/reeds and Giacomo Mongelli/dr-perc. The album consists of a 3 pieces Suite entitled “Fragments of an Apparently Sleeping Volcano” which includes rumbling piano, sounds akin to folding cardboard and even some vocals and chanting that is echoed. Oozing electronica teams with eerie moods on some pieces while some gorgeous flutes create a mystical atmosphere on the Monument Valley sounding “Wet War.” Spontaneous dark hues.
Most intriguing, and without doubt the most fun and accessible, is the ingenious idea of taking an iconic heavy metal album like Led Zeppelin II and goose it with modern jazz sounds. The team of Jim AvivA/voc-key, Sammy Lukas/p-key-sax, Ju Young Cheong/g, Benjamin Schlothauer/b and Jakob Kufert/dr take the albums song in original LP order, and have a gas of a time with team. Thus, the sax wails and AvivA growls with authority on an R&B ish “Whole Lotta Love” while Scholothauer’s bass and Lukas’ piano create a sleek “What Is and What Should Never Be. “ The team swings like mad on the bopping “Moby Dick” and Cheong boogies with the best on “Hearbreaker” and ”Ramble On.” On the gentler side, AvivA teams with romantic-toned Lukas for a gorgeous and passionate “Thank You” while the album closes with a wild jam on “Bring In On Home.” This one is a HOOT!