Audiopile Review: In a loaded week at the shop for freshly landed titles from Jazzagression, the Norwegian imprint’s biggest ace is the newest spiritual/modal jazz offering from the Leeds-based Mu Quintet, their second since first appearing on the label back in 2023 with their debut, Summit. While much of our contemporary jazz obsessions here at the shop tend toward the groups and labels that push the genre kicking and screaming into the 21st century, we still love to hear new outfits steeped in traditional modes. Indeed, far removed from the dominant London-centred new wave of British Jazz, one that’s been hot-wired with a jolt of electronics and propped up with a hip-hop backbone, Mu Quintet reach back in time, taking direct inspiration from heavyweights like Coltrane, Dolphy and Ornette. The ensemble take acute swings at spiritual jazz, teetering between tightly composed levitations and freewheeling bursts of spontaneity. The title track kicks it off with a heavenly blend of lilting strings, bucolic flute and a limber rhythm section, before kicking up the velocity with the fierce interchange of sax and piano that’s featured heavily on both “Heart Of Sapphire” and “Rich Man Blues”, circling back to moments of calm with the breathy strings and ambient horns of “The Waters Pt. I” and “Pt. II”, having a little fun on the stumbling “Drunk In The Morning”, and eventually sending the album out towards serenity with the vibrant keys and a softly blown flute and sax on “In The Light Of The Winter Sun.” It’s a nice reprieve from the constant pursuit of the future.

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Jazzaggression is happy to present another album by this unique instrumental/avant-jazz ensemble from Leeds, UK. After their first album was picked up by renowned radio DJ Gilles Peterson, the band’s success was secured, and the group spent the first half of 2024 working on their second album, ENOS.

Known for their dynamic compositions, exciting improvisations, and intricate melodies, the group continues to push the boundaries of small-ensemble jazz. The captivating melodic structures that defined their debut remain front and center, now enriched by the maturity and artistic depth of a band confidently hitting its stride.