Troyk-estra
Live at the 2013 Cheltenham Jazz Festival
Impossible Ark ***1/2
Super-sized prog-jazz trio Troyka return on a new label with this combustible live Troyk-estra set recorded in the spring at the old Regency spa town's annual jazz festival.
The intrepid trio of Chris Montague, Kit Downes, and Josh Blackmore are joined by the -estra: four trumpets, four trombones, five saxes, bass and vibes, and conducted by Nick Smart. Think of this album as the equivalent of a bumper cryptic crossword, or the modern day incarnation of Loose Tubes, probably a better fit than comparing the band to Beats & Pieces even if the Mancunians also share the seminal 1980s big band as an influence. Adventurous, anarchic, ambitious: it's state of the art improvising even if the maverick essence of Troyka doesn't quite scale up in quite the way you'd expect.