UPAJ COLLECTIVE Schallplatten & CDs

Review: If you're looking for some exotic, spiritually minded jazz to kick-start 2021, look no further than this inspired collection as "direct-to-disc" improvisation from drummer Sarathy Korwar and his regular studio partners, the UPAJ Collective. In keeping with the feel of their previous work, the five showcased improvised recordings brilliant fuse familiar spiritual jazz tropes (snaking saxophone solos, loose-limbed drums and quality keys-work) with the traditions and sounds of Indian classical music (think tablas, violins, Hindi musical motifs played on acoustic guitar etc). Throw in some real-time recording trickery, and you've got an unusual but extremely entertaining set that we firmly believe is the first great jazz album of 2021.