The Reason Why Vol. 2 Goran Kajfeš

Swedish trumpeter Kajfeš (profiled in JJ 0215) is one of the few contemporary musicians musicians who can make me laugh out loud with sheer pleasure. This second set by the Oddjob man´s large group is a clever "world jazz" mix of material from all over the place - Okay Temiz´s "Dokuz Seki", Francis Bebey´s "New Track", Milton Nascimento´s "A Lua Girou", and Grizzly Bear´s "Yet Again" - done in a beat-heavy style that recalls anyone you like from Herb Alpert in post-Miles electric mode, to Jon Hassrl´s Fourth World stuff, to Jah Wobble´s Invaders of the Heart; those are all honoured shades in the house. The trumpeter´s in evidence from the off, with a delightful high-register solo on the opening track, but he seems happy much of the time to stay buried in the ensembles, where he´s the only brass player. High reeds like soprano and soprillo suggest Ottoman shawns; lapsteel on "Adimiz Miskindir Bizim" suggests a similiar provenance, Memphis, Egypt rather than Memphis, Tenessee, and electric guitars and keyboards (Mellotron, even) give the whole thing a lovely National Geopgrapic shimmer. The high-lights are the Afro-beat of "New Track", with another fine Kajfeš solo, and the mournful electric landscape of "A Lua Girou". Cracking stuff.