Fresh and exciting sounds, always stimulating, come from UK-based Leo Records. Here’s a quintet of them…
The legacy of Charles Mingus is well maintained in the I Am Three Trio. Consisting of Selke Eberhard/as, Nikolaus Neuser/tp and Christian Marien/dr, the IAT team handles the Mingus 
songbook without a bass, making the music comparable in simply it’s excitement and audacity. The idea works amazingly well; Neuser’s valved horn growls with authority on a thunderous “Better Get Hit In Yo’ Soul” and sighs on “Goodbye, Pork Pie Hat.” Eberhard’s alto rocks over Marien’s heavy hitting drums and cymbals on “Eclipse” and is riveting on a rumbling “Moanin’.” The horns meld 
deliciously as they gaggle on the wild yet tight “Fables of Faubus” and are both hip and hectic on “Opus Four.” The ultimate Music Minus One that doesn’t miss the One!
The quartet Construction consists of Tim Harries/b, Robin Fincker/ts, Hilmar Jensson/g and Jim Bashford/dr as they mix together moods, effects and melodies. Harries’ thick bass holds the fort for free sax and guitar effects on “Attack and Defense Pyramids” and the lyrical “Abandon.” The rhythm team creates a festive dance on the title track, and there’s a funky backbeat to “Contraband.” A pastoral splendor is conjured by guitar and tenor on “The Octave Doctors…” after some guitar affects meet with dashing drums and percussion non “Syeung Don Teen.” Sonic atmospheres.
The traditional piano trio does some explorations into the atmosphere in the hands of pianist Simon Nabotov and Stefan Schonegg/b and Dominik Mahnig/dr. The biggest draw is the opening 18 minute opus, which ranges from delicate solo piano musings to staccato group stomps grey shadows and finishing to a thunderous climax. Schonegg’s bass bows and howls on the darkly meditative “Growing A Soul Patch” and switches from bow to fingers on a kinetic “Turning Point.” The moods change like rising waves, sometimes with the tide pulling back and other times with a crash on shore as on “Picking Order.” A white knuckler!
BRRS stands for the initials for Denis Beuret/tb, Dominik Burger/dr, Jerry Rojas/g and Ekkehard Sassenhausen/reeds. As the title suggests, there is lots of improvising and consulting among the individuals of the quartet, with some sweet alto sax work by Sassenhausen contrasting his long tones with the short pucks of Rojas on “SCTS and both of them gliding over the hustling brushes on “Consulting #01.” A weaving soprano contrasts with the busy drums and guitar lines on “Consulting #04” and some gorgeous acoustic guitar teams with whistling on the folksy take of John McLaughlin’s “Follow Your Heart.” Warm tenor sax blowings veer around free grooves while Beuret’s trombone growls on “Consulting “07.” Free, yet with some rich forms.
Recorded in 2015, this cd/dvd is a tribute to the late Sergey Kuryokhin, who departed in 1996. Recorded at the State Moscow Conservatoire with an orchestra conducted by Alexei Algui, the concert is a wide ranging affair that includes dramatic strings and horns (“The Roof”), rich vocal chants (“”Mystic” and “Tibetan Tango”), some basic rock (“Tragedy, Rock Style”) and dashes of Mozart romanticism (“The Last Play”). Avante garde operatic voices are emitted on “The Last Play” while hints of Electric Light Orchestra are brought to the fore on “”Pop-Mechanics” and ”Donna Anna.” All encompassing and cinematic as in Vista Vision!
Leo Records