There's an undeniable pleasure in listening to a veteran bluesman do his stuff. For Blues on the Bayou, which he also produced, B. B. King presents a stripped-down, simply-arranged recording that's as tight as a coiled spring and smooth as a freshly-polished dance floor. From the first track, "Blues Boys Tune", a slow instrumental dripping with organ riffs, this CD is chock-full of the sort of guitar work that a master like King makes sound effortless. Whether it's the mid-tempo playfulness of "Bad Case of Love", or the slow "Blues Man" with its sparkling-clean guitar work, or the wistfulness of "Darlin' What Happened", or the sheer sweetness of "If I Lost You", Blues on the Bayou proves why King is considered the reigning master of blues guitar. Even the violins sound right and proper here, and King's sidemen turn in some impressive work as well; there are in particular some great piano solos on this disc. On the whole, Blues on the Bayou is a slow-burning treat. -Genevieve Williams.

Do You Like My Tight Sweater was released in a year when female vocalist led down-tempo acts were hitting saturation point. There seemed to be literally hundreds of enthusiastic epigones attempting to emulate the work of "trip-hop" artists like Tricky, Massive Attack, Portishead and Smith and Mighty. Most of these acts took the same introspective, zeitgeist-capturing route of these seminal Bristol bands-but not producer Mark Brydon (House Arrest, Cloud 9) and singer Roisin Murphy, aka Moloko (a name taken from the Anthony Burgess novel A Clockwork Orange). Their debut album, cheekily titled Do You Like My Tight Sweater, arrived on the dance scene without fanfare at around this time and presented a radically different take on the down-tempo sound. Boisterous, surreal and humorous, the LP resists the temptation to conjure up yet more disenchanted inner city isolation, seeking instead to paint a brighter-or at least quirkier-picture of modern living. Murphy's elfish, stream-of-consciousness lyrics are delivered here with an infectious slink appeal and are the perfect match for Brydon's slightly bonkers mix of hip-hop beats and funk mixed with groans, creaks, springs and slams. Featuring the cult hits "Fun For Me" and "Night For Day", Do You. also showcases a bunch more bewitching records, from the Os Mutantes sounding "Lotus Eaters", the sultry "Dominoid", the drum & bass kick of "Butterfly 747" and the silly funk of "Killa Bunnies". [+]

Over the past fifteen years, the Tunisian oud-master Anouar Brahem has made a number of wide-ranging, culture-bridging and richly rewarding albums for ECM, including two (very different) collaborations with saxophonists Jan Garbarek and John Surman. The spare, gently unfolding and intensely atmospheric melodies and moods of the rhythmically seductive Le Voyage De Sahar develop further that subtle confluence of Arabic modes and European harmony which was evident on Brahem's previous meeting (on the critically praised 2002 release Le Pas Du Chat Noir) with French accordionist Jean-Louis Matinier and his compatriot, pianist Francois Couturier. The trio have developed their coolly conceived, yet passionate three-way improvisation to a high art, interpreting the limpid melodies, unhurried rhythms and dappled textures of this multi-sourced, freshly conceived chamber music with playing of the highest (yet unforced) order. With its suite-like sequence of numbers, rich in reverie, and subtly evocative cover art, this enchanting hour or so of music comes over as a film-like invitation to voyage, conjured by a poetic vision part North African, part central European, and where the spirit of Debussy and Satie can at times appear to walk hand in hand with that of the flamenco masters of old. Listen with open ears - and dream well! -Michael Tucker.

This 1982 recording by the Pat Metheny Group represented a crossroads for the guitarist, a creative expansion from his original concept in terms of acoustic and electric instrumentation, folksy roots material and modern jazz influences, American and third world sources. Having thus marked out the territory for a decade's worth of experimentation and growth, the Metheny Group cemented its standing on the cutting edge of contemporary jazz with Offramp. Lyle Mays' harmonica-like synth theme, Metheny's soaring, vocalised synth-guitar lead, some rich orchestral touches and an easy-going blend of backbeat and chord changes, made "Are You Going With Me" one of Metheny's most enduring arrangements. Still, for every gentle, alluring set piece, such as the tango-like "Au Lait" or the rural vistas of "James", there was a visceral, emotive free-for-all like the title track. Here, Metheny unleashed wild, wailing synth guitar elisions over a loose, abstract pulse-anticipating the energy of the guitarist's collaboration with free jazz guru Ornette Coleman some four years hence on Song X. -Chip Stern.

A lot of people know the Paris-based French-African drummer Manu Katche thanks to his work with musicians such as Peter Gabriel, Sting and Joni Mitchell. But jazz has long been this in-demand drummer's main love, and with this release, his first as leader for ECM, Katche has created the sort of album which speaks-or rather, sings-of the mellow essence of contemporary jazz at both its propulsive and reflective best. A technically precise, dynamically acute and rhythmically inventive player, Katche is joined by trumpeter Tomasz Stanko, saxophonist Jan Garbarek, pianist Marcin Wasilewski and bassist Slawomir Kurkiewicz. All play superbly. They interpret the deceptively simple, emotionally wide-ranging material with the sort of unforced power that speaks of the essence of things, whether this be in the opening and closing reveries of "November 99" and "Rose" or flowing, deliciously unfolding groove of "Number One"; the poised meditation that is "Lullaby", the finger-clicking, funky fun of "Take Off" or the cooking blues figures of "Miles". Pianist Wasilewski (like bassist Kurkiewicz, drawn from fellow Pole Tomasz Stanko's current quartet) continues to impress as a player of both exquisite touch and freshly turned rhythmic drive, while Stanko probes, floats and (occasionally) flares as only he can. As for Garbarek: what a joy it is to hear this border-crossing poet turn to seemingly more straight-ahead (yet, as always with this player, freshly considered and dynamically arresting) jazz fare, as he does here in a potent handful of tenor saxophone appearances. In sum, a wonderful album, which will surely come to be seen as something of a milestone of European jazz. -Michael Tucker.