DAN WILLIS
Velvet Gentlemen OmniTone ****

Willis, multi-reedman and composer/arranger, leads a septet including trumpet/flugel- horn, guitar, bass, electric bass and keyboards/accordion, with John Hollenbeck on drums, in a programme of his pieces inspired by Erik Satie and quantum physics theory. What emerges is, for the most part, fresh and, despite a mix of jazz, rock and clever use of serialism and sound loops, surprisingly unified and homogenous. Willis, who plays 11 wind instruments here, is a fine soloist with a highly developed sense of line to go with his judgement as an arranger; doubling and looping also allow him to create deeply textured ensembles for his very capable soloists, Chuck McKinnon (trumpet), Pete McCann (guitar) and Ron Oswanski (keyboards/ accordion). At its best the music is fascinating, particularly Many Worlds Theory, Place of Enlightenment, Door to Yesterday and, above all, Closed Loops in Time. www.omnitone.com 

JOE ZAWINUL
Brown Street Birdjam/Intuition ***

Composer/keyboardist Zawinul revisits the music of his Weather Report days with Cologne's WDR big band on a superbly recorded live date at his club in Vienna. The arrangements, save for Zawinul's riff-based chart for Procession, are Vince Mendoza's, and it's clear he gave the leader very much what he wanted. Some were further "tweaked" by Zawinul in rehearsal, so the results reflect his vision, with elements of fusion, rock and world music. The WDR is astonishing; crisp, relaxed and powerful, it grooves euphorically at times, notably on Brown Street and Black Market on the first CD, and Night Passage and Carnavalito on the second. Soloists, some imported, are hugely capable, especially Karolina Strassmayer and Heiner Wibery (soprano/alto), and John Marshall and Kenny Rampton (trumpet/flugelhorn). One for the fans. www.musicconnection.org.uk