Dancing on Frith Street Lost Marble *****

Irreverence, exuberance, wit, humour, great ensembles, exceptional soloists, originality – Loose Tubes had the lot. This previously unissued album from its last gig (at Ronnie Scott’s in 1990) catches the 23-piece band at its peak. If its references were broad (elements of Caribbean and South African music, ribald echoes of prewar-Berlin cabaret satire, send-ups of jazz and big band clichés and post-Coltrane freedoms), Loose Tubes was unlike any other big band. And it swung. The writing, crammed with ideas judiciously deployed, was brilliant and performed with enormous verve and conviction by an ensemble that remarkably combined precision and openness, creating the feeling that anything could happen. Soloists here include Iain Ballamy, Django Bates, Mark Lockheart and John Parricelli, with a rhythm section driven masterfully by Martin France. See loosetubes.co