A LIVINGROOM HUSH

With the release of A Livingroom Hush Jaga Jazzist had become a force to be reckoned with! After BBC named this release to be the best jazz album of 2002, the band had finally started to get the recognition they deserved among the renounced critic circles. Unfortunately the commercial success didn't follow, but it's not often it actually happens in the Jazz music circles and so one step closer to the goal is definitely better than nothing at all. Especially when the Allmusic review cited that "Jaga Jazzist is the very first group to successfully meld the lineages of the electronic frontier with big band jazz aesthetics."

Still, one can't help but pity the unaware masses who were too busy listening to the latest Destiny's Child single while missing the very existence of this kind of magnificent new music that was now pushed by a major label. A Livingroom Hush is definitely worth the recognition that it had received from critics since this is exactly the album one would dream of, but never actually expecting to hear, after experiencing the very promising Jaga Jazzist Magazine EP. From the opening sounds of Animal Chin the listener is transported to a completely different dimension that is adventurous and exciting while still somehow managing to sound very familiar. But this initial four minutes long bliss of a composition is only a teaser of the great things that are just about to unfold in front of the listener!

Jaga Jazzist have not only become much more electronica driven but the addition of softer jazz textures really brought out the best out of each of these compositions. This much softer approach does remind me a lot of the general Scandinavian experimental music's direction that have been pushed into the limelight with the release of Sigur Rós' 1999 critically acclaimed release Ágætis Byrjun.. This inspiration is undeniable even on A Livingroom Hush, that is not to say that Jaga Jazzist doesn't push the music a step further by adding their wild experimental sound to the recording. There are quite a few instances where we get aware glitches in the electronic drum sound that might not appeal to anyone expecting the lighter jazz sound to be southing.

It's obvious that Jaga Jazzist were set to break another career barrier with A Livingroom Hush and after listening to the album this quality really shines though on every single one of these compositions. Even if it might not be the prog purist's first choice of a masterpiece I certainly don't have any doubts on the issue!

***** star songs: Animal Chin (4:07) Going Down (5:20) Airborne (5:13) Real Racecars Have Doors (4:15) Made For Radio (5:22)

**** star songs: Press Play (1:16) Low Battery (5:50) Midget (2:32) Lithuania (8:38) Cinematic (6:21)