A Different View of UMO

Crime jazz or soundtrack sounds? Yes, but in addition to allusions of the ’60s there are other things to chew on in Jimi Tenor and UMO Jazz Orchestra’s collective effort.

The music is organised into pop-song-sized pieces, interspersed with short interludes.

Orchestral music, as in the short Mysticum Minus, takes turns with groovy bits, such as the car-chasing Kratera, with its mandatory congas. The racing is spiced up by Tenor’s space-age electronic sounds. In addition to sax and flute he plays a Soviet Ritm-2 analogue synthesizer.

I Was Here is a tender ballad in 6/8, fronted by an exquisite tenor sax tone and hinting melody-wise at Nordic melancholy. Sähköinen laji uses the big band in an innovative way; the horns produce synth-like sci-fi sounds and effects.

The album does not feature overly the band musicians as soloists. Nonetheless some, mostly shorter contributions, are heard.

The sound on the CD is a bit flat, but perhaps the vinyl version has a fatter sound. Anyway, a quite different UMO is showcased on this record.

JIMI TENOR & UMO: Mysterium Magnum
Herakles Records HRKL004-CD