A few of the many reasons Bee Jazz just might be the best jazz label in the world today:

 I know, that's a pretty bold, big claim. There are a number of wonderful indie labels out there, a few in the U.S. like Aum Fidelity and Eremite in particular, but mostly in Europe (and France in particular) - labels like Marge, Naive, Plus Loin, Out Note - and above all, Bee Jazz.

No ECM 'atmospheric' noodlers, no Criss Cross 'straight ahead neo-bop', no Aum Fidelity 'out' aesthetic, Bee Jazz covers the spectrum of modern creativity, with a wide range that always comes down to expressing the artists' creativity, and expressing the modern world wih artistry that comes generally from a 70's and even 80's sensibility, with the spirit of the forefathers behind them. This is what is really interesting about Bee Jazz - it's not an attempt to preserve or recreate the 60's Blue Note formula, nor is it an attempt to bring back Mahavishnu. On the continent, and particularly France, we have a generation of artists that came up through Jarrett, and Tyner, and Hendrix, and Santana, and Sam Rivers , whose formative years were that milieu, who placed jazz in a different context that assimilated rock, rather than tried to force a hybrid. It became natural for these artists, whether they operate electrically or acoustically.

No more is that more apparent that on Josef Dumoulin's new CD "Rainbow Body", a trio with Dumoulin moving between Fender Rhodes and acoustic piano, often using a pedal or box on the Rhodes to give it color or edge. Electric bass and drums make this a very modern feel that looks back to the 70's Fender Rhodes funkiness, and explores the possibilities of what a Fender Rhodes can be today. Very interesting - a Fender Rhodes is now considered an 'analog' electric instrument, even 'old school'. It's nothing of the sort here, artists like Dumoulin have made the Fender Rhodes a category unto itself. Mr. Bungles and Fantomas bassist Trevor Dunn is unleashed and is awesome, as is Eric Thielemans on drums.Super cool record, highly recommended.

 On to the acoustic trio of Edwin Berg, and a totally different vibe, Jarrett with touches of Bill Evans, thoroughly swinging and a simply stunning recording, this record would have been huge in the late 60's. Edwin Berg has done a few great records on Bee Jazz, and this latest is a prime example of modern acoustic jazz not far removed from Brad Meldau, but at a more elevated level, not just of virtuosity, but of feeling and of being in the zone. The bass sound on this is room rattling, big natural deep bass, and the trio concept here shows just how far European jazz musicians have come in eclipsing the 'Berklee" clinicalness of so much U.S. jazz today. These guys aren't the four-square, boxed in and unimaginative Euro players of the 60's, they have absorbed the idiom as their own, and given it their own traditions and conceptions. Hugely recommended for acoustic trio fans and anyone who loves great music.

 Still on an acoustic journey, we have Guillaume DeChassy and Daniel Yvinec's "Songs From The Last Century", and by that, they mean songs that span the 20th - Here you will hear (usually) trio interpretations (with Paul Motian on drums) of Paul Simon, Prince, Cahn & Style, Gershwin, and more - a pretty cool duo version of Neil Young's "Like A Hurricane", a trio version of Paul McCartney's "Junk" that has the bass taking the melody line, and much more. A wonderful record full of the unexpected.

Last, coming full circle, Dumolin's Rhodes opens up Christophe Wallemme's "Start So Many Ways", the bassist Wallemme leads a trio with Dumolin that adds for several tunes the tenor or soprano of the very fine Julien Lourau and the smoking guitar of the awesome Manu Codjia (who himself has an amazing record of covers on Bee Jazz). An early Weather Report vibe can be heard, with a Radiohead and Hendrix vibe mixed in, and one hears traces of mid period Santana as well as Vortex era Jarrett as well. A fine, and interesting, addition to Bee Jazz.

Coming up soon - very soon - a new one from tenor Jerome Sabbagh, with Codjia on guitar, and a new record from Gabriel Zufferey. Can't wait.

Check out Bee Jazz. The sound on every one is demo quality, and so is the music.