Max Nagl / Clemens Wenger / Herbert Pirker: Boulazac

With Boulazac, Nagl seamlessly fuses disparate genres into a jazzy feast. On the opening "Boongalow," he fuses a 4/4 1960s style rock vibe into a mood-evoking, prog-jazz motif, treated with sampling effects to counter the rhythm section's thrusting pulse. In other regions, Nagl uses a toy guitar and banjo atop Clemens Wenger's dirty electric piano voicings and bizarre electronics-based shadings. They dish out some heavy-handed prog rock-like unison choruses as well.

Marked by driving cadences and Wenger's raspy-toned keys, the musicians also contort and refresh various themes while rendering a few ethereal passages. The band also straddles the avant-garde in concert with various shifts in strategy. Nagl multi-tracks alto sax and clarinet on the quaint, Viennese waltz vibe of "Blues in Erdberg," where he conjures up imagery of a ballroom dance for one.

Nagl integrates Eastern folk and jazz-fusion into the agenda, yet through it all the music is branded by an authoritative entity, bearing the unit's distinct approach and savvy technical excursions. Indeed, the musicians shun mediocrity.

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