Moogin' At The Cafe: OTO Live Series CD

Finnish lounge lizard-turned-jazzman Jimi Tenor first joined forces with legendary Afrobeat drummer Tony Allen for a joint album on Strut in 2009. In January 2016, they reunited for two nights of performance at Cafe Oto in London, making use of a range of prototype and experimental analogue synthesizers loaned by the Moog Sound Lab. It must have been a terrific couple of days, because the live recordings showcased here are superb. As you'd expect, Allen's distinctive drumming provides the backbone, while Tenor variously delivers mazy Moog synth solos, trippy electronics, bittersweet lounge vocals (reminiscent of his late '90s albums on Warp) and occasional flute and sax solos. The results are decidedly intergalactic and out-there: wayward Afro-jazz for analogue astronauts.