OISEAU

A little bit of Jazzamatazz. Athenian band Intravenus hovers somewhere in-between the two worlds of Jazz Fusion and Canterbury Scene music, so if you enjoy a profusion of Jazz Fusion, this offbeat album deserves inclusion in your CD collection. It's the most surprising discovery since finding out that Greek shipping magnate Aristotle Onassis spent more money on his wives and mistresses dresses than he did on building ships. The aptly-titled 10-minute opening track "Paradox Folk" is a fairly routine jazzy number which only hints at the wondrous epic to come. The third track "Sonic Servant" (hinting at a Hawkwind-style sonic attack) turns out to be the biggest surprise of all, sounding remarkably like The Police in the opening few bars, but then merging into a psychedelic freak-out of Space Rock. And now for something completely different... The closing number and title- track, "Oiseau" (French for "Bird"), is a 28-minute-long flight of fancy which takes us on a Greek Odyssey of endlessly complex music with the occasional twittering bird noises thrown in for good measure too. This is an album that bears repeated listening and in terms of a masterclass of exploration in the outer realms of Jazz, it's an epic triumph - although maybe not quite equaling the epic triumph of Socrates (the Brazilian midfielder, not the Greek philosopher) when he scored the winning goal in the 1982 World Cup. Yes, "Oiseau" is the Heineken of Jazz albums, reaching the parts that other Jazz albums fail to reach. In conclusion then, if you're in the mood to be drip-fed with a warm Mediterranean infusion of Jazz Fusion, then look no further than the bright shining star that is Intravenus - a Greek marvel to rival a temple of Greek marble!