siLLy puPPy JEAN LOUIS is a rather unique freeform avant-garde jazz meets avant-prog type of power trio from Paris, France. So original is their sound that they managed to come in second in the La Defense National Jazz Competition in 2007. Their self-titled debut release came out the year following and displays all their interesting fusion styles with a healthy diverse palette of eclectic influences. The band is a mere trio with Aymeric Avice on trumpet, Joachim Forent on double bass and Fracesco Pastacaldi on drums but like any excellent power triumvirate of sound, have the ability to encapsulate a much larger band experience with a huge swath of styles and eclecticism that makes this eponymous debut quite an intriguing listen. While no guitarist on board, Forent manages to make his bass sound as fuzzed-out as a peach orchard often reminding me of bands like Zu or Aluk Todolo in the process.

The rhythms are quite the strange mix of avant-garde jazz with Avice’s angular trumpet playing style and avant-prog type of rhythmic or should i say anti-rhythmic spastic meanderings. So think a mixture of 60s Sun Ra with a Miles Davis flare mixed with Thinking Plague and a noisy math rock band like Lightning Bolt and you’ve got half the picture! This band doesn’t stay still too long and after an intense hardcore workout they delve into extremely psychedelic meltdowns. Just check out the mind bending freakiness on “Airbus.” In addition to the instruments listed i swear there are other sounds to be found on here. My guess is that they use different percussive objects as there are lots of clanking and banging sounds. There is also a distinct cello sound on “Tranche” which means there must have been some studio guests participating.

This album is a major wild ride that has taken me forever to find on physical format as the CD is out of print and quite expensive but can be heard on the band’s Bandcamp site. This is one that must be experienced to be believed. The dynamic shifts from the passively surreal to the full out aggressive assaults on the eardrums is staggering as each member deftly weaves his respective instrumental riffs in a perfect complimentary way. This album has it all. Intricate melodies, scary storms of cacophonous walls of din, distinct jazz parts, avant-prog run amok and progressive workouts of exquisite virtuosity. The members of JEAN LOUIS are clearly aiming for the most ambitious of the ambitious music nerds out there of which i am one of! This is one of those relentless type of albums that just slaps you in the face with one surprise after another therefore I LOVE IT!!!

SaltyJon Jean Louis definitely started their recording career off very strongly with this album. It's is an intense ride through jazz, rock, and avant-garde styles, pulling you in from the very first notes and not letting you up for a breath of air until it's all over. All of the members of the band have come prepared to really let loose on their respective instrument. Aymeric (trumpet) and Joachim (upright bass) both run their instruments through so many effects that sometimes they're not recognizable. Sometimes, in fact, I even mistook the bass for trumpet and the trumpet for bass. These guys know how to ride a groove in the way you'd least expect. Joachim is a really smart, agile bassist. How he does some of the stuff he does, I don't know, as I've played upright for a while and I can't come anywhere near the skill required for what he plays on this album. Aymeric is definitely an intensely skilled trumpeter as well, though he doesn't go quite as far beyond what's humanly possible as often as Joachim does on the bass from what I can tell. Last but certainly not least is Francesco's drumming...he's really great as well. He manages to keep up with the other two and really knows how to hit the skins, and he always holds down a good beat without sticking to it. The music on this album isn't exactly what you'd expect to hear from a trumpet/upright bass/drums trio, instead it's something a lot more intense and, as far as I know, original. There aren't any bad tracks on this album, but among all the highlights I have to give special mention to "Zakir", "Airbus" and "Kasams", they really blow me away every time I listen.

So overall this is really aggressive, jazzy music from three guys who play exceptionally well together, and whose future works I'm eagerly looking forward to. This is undoubtedly one of my favorite albums of the past decade and my favorite from 2008, specifically. The album is deserving of a solid and strong rating from my point of view - easily a masterpiece of modern avant-fusion.

triceratopsoil Having originated from France in the wake of the Zeuhl, RIO and Avant-Garde luminaries of the 70s and 80s, Jean Louis' spectacularly impressive brand of avant-jazz should hardly come as a surprise to anybody. Only a three-piece, Jean Louis still manages to sound large, loud and grand. Due to the plethora of effects added to their instruments, one can hardly tell much of the time whether what we hear originates from Joachim Florent's upright bass or from Aymeric Avice's trumpet. Practically every moment of this album, possibly one of the best debuts in decades, is fresh, fascinating, and very technically impressive. No doubt destined to become one of modern jazz's greats, Jean Louis never ceases to amaze me, no matter how many times I hear this album.