Troyk-Estra: Live at the Cheltenham Jazz Festival

The British tradition of playfully iconoclastic big bands can be traced back through Loose Tubes and Monty Python to end-of-pier brass ensembles and colliery bands. Troyka, the raucously edgy trio featuring guitarist Chris Montague, Hammond organist Kit Downes and drummer Joshua Blackmore, give that tradition a good kick up the arts with this absorbing live set. Troyka's sound, a knowing blend of jazz, dance, math metal and electronic noise, is overlaid with lush harmonies from an ensemble, directed by the Royal Academy's head of jazz Nick Smart, that includes saxophonists James Allsop and Mike Chillingworth. Veering wildly between deep grooves and abstract noodling, Troyk-estra is testament to the abiding appeal of the large ensemble and to the towering influence of Loose Tubes founder Django Bates on the youthful UK scene. troyka.co.uk