Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10

Let Go of the belief that Jazz is not cool.

Whilst the genre didn’t find itself struggling with its identity in much the way that Blues faced as the last century closed its doors on the pre-World War Two musical expressions, Jazz nevertheless did find its way obscured from digging down into a new generations conscious, as other modes of musical transportation took the eyes and ears off the focus of what can be arguably spoken of in positive terms, the true form of free form available to the listener.

It is the footprint and the mystic awareness of the Progressive, starting together, finishing in the same vein, but having the brilliance, the individuality, and the passion, to go anywhere else in between. It is the ability to read a map, see the direct route, but dismiss it as not generous enough to Time, and finding a direction that suits everybody’s needs of self-communication.

Glasgow based C.A.L.I.E. have heard the call to arms for the insurgent uprising of the Jazz renaissance as we spearhead into the third decade of the still warm century, the art of the Progressive as the seven piece fusion combines with intimacy and affiliation, whilst never once betraying the sound of a period that caught the attention of Kerouac, of Ginsberg, of the greats as they delved and manipulated flowing words to match the symbolism of the musical arrangement.

Along with guest musician Ben MacDonald, C.A.L.I.E take to the stage with their debut single firmly, and proudly, in hand. Let Go of what you didn’t know and start afresh, absorb the connection between the humble beginnings of the genre, the roots it found in America before crossing the wide divided ocean to come to the attention of the listeners in Britain and across Europe; for in this C.A.L.I.E bridge that divide. A strong statement perhaps, but one full justified as the listener doesn’t just play the track, they feel it live within them.

A debut single that sends the pulse racing, a manifestation of a groove given the air to breathe and dominate the senses. Let go, but then hold it firmly, there is so much to admire about what is about to blow your mind. 

Ian D. Hall