Kind - Count [Umland Records 069]

Put out on the circuit via Essens Umland Records label as their cat.no. 069 is "Count", the first full length album release by the Jan Klare-led sextet that is Kind. With eight brand new pieces rolled out over a total playtime of 53 minutes and, as it seems, a new artistic direction in terms of the labels artwork the ensemble is not only delivering a set of puzzling and entertaining track names including "12 Hands - No Brain", "Religion 1", "3 Birds - 1 Tree" or "4 Bees - 1 Blossom" but also exploring a wide variety of pretty much jazzed out, well articulated musical directions weighing in stumbling, yet surprisingly groovy rhythm abstractions and corresponding, intertwined brass dialogues in its extended opener which is evoking strong memories of genres like Broken Beat / West London Phusion over time despite being executed organically without additional drum programming. With "6 Exits" Kind brings forth expertly performed multilayered parallel movements of the hypnotic kind, amalgamating vintage drama and tension in a captivating manner, "4 Cars - No Wheel" sounds, despite clearly employing FreeJazz x Free Improv characteristics, less chaotic than its title actually suggests, functioning as a clear climactic and energetic high point on this album whilst "4 Bots - 1 Zero" seemingly is following the guidelines of a rather traditional Jazz approach with intense brass eruptions being followed by intricate and subdued bass works as well as interwoven harmonics and "4 Bees - 1 Blossom" fully gets into the playful and explorative depths of what could be called Avantgarde Jazz for a reason.