High Octane is the exciting new Odradek Jazz release from the Octet La Nocturne, a French jazz ensemble based in Montpellier. Formed in 2015, Octet La Nocturne began life as a gathering of musicians passionate about the jazz of the 1950s and 60s, especially that from America. Inspired by Charles Mingus’s workshop, their first objective was to play improvised jazz with the configuration and sound of a 60s octet. Their name comes from their first composition, Lost in a Nocturne, which is featured on this album. High Octane blends the thrills of fast-paced improvisation with the subtle range of timbres created by an octet. The tracks on the album reflect Octet La Nocturne’s love of the great American jazzmen, such as Mingus, Thelonius Monk and John Coltrane, combining a hard bop aesthetic with moments of romantic lyricism and ironic good humour as well as allusions to contemporary music. The result is an essential new jazz release: American-style jazz delivered with a Gallic shrug.
