Cover charge leads to jazz torrent

But, do you know what, they do it remarkably well on new album Prog. It takes a little while to even recognize Tears For Fears’ Everybody Wants To Rule The World. And even longer to spot Life On Mars, the subtleties of Bowie’s classic song only just revealing themselves. Probably the bravest crossover is an intrepid version of Tom Sawyer, the art-rock anthem by Canadian veterans Rush. It sounds odd but, again, somehow it works. Then Americans Reid Anderson, Ethan Iverson and David King are live performers who have earned their right to turn jazz and other styles on their head via four previous acclaimed albums.

“Like everything we do this record brings together a lot of different influences, without drawing any lines around one style or another,” says bassist Reid. We don’t create barriers. It’s all brought together with a very open mind. We’ll try anything, as long as it makes good music. We believe in taking a song and looking at it from as many angles as possible. We try to make the covers our own. It isn’t a matter of playing the song; it’s a matter of reinventing the song.”

In among them are some luscious and no less innovative original compositions.

What the likes clarinet master Tony Scott or vibraphone legend Bobby Hutcherson would make of The Bad Plus is debatable.

Both those musicians have new albums out on the Kind Of Blue label, the former with A Jazz Life and Hutcherson with For Sentimental Reasons on which he shows the prowess that has seen him in demand from Herbie Hancock to Dexter Gordon.

Labelmate guitarist Marco Periera, fellow nationals Quarteto Brasil and pianist Pablo Ziegler all have albums out, Essence, Bossa Nova/Delicado and Tango & All That Jazz respectively.

Introducing confirms Robin McKelle as a major new vocal force, on her debut album working from a songbook of songs 70 years old or more. And piano wingman Mark Soskin shows why Sonny Rollins couldn’t do without him for 11 years on One Hopeful Day, which sees him record three original tunes alongside the standards.

And if you fancy having a dip into what the rest of the new guard has to offer then the BBC Jazz Awards 2007 album is worth a look. It puts the better known Madelaine Peyroux and Curtis Stigers with the likes of Liam Noble, Abram WIlson, Finn Peters and Claire Martin for a double album’s worth of music from the 24 nominees that gave the judges such a tough time this year.