Final Floor CD

Following eight years spent releasing all manner of albums, Californian combo Throttle Elevator Music - an open-minded, jazz collective helmed by Gregory Howe and Matt Montogomery, with star turns from Kamasi Washington and trumpeter Erik Jacobson - have reached the end of the row. Final Floor, their last album, sees them bow out in fine style, offering up 11 tracks that fuse ear-catching contemporary jazz sounds and arrangements with elements of post-punk and gravelly alt rock. The results are uniformly excellent, with Washington and Jacobson's effortlessly energetic and mind-mangling solos offering a firm jazz focus throughout, despite the near constant low-slung bass guitar, sweaty drums and fuzz-toned electric guitars sitting beneath.