Mouse

The Schmoozenbergs may sound like a novelty band, but they are a quartet of classy musicians who clearly like to have fun. Based in Bristol, and becoming increasingly well-known for their appearances in clubs, halls and festivals, they play slick, tight and (mostly) high energy instrumental pieces, many of them influenced by Django Reinhardt, Stéphane Grappelli and the Paris jazz scene, with gypsy swing mixed in with East European klezmer. The band has two guitarists, Stan Stennett and Tom Brydon-Smith, who started out working as a duo before being joined by Ron Phelan on double bass and then Gina Griffin, whose violin dominates many of their self-written instrumentals. They are special simply because they are very good at what they do, mixing impressive playing with contagious enthusiasm. This is their third album, and it demonstrates both the interplay between the band members and their ability to branch out. The set may be dominated by their up-tempo gypsy jazz/klezmer signature style (as on the delightful title-track), but they switch direction for the slinky and then sturdy ‘Tango 20’, on which they constantly change pace, or the slower, atmospheric ‘Acceptance’. I suspect they are even more fun playing live.