Kristian Shultze, Recreation

In the year that Kristian Shultze (son of Lili Marleen composer Norbert) has just completed a commemorative tour with historic band Passport, it is fitting to see the recent repackaged and extended re-release of perhaps one of his most enduring albums as leader Overdrive (now called Recreation).

His band Bridge started off as a trio before being expanded to a quintet. This is the only recording that captured the funk-laden sounds of this early seventies outfit before Schultze joined Doldinger's Passport in 1973. What we are left with is a pumping outwards expression of Germanic Herbie Hancock groove a la Fat Albert Rotunda, interlaced with surprising softness and introspection akin to Vitous' Purple and typical of much other exploratory European jazz from that time.

It's also misleadingly ahead of its time, easily mistaken for a retrospective contemporary vibe, drawing on sophisticated arrangements that would stand Shultze in good stead in his long-term future career in TV and film soundtracks, like Scarface.