German-born multi-woodwinds player and composer, Jan Klare, leads his group, 1000, through twelve pieces named for parts of a shoe. Style varies, but it’s mostly quite modern. A trumpet (often muted) is the other melodic voice. Rhythm section is upright bass, drums, and an occasional bowed saw. Tracks 1, 3, 4 & 9 are group improvisations. Klare composed all the other works.

All instrumental. No FCC issues.

1 * Mid-slow to mid-fast. Improv. Noodling on saxes & bass clarinet. Little runs on trumpet. Powerful drumming. Walking bass line, then bowed bass toward the end. (2:41)
2 ** Fast, driving, bright. Hard bop. Nice melodic lines on trumpet & alto. Superb drums & bass. (2:01)
3 Slow. Improv. Very quiet. Clarinet & lonely sounding trumpet. Merest hint of drums & bass. (1:11)
4 * Slow. Improv. Quiet but builds to loud. Irregular broken rhythms. Little snippets of melody on trumpet. Very low reed (bari sax or bass clarinet) plays squawks & noises. Interesting piece. (5:01)
5 *** Fast. Bright sounding. Intricate, baroque-like melodies traded between trumpet and sax. Bass gets a few solos (rare on this record). (4:45)
6 Indefinite tempo. Whinnying on a high reed. Serious bowed bass. Lacks cohesion. (7:40)
7 Very slow, elegiac. Muted trumpet leads most of the way. A baritone sax or bass clarinet plays a way-down-low continuo. Then alto sax gets a nice solo. Soft drumming with brushes. (5:28)
8 ** Fast, lively, syncopated. Features Klare’s flute, a muted trumpet, prominent bass. (2:58)
9 Slow. Improv. Tightly wound & tense. Trumpet plays short melodic spurts like a pit orchestra player warming up. Everyone else just plays noisily. A bowed saw sounds like a Theremin. (4:34)
10 ** Very fast. Most likable mainstream “jazz” number here. Tenor sax and muted trumpet share a melody (often in chorus). Fast walking bass line. Good steady drumming. (2:51)
11 * Fast, loud, aggressive. Choppy melody, mostly on trumpet. Hard drumming, often on rims. (3:12)
12 Slow. Aimless, improvised feel. Non-melodic. Growling bowed bass. Strong, varied, interesting drumming. A coda for final 0:40 is a fast, loud, wild cacophony played by full ensemble. (8:45)