Various Artists: Beats, Bites & Öxle

Rainer Trüby, of Trüby Trio and Jazzanova fame, concocts what is essentially a standard issue mix, built around a rather tenuously gastronomical theme. Or, rather, the exquisite packaging is gastronomical — with recipes and accompanying recommended vintages from assorted Baden-Württemberg wineries. Is this the point where food, wine and music criticism meet? Not quite. It’s an interesting experiment in epicurean enthusiasm; but in their natural style bar environment, these deep, jazzy house grooves have likely more often been accompanied with nothing more than a pricey designer beer. Save your appetite then, for a tantalizing excerpt from Christian Prommer’s Drumlesson project, all sawing strings and high-wire acoustic piano, the 360 degree drum fills of Extended Spirit’s “Solid Water”, or the exclusive, live-in-the-Sonar-Kollektiv-office intimacy of “That Night”, beautifully sung by Clara Hill. Trüby’s aesthetic occasionally threatens to melt into a nu-soul soup, but few sweat the synthetic and the organic with such class.