Aleksey Kozlov And Arsenal - Burned By Time... Volume 1 (1998 compilation, rec. 1977-79)

Russian saxophonist Aleksey Kozlov formed his 'jazz-rock ensemble' Arsenal in 1973; not sure if Arsenal are still on the go today, but they were releasing albums as recently as 2013.  This collection reissues Arsenal's debut LP from 1979 (tracks 1-4) alongside other early material.

When I got hold of this, my brain tried to go through the obvious US/European comparisons: Mahavishnu, Weather Report, Return To Forever... even Soft Machine?  Not really any of those strictly work, and I'm not even sure how well known those groups would've been in 1970s Russia.  The latter two might be closest, but if anything, there's a bit of a stronger classical influence here than outright jazz-fusion, maybe closer to the best prog rock, especially in tracks like Suite In A Major and the final bonus track Gavotte & March.

Anyway, there is a lot of great funky jazz here, lots of it ripe for sampling, or just enjoying the grooves.  The opener Dangerous Game starts and ends with a funky theme, including some great fuzzed lead guitar, and a more improvisational mid-section where Kozlov takes the lead.  Also from the original album, The Tree combines prog-influenced, keyboard driven uptempo sections with a great atmospheric breakdown, and there's even a short sung section (in Russian) on the aforementioned Suite.  Out of the additional tracks, the funky Roots is my favourite.  Whatever comparisons Arsenal might evoke from better-known acts in its genre, this is just highly enjoyable stuff.

original cover of 'Arsenal Jazz-Rock Ensemble' LP, 1979

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