Afro Latin Vintage Orchestra

Pulsion is the Paris-based Afro Latin Vintage Orchestra's third album, released in 2014 on Ubiquity Records as a double LP. The band, better known as ALVO, was founded in 2007 by percussionist and ringleader Masta Conga, and Pulsion stretches their palette wider than anything that came before it: 16 tracks ranging from Afro-Cuban and Latin funk to string-drenched cinematic fusion in the spirit of early-'70s Miles.

The core lineup on the record pairs Masta Conga's percussion with keys from Benjamin Peyrot de Gachons, trumpet from Jean-Baptiste Feyt, drums from Max Hartock, guitar from Elvis Martinez, and a horn section led by Victor Dos Santos and Philippe Vernier. For Pulsion they expanded with double bassist David Battestini-Quadri and a full string quartet, which is how you end up with a Latin-funk record that sometimes sounds like a noir film score.

Cool stuff:

• Cinematic Miles vibes Several tracks nod directly at the dark-fusion territory Miles Davis was mapping around On the Corner and Get Up with It.
• Added a string quartet Their first record to bring in proper strings, which is what lets Pulsion shift between club burner and soundtrack on a dime.
• Sixteen tracks A rare modern big-band jazz-funk album that commits to a full double-LP statement instead of an EP-length set.
• French-Afro-Cuban pipeline Ubiquity had been mining the Paris scene for Latin-funk talent for years; ALVO is one of the label's heaviest hitters from that vein.

Spin it for: modern Latin-funk big-band music with fusion-era scope, cinematic strings, and percussion that doesn't quit.

Standouts: "Kagemusha" · "Pulsion" · "La Traque" · "Code Panthera"

Sources: Ubiquity Records · Bandcamp — Pulsion · All About Jazz review · Discogs release