AtoZ

The latest in this series of compilations from the Montreux Jazz Festival archive features the great Jamaican pianist in various lineups between 1993 and 2016. Alexander made his name fusing jazz with Caribbean music – two tracks here pay tribute to Bob Marley, including a gospel-tinged mash-up of “No Woman No Cry” and “Get Up Stand Up”, while there’s also a rambunctious version of the mento anthem “Linstead Market”. But he’s underrated as a flashy, Oscar Peterson-style big swinger who can rattle through absolutely anything at incredible speed, while playing funky lead lines that really sing. Check out the episodic composition “Hurricane Come And Gone”, which lurches from limpid ballad to Latin metal freakout to heavy bop over the course of 10 minutes. “The Serpent” is an impressive, fugal solo piece; “Night Mist Blues” is a terrific, slow-burning 12-bar workout, while there’s a Bill Evans-ish ballad reading of Quincy Jones’ “The Pawnbroker”.

Extras: None. JOHN LEWIS

There are few bands as synonymous with lo-fi indie rock as Beat Happening. The outfit from Olympia, Washington, consisting of Calvin Johnson, Heather Lewis and Bret Lunsford, harnessed the DIY ethos of punk to its extreme – Johnson ran a record label and makeshift recording studio from his home – but ditched the snarling macho growl and embraced melody, feyness and twee sensibilities. However, on their second and greatest album, 1988’s Jamboree, they also show a rougher, darker, edgier side – tracks like “Hangman” are as much in Cramps territory as they are twee indie. Johnson’s deep, resonant voice, as characterised on the perfect piece of indie-pop “Indian Summer”, is a sharp contrast to Lewis’s wail, but together they form a wonderfully wonky yet complementary pair. There have been countless imitators but few retain the charm, idiosyncrasy and originality of Beat Happening.

Extras: None. This is one of five studio albums being reissued, alongside a B-sides and rarities compilation. DANIEL DYLAN WRAY