Jassbusters Two

Like a sequel to a classic film that didn’t really need to happen.

Listening to Connan Mockasin’s Jassbusters Two raises a simple question: how different does a sequel actually need to be to distinguish itself from its predecessor?

Opening with what recalls the haunting lullaby of Rosemary’s Baby morphing into a spectral Alice Coltrane-esque howl, Connan Mockasin’s Jassbusters Two sets off on an appropriately moving and funny trajectory immediately. Conceived of as a tell-tale band of schoolteachers uniting to ostensibly create some more traditional songs, the entire scaffolding for this loosely conceptual album is a punchline.