“Hi, my name is Robin Goodie,” alto saxophonist Zhenya Strigalev declares in the middle of the title track in a totally deadpan voice. There have always been mavericks in jazz but less and less seem to appear nowadays. Hurrah then for the wacky eccentricity of the London-based Russian ex-pat Strigalev. He's been a presence on the scene over the previous decade as a club events enabler as well as a jazzman and his line up of super-group proportions attests to not only the high calibre of the contacts he has picked up at his jams at Charlie Wrights some years ago, but also to his appeal as a musician and composer. Strigalev's dedicated marathon practice regimes are legendary (he has been rumoured to stop blowing only having fallen asleep) but his technical wizardry doesn't belie the raw spontaneity, the humour and fiery spirit in his playing. This is the second album on Whirlwind Records and it's a thrill ride of progressive bebop through to New York post-Zorn electric groove jazz (the two basses, one acoustic the other electric, joins the two sides at times) and contemporary avant-funk. It can be fast and furious, tender and emotional and a whole lot of fun too, for the listener as well as the musicians. How many jazz recordings can you say that about these days?