The restless creative imagination of Belgian bassist/composer/bandleader Xavier Verhelst takes his Wofo quintet in the direction of broadly appealing chamber jazz on the group's fourth offering, 2014's Erratic Tails. Actually, describing Wofo as a quintet isn't quite accurate here, as the core band of six-string bassist Verhelst, clarinetist Mattias Laga, tenor saxophonist Michel Mast, pianist Pieter Baert, and drummer Simon Raman is joined by "the Wofettes," a string trio comprising violinists Cécile Broché and Anouk Sanczuk and cellist Eline Duerinck. Verhelst's compositions and arrangements fully integrate the strings into the ensemble textures, evident from their prominence in the initial few minutes of the whimsically titled opening track, "The Rabbits Are Restless Tonight," first taking the spotlight and then coloring the backdrop behind Laga and Mast's counterpointed reeds. Evocative solos from Laga and Broché follow until the dynamic truly kicks up with full-band stop-and-start motifs leading into a swinging uptempo feature for Baert, making clear that this outfit might be chamberesque, but also demonstrates serious jazz cred. The segue of classical chamber stylings into (and out of) more overt jazz is particularly smooth on the balladic "Whether the Shrimps, or Crawfish Grey...," which commences as a thoroughly scored feature for cellist Duerinck before Mast and Laga offer up brief and lovely thematic improvisations. So perhaps it's most appropriate to think of this ensemble as an octet, playing music that is attractive and sometimes refined in tone, the type of jazz that incorporates classical string players with no difficulty whatsoever.

1		The Rabbits Are Restless Tonight
2		Whether the Shrimps, or Crawfish Grey...
3		Fesses Juanâtres
4		Minor Mistakes
5		Enneapodia
6		Galicnik
7		Koelkastsmeerbaar

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