Ah, Bulgaria, land of… well, not much springs to mind, actually. Now add jazz to the list of things Bulgaria isn't famous for. Formed in 1965 at the Sofia Conservatory, the members of BJQ (with the exception of drummer Slavov) were classical students who got hipped to jazz through radio broadcasts and quickly became Bulgaria's premier working jazz group. You can certainly hear their classical roots, for instance in the dainty little version of a Bach composition – but there's some sophisticated jazz thinking at work too. Their version of ‘Billie's Bounce’ features avant-leaning prepared piano, while the obligatory Lennon/McCartney cover finds ‘Yesterday’ given a sprightly, up-tempo swinging makeover, with Shterev's fleet-fingered flute trilling like an excited canary. Overall, it's neat, solid stuff – and pianist Leviev's plaintive original, ‘Autumn Sun’, must rank as a lost classic of 1960s eastern European jazz, redolent of leafy boulevards, strong coffee and stern Communist propaganda.

Vinyl sold in April 2012 for $87 at ebay.com