Four years after Wiga Waga, the An Pierlé Quartet (APQ) is back with a second album on the prestigious W.E.R.F. label: Ultimate Survival, which the Belgian singer-pianist and her band are eager to present at AMOR.

Compared to the APQ's debut, the grooves are even deeper, the lyrics even more confrontational. This is partly to do with the turn An Pierlé's life took. This is partly due to the turn An Pierlé's life took after overcoming cancer, the realization that it is better to make the most of each day has become all the more pressing. An Pierlé sings all this with the wisdom of a grown-up woman who no longer needs to be a girl.

Ultimate Survival may not be a classic jazz album, but it is the work of a real jazz band - the link to David Bowie's last album Blackstar is never far away. With keyboardist Hendrik Lasure and drummer Casper Van de Velde (together known as Schntzl), reinforced with producer-recorder Koen Gisen, the APQ has just about the core of The New Wave of Belgian Jazz in its ranks.