The British have a long history of putting the conventions of to better use than their American counterparts do, and guitarist/composer is a case in point. Leading a sextet he calls , offers a solid set of muscular, no-nonsense modern that delivers plenty of intellectual interest without ever descending into navel-gazing solo wankery and without ever sacrificing its powerful groove. True, much of this stuff is most definitely music for musicians -- check out the long, complex for example (taking note of 's sparkling keyboard work and 's huge fretless bass tone), or the rhythmically and melodically sideways But toward the end of the program and company suddenly become much more friendly and accessible, with the absolutely lovely and surprisingly straight-ahead of (composed by ) and a gorgeous by entitled Great stuff. ~ Rick Anderson