Jasper Høiby is the Danish double bassist with popular multinational group Phronesis – a power trio with a rock band’s punch, but maybe a narrow tonal palette for a composer of his imagination. Here, he composes for a superb quintet centred on the dialogue between trumpeter Laura Jurd and Polar Bear saxophonist Mark Lockheart. Høiby’s bass virtuosity is no surprise, neither is the bright, brittle improv skill of Jurd or the subtle langour of Lockheart: this album’s fine balance of composition and animated collective improvisation holds the attention from start to finish. Hooks from Høiby’s striking themes keep reappearing to signpost journeys, and there are pieces with the simmering folk-anthem eloquence of Charlie Haden’s Liberation Music bands, along with moments of Phronesis-like drama. A terrific Lockheart-Høiby duet features the former playing honking bell-note responses to himself, and tortuous rhythm-twisting struts are played with the breeziness of a carefree street band. Høiby’s all-round musicianship turns out to be a bigger deal than even he had been letting on.
