Having been lucky enough to see this group, augmented by local Finnish musicians, at the Tampere jazz festival a few years ago, I can vouch for its brilliance. Rudolph, known first and foremost as the percussion virtuoso and longstanding collaborator of the late Yusef Lateef, is also a skilled composer whose pieces lean greatly to both Indian and middle eastern rhythmic traditions, and the addition of the 11-piece string orchestra creates the shimmer and swoon associated with the use of the violin in those parts of the world. They have a particularly lush, wistful timbre, particularly on descending lines, that reinforces the visual, cinematic subtext of the work (as indicated by the name Moving Pictures), but the other aspect of the music that is crucial is dance. Indeed, it's easy to imagine this work as a soundtrack to progressive contemporary ballet. Brisk, whirling 6/8 rhythms where the low muffle of the percussion has a strong trance-like quality might excite a choreographer with an open mind, and some of the material could also work as music to dance to as well as music for a dance presentation. Given his long years with Lateef, who set great store by dialogue and exchange, it is not surprising that there are relatively few extended solos, and that short, concise extemporisations and rapid-fire ‘trades’ between instruments is paramount. An octet, Moving Pictures is halfway between small and big band yet it is a group with a layered, dense sound that is nonetheless fluid. MP is a mini orchestra with all of the tightness of a quartet, and as this engrossing album shows, it fulfills the expectations of listener and dancer alike.