Well here’s a concept to tickle your imagination. O’Higgins and Wraight have known each other on and off for decades, and having hooked up through the Matthew Herbert big band, they decided to, er, not collaborate. Instead, having decided on five titles, they went off and wrote their own pieces, inspired by the titles and knowing that they’d have the same musicians – the core of O’Higgins’ quartet and the Herbert band – to interpret their work. The result is a fascinating mix of Wraight’s cinematic and orchestral visions pitched against O’Higgins’ looser, more improvised compositions. This is most obviously pointed up by the opening ‘New Orleans’. Wraight’s is a romantic vision of what the city might evoke, layers of brass urging and dancing between suggested themes. Wraight uses O’Higgins more as a colourist than a soloist. By contrast, O’Higgins’ ‘New Orleans’ kicks off with Meters and march rhythms, while it’s Mayne who shouts out on alto. Jazzers may wish there was more of O’Higgins (his presence here is mostly as composer), with Wraight’s compositions featuring the ensemble as soloist rather than individuals. The results, though, leave you constantly intrigued, with O’Higgins’ swing and blues inflections counterpointing Wraight’s more epic vision: think Quincy Jones’ Smackwater Jack in its genre hopping. It’s big band jazz but not as we know it, Jim, and that’s what gives this album a flavour worth savouring.

Jazzwise spoke to Dave O’Higgins about the album

You and Peter Wraight go back a long way…

We first played together as teenagers: he answered an ad I put in the paper looking for jazz musicians. Then we went our separate ways. After he hooked up with Matthew Herbert he got in touch again and was really chuffed to say: “At last I can offer you a proper gig!”

So how did the music for Two Minds come together?

With Mathew Herbert’s Big Band we’d played rock festivals, to audiences of 5,000-plus. We wanted to go on so decided to write our own stuff. We came up with the titles over foaming pints in a pub in Derbyshire, and thought it’d be fun to see what we’d come up with separately using these titles as starting points. We forced ourselves not to communicate!

You’re both from very different schools.

I’m from a small group jazz lineage, used to blowing over tried and tested tunes, with lots of improvising. Pete’s more layered, lots of ensemble stuff, he’d been writing for computer games like Lara Croft, film scores and orchestras. So it’s all about contrast and surprise. But there’s the continuity of us knowing the band – essentially it’s Mathew Herbert’s, and the core of my quartet – plus wild cards like Sammy Mayne.

Your confidence as a writer seems to grow constantly?

I get so much inspiration now from my work in education: when you have to teach about Thad Jones, Nelson Riddle, you really get to learn too; I love stuff with a vibe about it, like Charlie Mingus, you can hear some of that in ‘New Orleans’.

There’s some of Mingus’ energy in the sound you create too.

Recording was epic; like it says on the notes, we did it in four and half hours! I insisted on old school stuff like the massive classic mikes Chris Bolster (engineer) poached from Abbey Road. You’ve got to be a bit mad to want to work with a big band these days, but there are some great ones such as Gareth Lockrane, and Laurence Cottle, and for me it was special to be involved in each part of the process, writing, arranging, playing, and mixing. Next time, though, the plan is to sit down and write the music together!