Boris Kozlov has played on over 160 albums and holds the bass chair and MD of the Mingus Big Band and Dynasty projects. Yet he has released barely a handful of albums under his own name. This album, his bandleader debut for Posi-tone, follows a dozen sideman sessions for the modern-mainstream specialists that include a spate of post-lockdown releases using the same tight-knit rhythm section.

Kozlov is a great all-round bass player who delivers the harmonic foundation and forward momentum that brings modern jazz to life. Here, drummer Rudy Royston is locked in, pianist Art Hirahara’s canny voicings impress and tenor saxophonist Donny McCaslin solos with purpose and articulates cleanly.

But, Kozlov aside, the album’s star turn is vibist Behn Gillece, a Posi-tone regular with a soulful sound and half-a-dozen releases under his belt. Here, he delivers gripping narratives, swings hard and follows the bespoke contours of the band’s compositions.

The album opens with Kozlov’s elegiac bowed bass setting up the funky riff of McCaslin’s ‘Page One’ – his ‘Second Line Sally’ struts its stuff mid-set. Kozlov’s ‘Flow’ comes next, a pastorale featuring McCaslin’s workmanlike flute.

Later, the bassist’s up-tempo swinger ‘IS Adventure’ was inspired by Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring and ‘Once a Fog in Babylon’ plays out as a medley of old Russian folk tunes in a mixture of styles. ‘Aftermath’ is a downbeat ballad with a gorgeous piano intro, ‘Warm Sand’ a mellow medium-tempo lope and the woozy ‘Viscous’ was free-improvised. Kozlov shines throughout, but it is Gillece who provides the extra spice.