Reunion albums rarely rekindle the magic of former glories, often becoming little more than marketing opportunities for the (financially) more rewarding tour to follow. One such album to decidedly buck the trend was the reuniting of Brian Auger and Julie Tippetts (née Driscoll) for Encore, a 1978 release for Warner Bros and the duo’s first for almost a decade since 1969’s excellent Julie Driscoll-Brian Auger & The Trinity double album Streetnoise. They were among the first UK jazz-rock pioneers, and the album brought together Auger’s increasingly imaginative Hammond B3 improvisation and Driscoll’s striking soul-jazz vocals and socially aware lyrics, before overbearing management problems led to them going their separate ways – she with the experimentation of Centipede and Ovary Lodge and he with the bold, organ-driven jazz-funk of Oblivion Express.

Finally, after 45 years, Encore resurfaces. Recorded at synthesiser pioneer Dr Patrick Gleason’s Different Fur Studios in San Francisco, it features the supple, Steely Dan-ish accompaniment of former Don Ellis sidemen, Doering, McDaniels and Criggar, and connects back to Streetnoise’s intensity and conviction while moving forward with the maturity and vision of their intervening projects.

The pin-sharp repertoire balances the earthy optimism of Al Jarreau’s ‘Spirit’, Auger’s ‘Git Up’ and ‘Future Pilot’ and the Staples Singers ‘Freedom Highway’, with the keyboardist in the kind of spellbinding form that earnt him plaudits from Herbie Hancock, against the bittersweet, brooding drama of Steve Winwood’s ‘No Time To Live’, a captivating take on Nina Simone’s version of ‘Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood’ and a heart-stopping, gospel-fire reading of Jarreau’s ‘Lock All The Gates’, with Tippett’s passion and power in full flow. It may be over four decades old but in spirit, message and sheer uplifting musicality it’s uncannily on-point today.