Trombonist Javier Nero scales up in more ways than one following his 2020 debut Freedom. Instead of a small group he now leads an orchestra on Kemet: The Black Land, a reference to ancient Egypt whose advanced civilization has inspired numerous artists from Steve Coleman to Shabaka Hutchings via Erykah Badu.

The wider, richer palette enables Nero, a noted Juilliard graduate, to bring his skills as a composer and arranger to the fore and his astute voicings for brass and reeds create interesting shifts from bright to muted colours that put the work in a lineage that runs all the way back to Ellington via Evans, while the rhythmic character of the music also moves coherently between understatement and emphasis.

The blues is still a fundamental emotional and musical building block but it is given many degrees of sophistication by way of structures that are boldly developmental. Fine soloists such as trumpeter Sean Jones and vibraphonist Walter Wolf enhance the scores while the excellent vocalist Christie Dashiel gives pieces such as ‘Discord’ additional finesse.