Eddie Prévost was, of course, a key figure in the birth of European improv: a young drummer working the London scene with a fixation on Art Blakey who, in the mid-1960s – together with saxophonist Lou Gare and guitarist Keith Rowe – made a radical theoretical and aesthetic step away from American jazz and founded the mysterious improvising ensemble AMM. The single 42-minute piece on his new release with Japanese composer/performer Ken Ikeda follows firmly in the AMM tradition, presenting a shifting collage of translucent harmonic drones, electronic judders and abrasive metallic shrieks, with Prévost concentrating more on the consequences of harsh friction than anything as obvious as hitting things. That said, in recent years, Prévost has made something of a move back towards his hard bop roots, appearing behind an actual drum kit from time to time. That’s the deal on the trio album with bassist John Edwards and electric guitarist N. O. Moore, as Prévost investigates the hi-hat with all the dogged inventiveness of Max Roach, and even takes something approaching a conventional drum solo full of meaty rolls and sudden snare cracks. Still, it’s a long way from ‘A Night In Tunisia’: Edwards is typically quixotic, lurching from solid thunks to dribbling runs and dry scratches, while Moore unpacks an impressive bag of tricks, darting from howler monkey impressions to flying saucer whir, and even seems to appropriate the Mutron III envelope filter effect used by Jerry Garcia on the Grateful Dead classic ‘Estimated Prophet’.