Beyond his legend-making free jazz work with Albert Ayler, the double-bassist Gary Peacock has had one of the most extraordinary careers as a piano trio sideman for the likes of Keith Jarrett, Paul Bley and Bill Evans. Now 82-years-old, he shows absolutely no signs of resting on his laurels: after Jarrett disbanded the Standards Trio, Peacock immediately set about forming his own triumvirate. This is their second album, Tangents, following 2015's And Now This. It's clear right from the outset that this is a trio that's double-bass-led, in spite of the regular presumptions made about a piano-bass-drums line up. Tangents features five compositions by the bassist, two by drummer Joey Baron and one by the pianist Marc Copland, a long-time associate of Peacock's since the 1980s and a criminally underrated musician. Copland sounds like he couldn't play an ungraceful note if he tried and demonstrates his allegiance to Bill Evans on an exquisite version of ‘Blue in Green’ and Alex North's ‘love theme’ from Spartacus; it draws on Evans' balletic Satie-like piano vamp. The compositions range in style from the abstract impressionism of Peacock's ‘December Greenwings’ and ‘Caudron’, to Bitches Brew-era Jarrett on ‘Tempei Tempo’. ‘Rumblin’’ is a thinly disguised take on an Ornette Coleman favourite or more likely a tribute to the bassist's former employer Paul Bley (the track's featured on the famous 1958 Hillcrest recording date). Baron is content with being a passenger on the set, though it's an essential supportive role to the fluid partnership between bassist and pianist who sound like they know each other inside out. Peacock's biting rhythmic phrases, textural nuances and melodic folk-song sensibilities are indeed a perfect foil for Copland's thoughtfully imaginative harmonies.