Tenor saxophonist Hafez Modirzadeh's previous releases such as 2012's Post-Chromodal Out! established him as an artist who was able to hear things differently to the bulk of his peers. His experiments with tonality produced work that had a startling freshness and astute avoidance of cliché.

Although his arrangements for a small group with horns and rhythm section bore fruit, this latest project has a razor-sharp focus on the piano. It takes centre stage, not just through duets with cutting edge exponents Kris Davis, Craig Taborn and Tyshawn Sorey, but also in solo features for them.

By eschewing equal temperament and opting for a variety of tunings Modirzadeh creates a sound world that scrambles what can pass for dissonance and consonance, and time and again there is a melodic beauty borne of apparently clashing keys. It is a beguiling and enticing vocabulary that brings to light the ingenuity of his partners, who often play with deeply expressive economy and spatial awareness, and also underlines the imagination of his writing. One of the highlights is ‘Facet Sorey', that sees the titular pianist blend a stream of fluent rhythmic flurries with vaporous marimba-like swirls that are like an unprepared prepared piano. Then again the reprises of Thelonious Monk's ‘Pannonica' and ‘Ask Me Now' bring the innovations of the great ‘modernist' full circle. To call this a concept album would not be wholly inaccurate but might slightly miss the point of the work. All the detailed, latticed miniatures pack a mighty emotional punch not at all at odds with the cerebral premise.