Shining a light on the forcibly disenfranchised is a reason for a fresh engagement with jazz for the extraordinary Paris-born 70-year-old acoustic bassist Henri Texier. His new CD Sky Dancers pays tribute to the plight of the American Indians in the North East. The high-spirited mix of crunchy yet cool school and trance-y north African horn arrangements, New Orleans-ish grooves, jazz standard swing and the energising presence of new recruit, the Vietnamese electric guitarist Nguyên Lê lends an edgy jazz-rock fuel to the fire – Texier has the nous for selecting inspirational, edgily ambient guitarists, as anyone who recalls hearing his former axe man Manu Codjia will know. Texier’s bold, gorgeously resonant African- influenced tone and his expressively momentum building, vocalised solos are worth the price of the CD alone and another new sideman the pianist Armel Dupas and long term saxophonists Francois Corneloup and son Sebastien are right on the money. Having slipped under the radar a bit recently, Texier still shows he’s a master at capturing the jazz spirit in all its engaging diversity.