When Russian saxophonist Igor Butman celebrated his 60th birthday last year, he did it with a flourish. As befits a leading light of the Putin-supporting United Russia party, he held his celebrations in Moscow's Kremlin Palace.

And, reflecting his connections with the US (Butman lived there for 10 years from 1983, and has dual citizenship), his fair-sized orchestra shared the stage with the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra.

Those transatlantic threads continue on this newly-recorded CD. American bassists Eddy Gomez and Matt Brewer along with drummer Anthony Sanchez are the rhythmic foundation, Wynton Marsalis gets name-checked and guitarist Evgeny Pobozhly and vocalist/pianist Antonio Akkuratov fill out the middle.

The album opens with the wistful melody of 'Egyptian Nights' conjuring Billy Strayhorn and Butman developing the theme with oblique lines. The fast-swinging 'Verdict' comes next, with three modal shifts and 'You’ve Got Email' gives choppy funk a samba twist. 'Golden Sun Ray' is the soulful ballad; Butman was introduced to American audiences by the late Grover Washington, and that influence shows here.

Wynton's first namecheck is a blues with a New Orleans strut – a second take plays the album out – and pianist Akkuratov replaces guitar and sings on the trumpeter's 'Baby I Love You', the album's weakest track. But for the most part, Butman is locked into the grooves and moods of late twentieth century jazz. He does it well, with a soft centred tone. But with Sanchez and Brewer behind him, it would be hard to fail.