Jason Palmer's spiky tone and long angular lines are rooted in the lyrical, harmonically sophisticated trumpet tradition of Booker Little.

Original compositions reveal left-field inclinations and sideman credits with the likes of Herbie Hancock, Common and Mark Turner confirm the quality of his work.

Con Alma puts his tonal control and melodic flow under the spotlight of a trumpet-and-rhythm quartet. Tempos range from slow to the middle range, drummer Kendrick Scott and Joe Martin on bass support sensitively, and pianist Leo Genovese adds supple piano voicings and firecracker wit.

Nine tracks here were originally released for the vinyl-only subscription label Newvelle in 2018 under the title Fair Weather, and it is these which stand out. ‘Moonlight becomes You’ and ‘Old Folks’, two standards from the Booker Little archive, reveal Palmer's impressive technique; the first comes with figured bass, the second gains a mambo trace and Palmer spins fresh lines on both.

Later, trumpet and piano swap the melody of Wayne Shorter's ‘Nefertiti’ at will, ‘Easy Living’ is soulful and three Palmer originals are well-conceived.

‘Con Alma’, the title track, and two self-penned songs were recorded remotely in 2021, taking the original album up to CD length. Palmer's road-tested originals deserve to be heard and drummer Scott plays a treat. But Genovese switches to Fender Rhodes and his voicings and touch are too heavy for the music to fly.