Since his emergence in the late 1990s, Californian saxophonist Robinson has been developing an appealing contemporary jazz, which blends bop and avant-garde sensibilities to good effect, and this new release consolidates his body of work. His quintet has a potent sound full of deeply bluesy unison lines, with Michael Dessen’s ballooning trombone gelling well with the leader’s steam-heat tenor and soprano.

The rhythm section – pianist Joshua White impresses – is a rock solid but supple anchor, holding things together as the arrangements, extending the lineage of Mingus-Pullen-Adams, veer organically from hard swing to a raucous open meter that speaks of the band’s ability to create rousingly soulful energy without forgoing structural ambition. The writing is consistent but ‘Enos’ is a highlight. It has a stirring, Dolphy-Nelson theme in which the intensely warm harmonizing of the horns lands powerfully on a mid-tempo marked by smart breaks and turnarounds. Accomplished work from a quintet that makes for an interesting fixture on the current landscape of small groups.