The Dutch pianist Jaspar van't Hof is probably best known to UK audiences through his association with the band Pork Pie and his critically acclaimed solo concerts. His latest album with the Austrian saxophonist Harry Sokal and the excellent rhythm team of Nelder and Studer produce a very solid, satisfying and wholly absorbing excursion in the contemporary post-Coltane mainstream. This is an area of jazz that has been thoroughly excavated over the years, so the challenge was to come up with something that sounds freshly minted and doesn't evoke a sense of déjà vu. This is achieved by the integrity of the performances; these are players that have been around the block and then some, and have been operating at the highest levels of European jazz for several decades. What they bring is integrity, invention and the wisdom of years; there is no straining for effect here, these are improvisers capable of great profundity and from the suavely executed title track to the slow, edgy but haunting ‘Dulcinea’ to the cool strut of ‘Yes, but’ this is a classy album.