Danish saxophonist Julie Kjær has been based in London for several years now, during which time she's struck up a rapport with the hardest working – and most in-demand – improv rhythm section in the capital, bassist John Edwards and drummer Steve Noble. On the strength of this debut release, they’re a perfect fit.

Kjær's compositions centre around punchy, mischievous heads, which open out into less constrained vistas – a tactic that plays directly to Noble and Edwards’ strengths as master improvisers capable of swerving from meaty grooves to seething free-boil at the click of a switch. Kjær, too, demonstrates a puckish versatility, flicking from impertinently prancing figures to fluttery keypad percussion and a purring, multiphonic thrum that's enough to encourage the rhythm team to drop into more abstract territory populated by rough arco scrapes and tense drum-head friction. But, for all its experimental impulses, this is a satisfyingly physical date, infused with the kind of erudite playfulness that made Art Ensemble of Chicago's best moments a treat for head and heart alike.