Lauren Sevian's second album as a leader highlights the throughregister control, throaty warmth and impressive fluency that have marked her 15-year tenure playing baritone sax with the Mingus Big Band. Here she delivers a programme of originals in the fast company of pianist Robert Rodriguez backed by Christian McBride and E.J. Strickland on bass and drums. Though all three take a turn in the spotlight, and McBride is as commanding as ever, Sevian is the dominant soloist and wrote all bar one of the tunes. Sevian's style is clearly centred on the hard-bop drive and syncopated articulation of Pepper Adams and Cecil Payne. But she adds an airy upper register when the occasion demands, toasts confidently over pedal-point vamps and, on ‘In The Loop’, flows melodically over understated hip-hop beats. Though rooted in tradition, she has a personal voice, and her playing delivers contemporary bite. The album opens with the rip-roaring ‘Triple Water’, a tour de force of gravelly lines delivered at speed and continues with ‘Square One’, a lilting medium tempo jaunt built on McBride's counterpoint bass and written by alto saxophonist Alexa Tarantino. The title-track, ‘Bliss’, a light-touch elegy, features wispy high-end baritone sax – later ‘Goldies Chance’ delivers harmonic grit at a similar pace. Elsewhere, the modernist ‘Miss Lady’ sparks memories of Tadd Dameron, ‘Lamb And Bunny’ is a fast tempo romp over the changes of ‘Cherokee’, and the tricky arpeggios of ‘Minimal Moves’ are built on the crablike moves of ‘Giant Steps’. The rhythm section is spot on, and only ‘Bluesishness’ fails to grip. An impressive showcase for Sevian's advanced technique and prowess as an improviser.