This first solo sax album by Mark Turner has the feel of a significant artistic statement. The ‘Sonny Rollins at the MoMA Sculpture Garden’ moment for a modern-day saxophone colossus.

Heard to thrilling effect in the past 30 years both with his own bands and as a member of ensembles led by Kurt Rosenwinkel, Tom Harrell and Billy Hart, Turner has both a signature sound and phrasing that have made him very identifiable. But in this unaccompanied setting the listener has the privilege of hearing the fine details of his approach that may occasionally be blurred by a rhythm section. His tone, shaped equally by Warne Marsh, Shorter and Trane, and sense of time are enthralling, above all because of an ability to not sound rushed even at brisk tempo. Turner has self-possession if not calm in the midst of an energy burst. And his articulation is flawless.

Produced by Danish guitarist Jacob Bro, who has worked with Turner for decades, the album throws a curve ball insofar as Turner is not in Rollins’ extended improv ’soloscope’ mode, but he is playing tunes. They are all Bro's compositions and on the largely lyrical material Turner is able to inventively interpret melody, grow improvisations from within and outside the theme, thus creating unfamiliar journeys from familiar points of departure.

Indeed, the way the saxophonist summons up the uniquely weary brightness of the one standard on the set, Monk’s ‘Misterioso’, keeps the see saw beat steady, and spins the harmony into new micro-melodies, pithy fleeting statements that capture all the wry humour and concise discipline of Thelonious, is an absolute joy.