Mathias Eick dropped Lullaby on Valentine’s Day, underlining where it’s at: romantically tilted, lyrical and open-hearted.

His band shimmers with the high-level line-up of countrymen Ole Morten Vågen and Hans Hulbkækmo, the first heading up the Trondheim Jazz Orchestra, the second now having achieved a ubiquitous nature on the domestic scene. Imported from Estonia is one of that land’s most prominent (and finest) players, the pianist Kristjan Randalu, here positioned to match the leader in his laying out of bright themes.

The compositional tone is more towards forthright optimism rather than misty melancholia, and Eick tips it all too far into overemphasis when he insists on vocalising into his horn, or even worse, when moving right to the front with his dominant wordless refrains. There are many listeners who would prefer this to be an instrumental album, saying less rather than more, and increasing the chances of poignancy.

The tunes are fairly similar throughout, although the playing alone is impressive, particularly when Eick concentrates on trumpet, and when Randalu weaves and scampers around the themes, emphasising and supporting with imagination, as his fluffy tail flies. There’s a warm delineation, as Eick distils northern spring water droplets, the bass and drums working closely in limber form. Numbers such as ‘My Love’ and ‘Free’ suffer from the vocals being a dominant element, Eick literally loving the sound of his own voice, but the title track, for instance, steps aside into a quieter, more spacious area.