The Hastings-based double-bassist Olie Brice has made his presence felt on the contemporary leftfield jazz circuit as well as in his own bands through integrating compositional ideas into free jazz and improv settings. This approach is further developed on Day After Day, his second quintet recording on Babel following Immune to Clockwork released in 2015. Among the highlights is ‘Aunt Nancy's Balloons’ with its haunting Krzysztof Komeda-like theme, mazy trumpet-bass conversation and languid Outhouse-ish two-pronged sax unison. Alto saxophonist Mike Fletcher plays particularly impressive solos, combining Tim Berne-ish riffing, Rudresh Mahanthappa-like muezzin tones and something of Lee Konitz’ cooler enigmatic lines. The funky ‘Another Mad Yak’ leans towards free bop while Brice revives a sadly forgotten old sentimental chestnut ‘If You Were the Only Girl in the World’ as a Chicagoan-informed hybrid of avant-garde and old swing-to-bop styles, all of which the band veteran, the excellent American drummer Jeff Williams, is very well-versed. While there's plenty of the 1960s New Thing written into the script, it's an engaging set of a largely contemporary character too.