Veteran pianist-composer Guntrip has evidently been a busy figure on the UK scene for many years, sometimes uniting with jazz people and here presents his latest album – there were two earlier recordings dating from 2011- featuring the late vocalist Tina May and dedicated to her.

While there’s a core personnel, and multi-doubling aplenty, Birchwood and Carter also create brass and reed orchestrations to swell out the ensemble. All eight pieces are by Guntrip, as are the arrangements, his Fender overlays, and the puttering percussion dominant, May performing her own lyrics, and managing their twists and turns with her usual poise and aplomb. Barnacle, essentially from a pop-session background, fits in well and explains that he first alerted Guntrip to May back in 2006, this leading to those earlier albums, one of which involved a big band scenario with players like Enrico Tomasso, Iain Ballamy and Alan Barnes involved.

That is replicated here on the final track ‘Oogie in F’ with Birchwood’s brass section rampant, May voicing her oddly unique words as Carter burps on baritone. The title track has Guntrip at the grand piano, May scatting and Barnacle having a ball. As it ends, she’s heard to say ‘I like it!’ And so do we.

Much the same goes for ‘Shanelle’ where she adds a touch of vocalese, Carter eloquent on soprano. Far removed from the small group jazz settings where she so often excelled, May looks happy to be among these musicians in the lovely booklet photograph and it’s pleasing to remember her that way.