Mahanthappa's 2015 CD Bird Caiis was one of the most intelligent investigations of Charlie Parker's music in recent memory, using his bebop classics as a jumping off point for thrilling original songs. This new work also looks at the old, but in a broader sense, as the set list includes anthems by soul and country stars, Stevie Wonder and Johnny Cash, as well as jazz icons John Coltrane, Ornette Coleman and Keith Jarrett.

Its central achievement is a bridging of the gap between supposed high and lowbrow, as Mahanthappa's trio convincingly puts a distinctive stamp on the eclectic source material, with sparkling cocktails of grooves, hooks and solos that unfurl in structures that can be straight and not so straight. The ambitious melding of Parker's ‘Barbados’ and ‘Coltrane's 26-2’ is a rollercoaster ride predicated on several original interludes as well as the familiar themes, showing how able the players are to shift pulse and attack so that a freeish funk flows into a flighty swing, and something indefinable between the two.

Mahanthappa and Moutin have big, bulbous sounds on their respective instruments, and Royston is a constantly ticking engine of ideas. Yet all three players, as much as they express themselves to the full, embellishing phrases and turnarounds with no inhibition, gel as a unit. The result is an overwhelming feeling of joy amid all the ‘chops’, a desire to emote as well as excel technically.