Saxophonist Sam Crockatt has always been the LOOP Collective member’s most natural post- bop traditionalist. But there’s no lack of freshness or versatility on his classy and highly engaging third album, the follow up to Flood Tide released in 2011. Mells Bells is his strongest statement so far and it’s titled after and inspired by his first experience of watching the sunset against the peel of bells in rural Mells, Somerset where Crockatt took up residency a few years ago, following a long spell in London. Some of the new recording is reminiscent of the celebrated mid- 1970s Jarrett European quartet and the ever excellent pianist Kit Downes and rhythm section of Oli Hayhurst and James Maddren are perfectly aligned with Crockatt’s aesthetic. From the New Orleans second line-ish groove of ‘The Masterplan’ through the title track’s freewheeling Jan Garbarek folk-spun theme to the old time swingin’ ‘Tiny Steps, Top of the Mountain’, Mells Bells makes for very pleasurable listening.