You may not have heard of trumpeter Steven Nichols, but his pedigree speaks for itself: he has studied and performed with Percy Pursglove and subsequently Chris Potter, Dave Holland, Norma Winstone and others.

Here he is accompanied by long-time collaborators from the Birmingham Conservatoire and the Royal Academy, and the ease of their ensemble playing is surely the result of working together for years. Rees has co-authored some of these tunes, all of which are replete with melody and feeling, and as a pairing he and Nichols have given a distinctive character to the quintet.

Most of the seven tracks wisely take their time, allowing ideas to develop. Nichols cites John Taylor and Kenny Wheeler as influences, but on certain tunes, e.g. ‘Nichols' Blues’ and the pleasingly rowdy ‘Green Juice’, one can hear a fine hard bop tradition in full swing, as Nichols and Rees swap phrases in the classic manner, Kleppan clattering along joyously behind them.

There’s no consistent mood to this album, but one of the many things they do well is melancholy. John Jones (son of bass legend Dave) plays a fine introspective intro to the title track, while Goldmark supplies heft and substance to the gorgeous, stately ‘Nebula’.