‘Being heavily influenced by the likes of Dave Grusin, The Yellowjackets, Al Jarreau and David Sanborn,’ in-demand drummer and percussionist Elliott Henshaw has explained, ‘I wanted to release music that celebrates the importance of strong melody combined with solid groove.’

True to his word, on Who’d Have Guest?, the second album from his band, Henshaw has put together a set of highly melodic, deeply groovy cuts, all delivered with a big, bright sound. A bold horn section lights up the likes of ‘Monte Carlo’ and ‘Faithless’, sung with great verve by Miranda Wilford and Noel Sullivan, respectively. And then there are the strings. Henshaw’s core band is a quintet but – as you might have guessed on the basis of the album’s title – guest appearances are legion on the disc. The contributions are skilfully blended, however, so that the album achieves aural consistency, from the smooth, carefree ‘Along Came Milly’ to the funky, punchy ‘Red Beret’.