When is a septet not a septet? When it's a septet+, of course. Flautist/composer Jamie Baum has been leading her New York seven-piece ‘little big band’ for over a decade, but that has now evolved on this ambitious new disc into a modestly larger ensemble capable of tackling the musical textures and timbres of South Asia. The title of the whirling opening track, ‘Nusrat’, points to one of the principal inspirations here, Pakistani singer Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and the devotional Qawwali music of the Sufis: Dan Weiss bangs out intricate patterns on his tabla while Baum pipes spinning, lyrical lines on her flute. The history of 20th century Western classical music also echoes through the compositions. Upbeat moods alternate with moments of greater languor and frozen introspection: the funkily sinuous ‘Ants and Other Faithful Beings’ gives way to the melancholy meditative calm of the title track, before pianist John Escreet takes a dazzling solo spot on ‘Monkeys of the Gokarna Forest’.