Hurt, long a notable presence on the metropolitan scene released a small big band album on Spotlite way back in 1984. Now with a few added musicians, he's adapted some old pieces and written new ones, and relaunched his Jazz Orchestra, hence A New Start. Having played a gig and liking what was accomplished, Hurt was encouraged to record the band, this with the expert assistance of Trio's Andy Cleyndert at the controls and here it is. All eight pieces are by Hurt and the voicings might be said to broadly follow the stylistic template of, say, Maria Schneider, the writing moving well away from the conventions of call-and-response. Soloists are encouraged and the writing under them is often subtle and distinctive. The title track opens with waves of sound, the tuba mobile in low-level support, Dawson ruminative and Hathaway bright and direct. ‘Thinking of You’ is more solemn, elegiac almost, tuba rumbling beneath, before Davies enters impressively, the tenor line searching out the tune's potential, the ensemble building behind her. ‘Sabotage’ is vibrant, the standout track in fact, Freestone's soprano lead apparent, as Williams brings her calm creativity to bear, Scott neat in support, a cascade of sound behind the piano, with a perfect vignette from Lowther. Make no mistake, Hurt enjoys deploying varied colours and textures and does it well, the writing sometimes dense and multi-layered, at others fresh and airy, like the lovely ‘Triangle’ with Williams, persuasive as ever, the use of the tuba like a recurring motif for enterprise. Self-effacingly, Hurt reserves his only solo entry for the final piece, the imposing ‘Forbidden Fruit’. My sole complaint? That Henry Lowther only solos once.