It took a couple of plays to adjust to the stripped down harmonic structures and changed rhythmic emphasis of Tony Allen's four rejigged Jazz Messenger classics. But put the originals to one side and the underground vibe of Allen's Afro-beat aesthetic takes hold. Allen's project oozes confidence and depth from the cover photo of Allen seated behind the drums in Blakey-like pose (sans cigarette) to the crunchy, baritone sax-driven horns and thumping side-drum splashes that fall in unexpected places. Allen invented Afro-beat drumming, and here you can hear how his fills, splashes and brief rolls condensed the ebullience of hard bop into deceptive subterranean cross-rhythms. The set opens with the call of ‘Moanin’’ sitting on the beat and bristling with baritone sax, its response a cliff-hanging delay while ‘Politely’ unfolds lazily over piano arpeggios and slinky bass. ‘A Night in Tunisia’ shifts gear and is funky, gritty and up-tempo; “The Drum Thunder Suite” springs along over a singing bass riff. Each piece features rhythmically tight horns, sweetly voiced bridges and solos that sit nicely on the groove. Trumpet and sax on ‘Politely’ stand out, Sciuto's squeaky soprano sax on ‘A Night in Tunisia’ is an interesting oddity and Allen takes off on ‘The Drum Thunder Suite’. A full-length album is due in autumn. I can't wait.