Away from the collectivist-utopian impulses of free-jazz and improv, generally speaking, even the most egalitarian of jazz piano trios tend to be led by the pianist. Not so with Trio M, which brings together experienced players from both the east and west coasts of the US. On this follow-up to the 2007 debut Big Picture, there's a wonderfully assured and relaxed sense of give-and-take – a good-natured game of push-me-pull-you that affords all three musicians equal shares in the direction each tune takes. Between them, they skilfully sketch out a rich suite that gracefully touches on several cornerstones of American jazz. ‘Don Knotts’ is nippy and exuberant piano-trio swing; ‘The Promised Land’ has a driving funk beat with nothing to prove; and ‘Al’ is a skittering free-jazz tribute to Albert Ayler that feels like much more than a left-field token effort. This is a trio with high ambitions and impressive reach.