Acrobat (with the aid of researcher-writer Simon Spillett) have done it again. Here's a 24-track compilation that just keeps giving. It's a veritable cornucopia of keyboard history. Of course there are trio features here, but many of these performances have the nominated pianist in a small group setting, these often fronted by the likes of Scott or Hayes and even, in the case of Lee, a big band. So variety is assured, but that was going to happen anyway, for these highly disparate stylists each had something of their own take on jazz modernism, even to the point of ignoring it totally. Dipping in, Shearing from 1948 is brittle and angular, Ball boppishly effusive and the excellent Dill Jones surprisingly adventurous considering his later mainstream associations. Sharon is teamed with Scott at his most Prez-like, guitarist Pete Chilver chording away and soloing with bright alacrity. Three years later, in 1951, Scott is positively Getz-ian, with the tragic Pollard on piano and Lennie Bush pumping away on bass. A further three years on, Scott combines with Victor Feldman and the still active Tony Kinsey on drums. These early pioneers then give way to such accomplished soloists as Eddie Thompson and the very spry Derek Smith, both of whom, like Feldman, later gained fame in the States, with Stan Tracey and Harry South lapping at their heels. Reece impresses with the spare piano of Terry Shannon alongside, ahead of such enduring figures as Bill LeSage and Pat Smythe. Not all the pianists represented here are of the front rank; if the intensity of their US counterparts is missing, it's still fair to say that they all deserved their moment in the sun. So, a packed selection of greats, near-greats and lost heroes.