Birmingham saxophonist Xhosa Cole cements his reputation as one of the UK’s most exciting improvisers on this tribute to Thelonious Monk.

Cole’s impressionistic takes on Monk staples are some of the freshest you’ll hear – freewheeling, playful and richly expressive – true to the composer’s spirit. The set was recorded live at Birmingham’s 1000 Trades after weeks on the road. The band sound killing – the perfect mix of tight and loose. The interplay is near-telepathic and the inclusion of tap dancer Liberty Styles is inspired. Trading phrases with the rest of the group, Styles fires rattling salvoes and adds another layer of swinging percussion. It amplifies the sense of fun, the feeling of joyful discovery that characterises the album, and underlines just how danceable Monk’s music can be.

Cole takes us on a wild ride: One minute his playing is abstract and anarchic; then we hear fragments of Monk’s melodies framed by guttural bellows, head-spinning patterns and whorls of sound; the next it’s tender, soulful and drenched in the blues. Track four is a highlight. It opens with a burst of ‘Criss Cross’, then a hurried conversation between Cole and Styles, before the saxophonist is left alone, pouring everything he has into the haunting ‘Round Midnight’.