Two-tenor-sax quartets are an old-established part of the postbop landscape, but less so when its co-leaders come from different sides of the Atlantic. London star O'Higgins deserves credit for tempting the mighty Alexander from his New York lair and arranging three European tours for him to date. There's a distinct air of mutual respect between them. You hear no crass moments of locked-horns rivalry, though O'Higgins sounds the more galvanised by their meeting. His ideas are busier and more slippery, whereas Alexander is more serene, his debt to mid-period Coltrane more pronounced than usual.

Behind them the rhythm section quickly settles into a worthy groove. McCormack and Gascoyne are both well-known to British listeners even though they have rarely worked together before, and Danish drummer Leth is rarely heard in London at all, yet the trio gels well as a unit, particularly on Song for Cape Town, a Higgins line with an Elvin Jones-like six-on-four feel.

Alexander contributes ‘Summit Meeting’, a functional minor blues with some decorative semi-tone transpositions and intervallic fourths thrown in for your listening pleasure. ‘It's Magic’, a handsome old ballad resuscitated by Sonny Rollins, is Alexander's solo feature and works well in slow-latin mode. ‘Familiar Territory’, by Dave, is a good title for something Tubby Hayes might have written for the Jazz Couriers, and the speedy title track, also by O'Higgins, is an ‘I Got Rhythm’ variant dedicated to the flattened fifth, a bop hallmark feared by classical composers down the ages. An unfamiliar Stevie Wonder line, ‘Bird of Beauty’, and two older standards, ‘'Taint Necessarily So’ [in waltz-time] and ‘Cherokee’, Dave's feature [surprisingly successful as a slow ballad] complete a meaty set that runs for a generous 75 minutes and reflects well on all concerned.