This neat little combo has been on the go since 1997 and specialises in recasting familiar numbers in inventive ways while supplementing them with quirky originals. UKborn expat trumpeter Dawson is the strongest voice, his early commitment to the traditional New Orleans style now opened up to the influence of swing stars like Roy Eldridge and Charlie Shavers. He has the chops to range far and wide on the horn and also vocalises engagingly, like Chet Baker but without the angst. The album's theme rests on tunes with the word ‘Blue’ in one form or another in the title, this epitomised by the title track, a Ducal piece from his Far East Suite, given a dance pattern with a clever riff underpinning, as Dawson shouts exultantly. ‘Azurro’ by Paolo Conte has the kind of tight arrangement, with Dawson closely muted, that might have been taken straight from the John Kirby Sextet pad. It's neatly done, Lhotzky keeping the bass pattern steady, with Hopkins, also a highly effective pianist, happily evoking Carter in his solo. ‘Blue Prelude’, with Dawson vocalising, is suitably sombre whereas ‘Blue & Naughty’ zips along like a bebop head, the spiralling line taken at pace, Hopkins in stomping hot form. There's evidence all the way though this album of clever thought, typified by their riffs and routines on something timeworn like ‘Blue Moon’, Lhotzky's solo making me think of Mel Powell, the foursome's collective swing expertise a joy to hear. This band should tour here, and soon.