Those listeners familiar with John McLaughlin's heavy-hitting 4th Dimension band will already know that Paris-based Cameroonian Étienne Mbappé is a commanding, fleet-fingered buccaneer of the bass guitar, more than capable of matching Mac's lightning runs or firing up the rhythm section with his unrelenting grooves. Yet Mbappé has a softer, subtler side to his own music making that's seen him produce three solo albums at four-year intervals. This latest slice of his richly spun Afro-folk-jazz-funk follows Misiya (2004) and Su La Take (2008), with all three featuring his resonant tenor vocals, singing in his native Duala dialect, over percolating bass lines and intricately plotted melodic layers. Fellow Cameroonian bass maestro Richard Bona has certainly carved a niche in similar territory but there's added earthiness throughout Pater Noster's complex song structures, constantly shifting meters and solos from violinist Janiet, guitarist Baud and tastefully restrained solo bass breaks from the leader. All of which remind of his legit jazz credentials that have seen him share both stage and studio with Joe Zawinul and Steps Ahead, although it's his former boss Salif Keita's effortless hybrid of folkloric African sounds and modal funk fusion that's at the root of Mbappé's MO. First call sideman to leading fusioneers Mbappé may be, but on the evidence of the musical riches showcased so vibrantly here, he's now revealing himself as a solo artist of real depth and quality.