The Oklahoma-raised Falkner Evans’s crisp professionalism and economy of style reflect early years playing Dylan-influenced rock and touring with western-swing band Asleep at the Wheel. He left that band in 1985, moved to New York, and focussed on small-group modern jazz.

His own-name discography is somewhat slim – three trio albums, two with bassist Cecil McBee, and, in 2011, The Point of the Moon, a horns and rhythm quintet. This album’s drummer Matt Wilson appeared on them all, and with bassist Belden Bullock and trumpeter Ron Horton also Falkner regulars, ensemble discipline is tight. Michael Blake and JALC’s Ted Nash add woodwinds and sax, and vibraphonist Steve Nelson guests for three tracks on vibes.

Falkner’s well-structured, beautifully-voiced compositions have sudden turns and bespoke harmonic structures that need the accurate phrasing of this ensemble to tousle out. All the soloists play to the album’s hidden depths, and overall this makes for a rewarding listen, though, with tempos largely middle-range, it demands focus.

The programme opens with bass and flute sashaying over the tricky turns of ‘Nina’, dedicated to German choreographer Pina Bausch. ‘Civilisation’ follows, a Blakeyesque cruise, and then the bittersweet harmonies of “Sing Alone” hover above ballad tempo. ‘Global News’ and ‘This From That’ shift tempo and mood, ‘Mbegu’ is a downbeat cousin of boogaloo, and the bustling ‘Dear West Village’ a rare venture into speed.

Vibraphonist Steve Nelson joins for the samba-inflected ‘Hidden Gems’, the tangoesque slow burn of ‘Marbles’, and the band’s closing cover, a raucously Ellingtonian ‘Things Ain’t What They Used to Be’.