Henri Texier is one of the great pillars of contemporary French jazz. He originally came to international prominence as a member of Phil Woods' European Rhythm Machine between 1968-71, which saw the leader's playing, and those of his sidemen, rise to undreamt of heights. Of course, Texier has distinguished himself in other contexts ’ with Don Cherry and other Americans, but his own discography runs down the spine of French jazz from 1972. His son Sébastien has been a long-term member of his ensembles, and together with the baritone saxophone virtuoso François Corneloup they form a pianoless quartet that Texier has sustained successfully over the years. But however fleet and agile these soloists are, it is a context in which they are under constant scrutiny, the ear gradually demanding the fuller sound a piano brings to the jazz ensemble. As the groups options shuffled and reshuffled ’ solo, harmony, counterpoint, unison or abstraction ’ one can do no other than acknowledge their ability but the context in which they perform is both rigorous and demanding for both performer and listener, like playing and listening to jazz in a cold shower.