Producer Manfred Eicher has produced many albums for his ECM label that are now regarded as jazz classics over the last 50 years. Some have taken time to be recognised as such, others have emerged with ‘classic’ written all over them. Oded Tzur’s Here Be Dragons is in the latter category. Masterfully conceived, impeccably executed, Tzur has studied Indian classical music and has brought pitch sliding, microtonal shading and the use of ragas and Indian scales into the forum of jazz. Of course, many musicians have done this in the past but it is the highly personal way in which Tzur makes use of these resources, allied to a tonal approach to the tenor saxophone that is both unique and distinctive that marks this album out as special. He is also a melodist whose considerations provide the guiding light for his improvised lines – there are no patterns, licks or gratuitous flourishes in Tzur’s playing, rather the interlocking logic of a soloist who is concerned with developing an improvisational arc to both solo and composition, a story telling privilege that has a beginning, a developmental episode that leads to a destination. Tzur’s sharply defined vision of music is subtly stated and his search for aesthetic clarity is shared by each member of his quartet, who have created a musical statement that seems set to endure.