“Live in the moment” is a very ‘now’ sort of sentiment – and, curiously, a very ‘then’ sort of one too: it was Latin-speakers after all who first came up with the idea of carpe diem. So living in the moment has a past; is actually quite historical. And (to change the subject somewhat, or to twist it to the present occasion) it’s a sentiment that should appeal to all jazz musicians in some degree, since their chosen discipline is the great modern form of artistic improvisation. Anyway, Simon Lasky’s second disc as leader-composer for 33 Jazz takes music’s big moments – those moments that induce “a physiological response in the listener” – as its starting point. Classically trained, Lasky first discovered the phenomenon in relation to the symphonic works of Mahler, Bruckner, et al. He’s realistic, noting “there is no way that a six-piece jazz ensemble can recreate the dramatic impact of a 90-piece symphony orchestra at full throttle”, but also ambitious in trying to squeeze as many moments of tension and release out of his band here. His compositions veer off on surprising tangents away from sweet leading motifs: opener ‘Dancing in the Rain’ alternates views from sweetly sunny uplands with more densely exploratory passages. The arrangements offer unexpected turns too: second track ‘She Said’ floats along on Kuljit Bhamra’s tabla pulse, with Philip Achille’s harmonica sharing the spotlight with Luca Boscagin’s electric guitar and Pete Billington’s fretless bass. I also like the crowdfunding twist, which means that individual tunes come with dedications from their backers.