It's becoming increasingly easy to position John Hollenbeck somewhere between Frank Zappa and Philip Glass on the spectrum of ‘Great American Composers’. At least, on the strength of this latest work, that certainly seems to be what he's striving for. His complex arrangements centre on tricky, cerebral jazz-rock with an undeniably Zappa-esue orchestral sense, yet frequently make clear references to the twinkle and throb of minimalists like Glass: Matt Moran's vibraphone seems as likely to be called upon for a rattling Ruth Underwood-style solo as for the rippling arpeggios of a Steve Reich homage. Indeed, though it's clearly jazz, a lot of the music seems almost completely through-composed: a sort of chamber-jazz-rock that requires an extremely high level of technical ability not just to read it, but to interpret it in a way that really swings. And it does, too, with a tight, rhythmic verve that slices through the Gordian Knot intricacies with ease.