Tom Skinner has established a considerable reputation as the go-to guy for projects that skirt the experimental fringes of jazz and not-jazz, especially if they involve punchy high-energy grooves - see his involvement with Melt Yourself Down, his co-leadership of Sons Of Kemet, his very own Hello Skinny, and his currently elevated profile as drummer for Radiohead spin-off Smile.

This project takes a different direction: it’s a recorded-live extension of Skinner’s debut under his own name. That album enlisted Shabaka Hutchings and Nubya Garcia to explore the legacy of multi-genre cellist Abdul Wadid, who may be best known to readers of this publication for his collaborations with Arthur Blythe.

This version has a different band and some additional material by Wadud. It’s much more textural and free-flowing than the rest of Skinners’ back catalogue, though there are clear echoes of Sons Of Kemet in the skirling sax duel over rolling toms that concludes ‘Happiness’.

This iteration is also looser and freer than the studio version, possibly due to the presence of Robert Stillman - his hoarse-toned teasing at gnomic motivic structures provides a nice contrast to Chelsea Carmichael’s clear-toned, melodic and more overtly jazz-inflected contributions - she sounds great on ‘Camille’. Tom Herbert’s deep earthy arco is similarly complimentary to Kareem Dayes’ versatile, attractively rough-edged cello.

Compositions are by Wadud, Tony Williams, and Skinner himself, and even in its more upbeat moments the mood is portentous and introspective - this is music that invites you to take it seriously. The commitment of the players is clear to hear and the contour of the gig moves affectingly from the more diffuse opening pieces (by Skinner) to the more cohesive closers (by Wadud), though some listeners might prefer the more concise and focussed studio versions.