Listening to the enigmatic Polish trumpet legend Tomasz Stańko is not something to be taken lightly. His mesmerising new album December Avenue by his so-called New York quartet, the follow up to 2013's Wisława, illustrates this point perfectly. On the surface the darkly reflective character of the music is one that marks out all his recordings, though this particular group creates perhaps more of a balance than previously with the injection of more playful, urban jazz grooves. Underneath though lie deeper layers of meaning that require more focused listening. Moving between apartments in Warsaw and New York, Stańko has no doubt been reinvigorated of late by having a regular east coast line-up, the only new member since Wisława being Reuben Rogers, a compelling bass sideman for both Charles Lloyd and Joshua Redman among others. The contribution from both drummer Gerald Cleaver and pianist David Virelles is nothing less than sublime, the latter delicately drawing from classical music and jazz as well as his Cuban roots, but always organically and entirely at the service of the trumpeter's compositions. Throughout the recording they manage to say more with less and, following Stańko's example, attach as much symbolic significance to space as they do sound. From the wearily atmospheric vignette ‘Cloud’ through to the Miles' free bop-into-fusion era references on ‘Burning Hot’ and the title track, Stańko's compositions are at a high standard with no shortage of ear-catching melodies. The band make a very welcome return to the London Jazz Festival in November.