Walter Smith III expresses his deep modern jazz roots with an airy tenor sax tone and a ferocious but understated technique. He recorded his debut album, Casually Introducing, for Fresh Sound New Talent in 2005, by which time his substantial list of credits ranged from Roy Haynes and Roy Hargrove to Joe Lovano and Jason Moran. The ‘Casual’ theme continued with the self-released fourth CD he recorded nearly a decade later – the title Still Casual belied the tight-as-a-nut, sharply focussed musicianship that made the album stand the test of time.

And it is the same line-up delivering the same hard-wired approach that makes Return to Casual, his Blue Note debut, such a standout release. As before, Smith wrote most of the tunes – the only cover is ‘Mother Stands for Comfort’, written by Kate Bush. Bassist Harish Ragavan and drummer Kendrick Scott are crisp, contemporary support and guitarist Matt Stevens and pianist Taylor Eigsti are impressively lean in the middle range.

The album starts with the twisty unison theme of ‘Contra’ played by Smith's airy, perfectly-articulated tenor sax and the clean attack of Stevens’ resonant guitar. As solos unfold over a contemporary pulse, drummer Scott builds a nice head of steam and pianist Eigsti adds bittersweet shades. ‘River Styk’ comes next, lilting, medium tempoed and with trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire as a sweetly harmonising guest. And then the repeated motif of ‘Pup – Pow’ (at 2’34” the album's shortest piece), ebbs and flows, guided from within. The longest track, ‘Shine’, arcs sensuously over a six-minute span. Elsewhere, “Quiet Song” is soulful and intense, “Lamplight” swings and that Kate Bush cover is delivered with sincerity, grace and the knockout support of Stevens’ guitar. ‘Revive’, a ballad, closes the album to showcase Smith's gorgeous tone and rhythmic control.