Veteran pianist Steve Kuhn is in the same class as label-mate Keith Jarrett: a virtuoso improviser who injects new life into familiar material. Kuhn's sophistication with harmony and delicacy of touch are in evidence throughout this session, shared with electric bassist Steve Swallow and drummer Joey Baron. Some pieces are originals from Kuhn's Promises Kept (the faintly cocktail-jazzy Morning Dew, the Latin-gliding Adagio, the jaunty Promises Kept), from 2002. Swallow's bassline drive and Baron's snare-smacks under the thrilling A Likely Story underpin Kuhn's power and certainty of direction. Carla Bley's Permanent Wave has her cool chordal saunter, and Swallow's own Good Looking Rookie is a springy bopper. It's straightish jazz, but in a class of its own. John Fordham-guardian.co.uk
