This is the ninth album from British composer/arranger/pianist Alex Wilson but only his first trio set – and it's an absolute delight. Wilson has made a reputation for himself blending influences from West African, Caribbean and Latin American music in the context of large-scale performing forces; here we get served all of those musical cross-currents but mixed together and reduced to their barebones essence thanks to the extraordinary telepathic interplay of Wilson and his rhythm section. Most of the nine cuts were recorded live but a clutch more were added in the studio. The material examined and stretched is suitably eclectic and ranges from Steve Winwood's ‘Fly’ and Sting's ‘We Work the Black Seam Together’, to more obviously jazzy material such as Miles Davis' ‘Solar’ and Cole Porter's ‘What Is This Thing Called Love?’ There is also a quartet of originals – try Wilson's own ‘Kalisz’ or bassist Davide Mantovani's ‘Arab Spring’.

Jazzwise spoke to Alex Wilson about the album

You've just been touring with hugely successful guitar duo Rodrigo y Gabriela.

The call came out of the blue. They said: What would you do if you were to rearrange our music in a Cuban style? Essentially they're heavy-metal musicians who play with a latin tinge. So they commissioned me to write arrangements for their new album. And we did almost a year of touring, at first with the full band, and then just me and them: two guitars and a piano. It was a great experience.

This is your first trio album. Why now?

I did a trio gig for the launch of the London Jazz Festival at the Houses of Parliament a few years ago with the musicians on the album – we accompanied Soweto Kinch and we also played some numbers of our own. And I suddenly thought: it's time for me to take that step. The concept was to reflect the experience of the previous eight albums, playing with all these different artists and travelling all over the world – to try and distill all that into the piano.

How did you get into latin jazz in the first place?

I moved down to London in 1993, and it sort of exploded for me, because at that point there was a lot of live music on the salsa scene – no longer, unfortunately. You could play two or three nights a week with big bands. And I got hooked.

Sting also had a big influence on you.

My father took me to a Sting concert and Sting did exactly what Rodrigo and Gabriela offered me – everybody goes off stage and the piano player gets a five-minute solo. And the pianist [with Sting] was Kenny Kirkland, and it blew my adolescent mind. And I thought: that's what I want to do!

Why did you set up your own label?

I had previously been signed to Candid Records. I was so lucky to be approached by Alan Bates in 1997/98. It was a dream thing really. But at the end of that deal I felt it was time to have a bit more control. That came at a big cost – I've had to re-mortgage my house, and I've had to set up an administrative structure. The financial side is tough but I do enjoy it. My career is evolving, as are consumers and the industry. It's impossible to say where we'll be in a year!