Tunisian oud player-singer Youssef has proved two things over the best part of two decades: that, firstly, he, like the best bandleaders, can assemble the most effective, often international collaborators, and secondly, his overall creative drive remains undimmed. There is some significance to be read into the cultural identity of this latest project insofar as it is very much ‘the New York’ album, defined by the presence of a quartet that represents the riches of that city's jazz scene in no uncertain terms. Yet the overarching conceptual premise of the album – compositions of haunting lyricism within the framework of relatively unusual time signatures – is sufficiently strong to make you question exactly what a New York combo is supposed to sound like. Williams, Guiliana, Parks and Akinmusire play with the kind of pin-drop delicacy that one might associate with classical musicians at various points on the set, crafting ambiences that are cinematic in shadow play and understatement. But they also kick robustly on the higher tempos, locking into the wavering beats so organically as to make the uneven numbers ‘felt’ as much as they are heard. As good as the band is, and as skillfully as the arrangements uphold an evolutionary line from Moorish to Spanish music to an undefined space that acknowledges both ambient electronica and soundtracks, Youssef's immense personality is well to the fore. His oud playing has a stark rhythmic drive that is offset by the majestic, aerial quality of his voice, and it is a combination that pays dividends on this affecting set of songs.