Mottled images of rocks collected in the Highlands by Fergus McCreadie decorate the packaging of the young pianist's second trio album, named after the Gaelic word for stone-stacked landmarks. It's confirmation both of the deep Scottish roots in McCreadie's work, and Edition Records' ECM-like instinct for giving its products a special cachet. Not that McCreadie, still only two years out of music college, needs smart marketing to get attention – he started winning prestigious prizes when he was 15. In its chemistry of improv adventures and rock-power payoffs Cairn represents vivid evidence of an evolution already earning comparisons with the early work of Esbjörn Svensson. The pianist's trio partners David Bowden and Stephen Henderson both play in the Scottish pipes-and-flute quintet Dosca, and a fusion of Celtic traditions and the global expressiveness of swing and funk grooves drive this fine set of McCreadie originals. The pensively-unfolding ‘North’ is introduced in quietly elided tones and trills over a building slow-burn hook, and the title track typifies the session in its softly grooving theme, collective surges and retreats, and sweeping double-time piano outburst over the loose, somewhat Anton Eger-like drive of Henderson's drums. The thrilling ‘Jig’ bridges a Ceilidh whirl and a McCoy Tyneresque intensity, while ‘Tide’ and ‘An Old Friend’ air the subtle ballad skills of a group who have grown up together, and sound more than ready to share their discoveries with a much wider audience.