Apart from being one of the greatest drummers in improvised music, Paul Motian was also a composer who achieved the significant feat of creating his own sound world. Whether it is termed a ‘Paulosphere’ or a ‘Motianverse’ there is a totally distinctive dream-like character to some of his best material, as if the melodies were conceived like mists that float over a rhythm that can be both beguilingly liquid and re-reassuringly solid. This Motian themed album by two of his former bandmates – Danish guitarist Jakob Bro was in the Paul Motian Band and American saxophonist Joe Lovano in the celebrated trio with Bill Frisell – stays vividly true to that strong identity, as one might expect given the aforesaid credentials of the joint leaders.

But the value of the project lies in the personalisation and extension of the template, and while there is a simmering sensitivity in the timbres of guitar and saxophone on many an occasion there is also a strength of attack that often borders an eruptive intensity, enhanced by the doubling up of bass and drums. The result is a wide structural range, with songs moving between what is a kind of feline folk song and the more abstract explorations of time and space crucial to Motian’s aesthetic. Much more than a tribute, Once Around The Room captures his spirit and walks with it to a performance that has a compelling sense of vibrant celebration as well as solemn recognition of greatness.