Does Nick Walters ever break sweat? Certainly when seen live in any of his eclectic range of projects he is the epitome of composure, careful and precise, yet there’s an easy humanity to his playing that belies any disaffected appearance. That musical personality is very much at the heart of this set of ocean-themed tunes, recorded in a single day with the sextet that made 2019’s Active Imagination album. You can feel their relaxed cohesion on 'Wine-Dark Sea', an upbeat Latin-leaning studio jam led by Kudjovi Kush’s percussion with Nim Sadot’s reggae inflected bass playing off the sparse drumming of Laurie Lowe.

Walters' trumpet steers things with comfortable assurance, while Rebecca Nash’s piano brings the piece together neatly. Sadot deserves a special mention for his relentless bubbling ultra-funk bass line running through the near 11 minutes of 'Hydrothermal', a brisker number that gives space for long and probing solos from Walters and Nash lead to Tenderlonious’ soprano sax taking it back to basics. His longer improvisation evolves in the Indian style, with steadily increasing elaborations eventually building to a fine post-bop crescendo. It’s a long track that deserves every second. After that excitement the album closes with 'Journey (For Joan)', a ballad dedicated to Walters’ grandmother and Nash frames it on solo piano with light touch eloquence, overlaid with muted trumpet and elegiac flute. It’s a warm tribute that adds another dimension to an impressively varied set of contemporary jazz from six well-matched and talented musicians.