Paul Towndrow's last outing, Deepening the River (2021), was a bit of an epic: a suite for 24 musicians drawn from a range of different musical traditions. The follow-up, Outwith the Circle, features at its more stripped-back core, an organ trio: Pete Johnstone on keys, Alyn Cosker on drums and Towndrow himself on – well, lots of things, and providing ‘whistlings and mutterings’ too. And then there are five guest musicians, who provide a wide variety of aural textures and colourings. So, the sound and ambition of saxophonist and composer Towndrow's work remain reassuringly expansive.

As you might expect (the body of water referenced in the title of Deepening the River was the Clyde), there are distinctive Scottish elements: ‘K C Point / Arthur's Reel’ and the lovely atmospheric closer, ‘The Only Source of Knowledge’, feature Ross Ainslie on whistle and Highland pipes, while the vocal line of the traditional Gaelic ‘Cutting Bracken/Buain Na Rainich’ is provided here by Eddi Reader. The playing is full of invention throughout: try the trio cuts ‘Aniva’ and ‘Split the Difference’, which have great, highly dynamic interplay between the core three players.