Some two decades after her auspicious debut The Cynic, British pianist Zoe Rahman emphatically fulfils the considerable potential that was all too clear at that first stage of her development.

True to form, the writing on this new offering is on a high level. Rahman has struck that all-too-elusive balance between melodic accessibility and harmonic and rhythmic sleights of hand that give the songs an ‘edge’, away from changes that are too predictable.

Most interestingly, she has scaled her band up from a trio – the synergy between drummer Gene Calderazzo and bassist Alec Dankworth is as strong as ever - to various configurations that go all the way up to an octet. The bigger palette enables Rahman to blend any number of traditions into her original works, and the charmingly jaunty ‘Sweet Jasmine’, with its echoes of South African icon Abdullah Ibrahim, is a standout.

Then again, the way she uses the deliciously low purr of Rowland Sutherland’s alto flute as well as the piercing hark of her brother Idris’s clarinet is also engaging. Rahman’s own improvising is well measured, with a variety of phrasing and degrees of attack that enhance her lyricism.

The result is music that is satisfying for its emotional charge and range of colour.