Both mainstays of the Chicago jazz scene, Geof Bradfield and Dana Hall are long-time musical sparring partners. However, Bradfield and his fellow reed player Ben Goldberg had never played together before the week recording began in the autumn of 2018 for this debut trio project.

The sound the three of them make together leaves deliberate holes – there's no bass – although that doesn't stop them from hitting and exploiting a groove when the mood takes them, as on the title track, and when Bradfield's soprano sax is matched with Goldberg's soprano clarinet on ‘Hit Flip Switch’ they readily conjure the joyous spirit of New Orleans jazz. Much of the material, with its striking improvisations, is original, but Duke Ellington is one of a handful of iconic performers whose work is reinterpreted by the trio. The Duke's ‘Half the Fun’, from Such Sweet Thunder, emerges, via a brooding opening contra alto clarinet solo, in a form remarkable for its dense texture and snaky rhythmic charm despite the reduced instrumentation. Cecil Taylor's ‘Air’ and Hermeto Pascoal's ‘8 da Agosto’ are similarly updated and transformed on a recording that deserves close listening attention.