Someone found an amusing way of getting round a change in rhythm section for the band pic on the sleeve of the second edition of In Common by transplanting the new guys' heads onto the previous one's bodies.

Surviving the decapitation are the project's co-leaders Matthew Stevens, a guitarist with Terri Lyne Carrington and Christian Scott among others, and Walter Smith III, a saxophonist who's stepped out previously with the likes of Ambrose Akinmusire and Terence Blanchard. This is a slightly tougher, more riff-centred album than its predecessor. Smith engages the song-like context with concise hook-y motifs and weaves his sax around them, while guitarist Stevens takes charge with his assertive, grungy less-is-more brand of contemporary jazz-rock; for ‘General George Washington’ imagine Django Reinhardt playing at Woodstock. The inventive pianist Micah Thomas is an impressive addition, as are Linda May Han Oh and Nate Smith who dig in with some earthy/surging grooves. This is New York contemporary jazz at its best.