Philip Clouts is perhaps best known for his leadership of the world-beat ensemble Zubop. But while Clouts, who was born in Cape Town, has a so-called world music artist’s appetite for exploring pan-global rhythms, the emphasis on his new CD is on acoustic jazz with a quartet he formed in 2007. There’s a personnel change from 2010’s Sennen Cove with drummer Joe Desbruslais, an experienced percussionist in latin settings such as Viva La Revolucion! and Son de Cuba, coming in very useful for Clouts’ gently pulsating groove-orientated music, giving the band a more distinctive signature than last time out. Clouts’ compositions nod to the spiritual and soul jazz as well as latin and Caribbean rhythms from bossa to calypso through to the gospel-tinged folk-song of the Jarrett-Garbarek European Quartet. The excellent London-based E17 Jazz Collective leader and alto saxophonist Carlos Lopez-Real leads the line sounding on occasion like a cross between Greg Osby and Art Pepper. His playing focuses well on expressing the simplicity and emotion of Clouts’ strongly melodic themes rather than on their elaboration. As a soloist Clouts’ appealing legato on piano has much more of a laid-back than urgent approach to rhythm. But then this is rural not urban groove-jazz, the music of a Charmouth-based pianist who’s also set his music to England’s land, sea and sky.