UK readers will notice the presence of Jim Hart here on vibes in this dynamic largely French group. The Payen pieces, recorded in a Malakoff (south-west Paris) studio last autumn, begin with 'Valse,' a thrusting, cross-sectional, joust across reeds and brass. The arranging is quite tight and the intervallic sniping taut and unpredictable. A very original sounding group inspired in part by Sabar drumming from Senegal, the beefy parps of Bo Van Der Werf's baritone sax jut out sometimes (the nature of the role of the baritone quite a lot more generally) while Olivier Laisney's emergent trumpet lines recall Ralph Alessi's pristine method. A contrapuntal grittiness is the engine that keeps the group alert. Tam de Villiers on guitar, no stranger to the underground London jazz scene, feeds into the mix significantly and rhythmically the energy is as much from the heat generated by horns and reeds as by Vincent Sauve on drums whose role is more referee and for clarity as the subdivisions inherent in certain tunes such as 'Next 5' unveil themselves. That's the track I'll be returning to most on an album worth lingering long over given its lustre and sheer élan. SG. Out now on the Onze Heures Onze label