Bob's your uncle once again rustled up from Yellowjackets. A new high water mark in their illustrious discography

Jazz-rock fusion has changed over the years and one of the agents of change is certainly Yellowjackets. If you subscribe as we do to the view that the genre was made coherent most by Weather Report and then developed in myriad ways to eventually change into something far more funky in the hands of the greatest exponents of the form these days Snarky Puppy, the evolution of jazz-rock was later ushered in by bands like Yellowjackets who still act as a bridge back to the original heyday of the genre and face forward through the rugged strength of the ensemble sound and their quality compositions.

Parallel Motion is not blood and guts fusion or overly smooth tat. Yellowjackets were about neither. The form has developed away from stunt machismo in its least successful guise or extensive noodling in, yes, its more interesting incarnation.

There is more time for thoughtful often funky and bluesy development within what some might even view here on Parallel Motion as a relatively chamber-esque but resolutely electric sound.

'Challenging Times' would not be out of place for instance on an Andy Sheppard record and Bob Mintzer is closer to the sound of players such as UK jazz titan Sheppard (particularly circa Movements in Colour sans Indojazz input) than you might think.

The supremely elegant Russell Ferrante's keyboards sound underpins everything on this excellent record. If you like someone like that fine UK player Tom Cawley newbies may well appreciate coming to Ferrante for the first time if still unfamiliar with him or indeed jazz-rock fusion.

Over the years Yellowjackets have always been steady and worth listening to. But their albums sometimes are samey within their own universe. Here there seems a new direction. Mintzer on the title track is very subtle while Ferrante comps deliciously and drummer Will Kennedy is almost Billy Kilson-like. Kilson, along with Peter Erskine, Tank Gully, the Vin man, and Dennis Chambers to marlbank are the greatest jazz-rock drummers still around. In his command of the groove Kennedy is that good.

Bass guitarist Dane Alderson is very much in the Stanley Clarke mould, again a link to the first significant flowering of jazz-rock fusion as it settled into its history-changing phase. Jean Baylor's vocals on 'If You Believe' are like an 80s throwback - a less extravagant Jennifer Warnes perhaps without being flippant - and the melody is very strong.

Back in the early summer we first got a glimpse of the album via 'Intrigue' the album opener and the rest of the tracks are just as convincing and nourishing as that taster where the accent is on unadorned musicianship. 'Resilience' is streaming in addition ahead of release. When Ferrante's piano solo comes it feels youthful and alive. And when Mintzer improvises he runs through the changes succinctly without sounding as if he does. Naturals all, born to play, there is no plan B in Yellowjacketsiana and that stubborn focus and belief is partly what make their incredible body of work so special.
Out on 26 August