Working with vocalists is an experiment on the record (the dance-friendly track 'Play to Win' with rapper Consensus is the liveliest and most successful skirting grime). But the two-tuba summit with Theon's Sons of Kemet predecessor Oren Marshall kept to last is far more interesting from a jazzhead point of view and where the record scores most in their duoplay is when Cross is able to show the massively deep resources of the the tuba through the arrangement and high production values, one player comping the other taking the melody bluesily along. A long journey but one that has taken only a few years since the excellent straightahead Fyah, Sons of Kemet gigs will be how most jazz fans go forward with Theon given heavy touring with the Shabakians coming up. But this album underlines the forward-looking Londoner's own stake at being a leader and works well with or without vocalists because it has enough variety and sufficient dynamic ideas to retain a lot of interest throughout even if you aren't into grime, dub reggae or whatever. Studio engineers may well be very impressed by the sonic quality of the album, certainly no mean feat to manipulate the sound of a tuba into this commercial place. Final word don't forget the dash and bustle of '40tude' the beats cleverly hurtling along as the yin to the stolid tuba time-keeping yang. Intra-I is out on 29 October