Drawn from Hills and Valleys out on 7 June what wonderful chamber jazz imbued with pastoral qualities conjuring the shires and into the west ingeniously arranged in the inflections and abundantly melting tonalities of the winds and brass. Superlocrian were founded by trumpeter, composer-arranger Sam Massey of the Mike Westbrook Uncommon Orchestra - hear him on 2016's A Bigger Show - also in Superlocrian, a term that can refer to an altered dominant scale, are Gavin Mallett and Hugh Davies on trumpet and flugelhorn; Edward Leaker on soprano and alto saxophone; Jade Gall on saxophones and flutes; Tom Green on trombone and Mike Poyser on tuba. Recorded last year in the optimum surroundings of Air in Hampstead this sheer Englishness of an ensemble play Massey originals, standards such as Carly Simon's 'Nobody Does It Better' and a gorgeous take on the Roger Nichols, Paul Williams 1971 classic 'Rainy Days and Mondays' synonymous with The Carpenters. In that latter regard you could imagine if Rumer - like the spirit of Karen Carpenter reincarnated - ever wanted a new arrangement of her classic Seasons of My Soul (2010) especially on 'Slow' or 'Blackbird' then Superlocrian in this quintessential bittersweet slice of euphonious self deprecation in the very ungrandiose arc of their ensemble play would work oh so very well to supplement a four piece rhythm section the absent of which is like Banquo's ghost just a smidgen at the feast here. Photo: Spark artwork detail