The latest releases reviewed

MARTIN SPEAKE Change of Heart ECM *****

This quartet - Speake (alto), Bobo Stenson (piano), Mick Hutton (bass) and Paul Motian (drums) - played here a while ago, but it was two tours and several years later that they made this glorious album in 2002. Clearly inspired by the acutely sensitive, flexible, utterly sympathetic and mutually supportive rhythm section, Speake, who wrote all the originals, is in arresting form; wholly individual and innocent of cliche, his work is remarkable for its consistency of invention. Stenson, simply sublime in solo and support roles, thrives on Motian's great washes of sound. And with Hutton anchoring everything, the cogently developed Three Hours and In Code epitomise storytelling of the highest order, while The Healing Power of Intimacy is a superbly controlled rubato performance. One of the CDs of the year. www.musicconection.org.uk

Ray Comiskey

Friedrich is a relatively young German pianist and composer who, while visiting New York in 1998 to receive the Gil Evans prize, met John Hebert (bass) and Tony Moreno (drums). Annual tours and recordings followed, and this latest is a superb example of their musical rapport. Classically trained - his Versunkene Stadt has echoes of Debussy - Friedrich is both harmonically acute and a quality soloist in whose work the silences are as eloquent as the notes. The trio can shift seamlessly from rubato to straight-ahead performance, from the free to the formal, as the mood of the music requires, with Hebert showing what a great bassist he is at every turn. Striking on an outstanding album are the rubato Balsam, the intimacy of the slow Fagus and the constantly surprising and flexible Karussell and Velvet. Lovely. www.pirouet.de

Ray Comiskey

Stranahan is a young drummer/ composer leading a quintet whose skills and conceptual maturity belie their youth. Sharing the front line are Michael Bailey (tenor) and Remy Le Boeuf (alto/tenor/flute), with Pascal Le Boeuf (piano) and Dominic Thiroux (bass) completing the rhythm section. Greg Gisbert (trumpet) guests on some tracks, father Jim Stranahan (alto) and Mark Clifford (vibes) on one each. The repertoire, all originals, reflects a collectively sophisticated contemporary sensibility: challenging and unhackneyed, they're performed with staggering aplomb by these (mostly) young musicians. Despite a feeling that they don't set themselves any challenges they can't surmount, the quintet is an impressive unit whose gifted members show exceptional promise. www.CapriRecords.com

Ray Comiskey