Latest releases reviewed

JIM HALL/GEOFFREY KEEZER Free Association ArtistShare *****

Hall, famously, has recorded guitar-piano duets with Bill Evans, George Shearing and, more recently, Enrico Pieranunzi, but it may well be he has established the finest communion of all with pianist Geoffrey Keezer. Against Hall's spacious restraint is set Keezer's relative volubility, but the pianist's musical abundance is tempered by a finely-judged sense of what is right, and the contrast is reinforced byan almost uncanny mutual responsiveness. Recorded last summer, this is duo playing informed by clarity and a shared sense of purpose and adventure, its textures masterfully controlled, filled with a palpable joy in music-making and discovery. This exquisitely lyrical album is available only online from www.jimhallmusic.com

Ray Comiskey

TIM HAGANS Beautiful Lily Pirouet ****

Surrounded here by like-minded players in Marc Copland (piano), Drew Gress (bass) and Bill Stewart (drums), Hagans, a brilliant trumpeter, studiously avoids the comfort of the familiar. The result is a satisfying blend of ambiguity and lyricism, enigmatic, atmospheric and unresolved, which constantly spices the quartet's exchanges, especially those between Hagans and Copland, who also improvise several brief and arresting duets. Of the formal compositions for the quartet, Hagan's Space Dozen, Copland's The Sun At Its Zenith and Wayne Shorter's Footprints epitomise the mysterious mood and the group's obliquely inventive yet focused approach, with the most overtly lyrical performances on a compelling album derived from the trumpeter's ballads, Beautiful Lily and Emazing. www.pirouet.de

Ray Comiskey

TERRY GIBBS Feelin' Good MackAvenue ***

At 80, vibist Gibbs has lost some of his fluency at uptempo performances, but his zest, ideas and ability to generate excitement remain unimpaired. For this live studio date he picked like-minded players in Eric Alexander (tenor), Joey DeFrancesco (organ) and Dan Faehnle (guitar), backing them with a driving rhythm section of Gerry Gibbs (drums) and Ray Armando (conga). It's a blowing session over familiar ground - the blues, standards and a couple of originals - but a firm grip is kept on things; functional arrangements provide a sense of structure and nobody, including the leader, is allowed to solo at length. The result is one of his better latter-day albums, an exuberant encounter in which everyone does well. www.musicconnection.org.uk

Ray Comiskey