Latest releases reviewed.

TOMASZ STANKO
Lontano
ECM
*****

The latest from Stanko's Polish quartet is more open and "free" than its predecessors, but the group's communion retains both its absorbing, focused intimacy and its capacity to remain fresh and surprising. To call it an anatomy of melancholy lyricism, however, though not inaccurate, would do little justice to the emotional range and subtle colours that these marvellous players - Stanko, Marcin Wasilewski (piano), Slawomir Kurkiewicz (bass) and Michal Miskiewicz (drums) - bring to each performance. Stanko's signature trumpet sound is a huge influence on the music's climate, yet so great is the interplay that at times even the concept of solo is undermined and subsumed into the quartet's now unique dialogue. And, not incidentally, the results are full of beauty. www.musicconnection.org.uk - Ray Comiskey

DAVE LIEBMAN/STEVE SWALLOW/ ADAM NUSSBAUM
Three For All
Challenge
*****

These three have nothing to prove to each other, which may be one reason why their playing has the hand-in-glove feel of a working trio. There's a laid-back authority to their work, epitomised, paradoxically, in the crisp, mutual responsiveness and the imagination they bring to bear on the material, originals by each of the trio, Monk's Played Twice, and Davis's All Blues, plus a standard. Liebman, more mellow than usual, is as astonishingly individual as ever on tenor, soprano and flute, Swallow, equally distinctive on electric bass, anchors the musical debate and leavens it with humour, while Nussbaum is delicate or driving on drums whenever it's required. And when the music needs a touch of astringency, Liebman is there to deliver it. Delightful. www.musicconnection.org.uk - Ray Comiskey

JOHN WILLIAMS
Jazz Beginnings
Fresh Sound
***

Originally, composer and orchestrator Williams (whose stellar film credits were celebrated at the NCH last week) was a West Coast-based jazz pianist who also worked in the '50s pop field. And, as this two-CD set of some very rare material shows, his dazzling technique evoked the great Art Tatum. As a soloist, though, he shines; he does not burn. The first CD mostly features him in a quartet setting, where his meticulous concern for organisation is clear, a characteristic also of the septet and octet pieces on the second CD, using such West Coasters as Herb Geller, Buddy Collette, Richie Kamuca and Bob Enevoldsen. It's rounded off with 12 big band tracks for singer Johnny Desmond, which echo the Riddle-Sinatra model of the era. The music is neat, elegant, well-crafted and, for aficionados, very appealing. www.freshsoundrecords.com - Ray Comiskey