The latest releases reviewed.

GERMANO MAZZOCCHETTI Di Mezzo il Mare EGEA *****

Mazzocchetti is a composer and orchestrator whose work is a Mediterranean mix of the contemporary and ancient. His pieces, beautifully built, with a strongly personal sense of drama, development, colour and contrast, make arresting use of a 10-piece ensemble, including Enrico Pieranunzi (piano); Gabriele Mirabassi (clarinet); Pietro Tonolo (tenor and soprano); Marco Zurzolo (alto, soprano and flute); Gianpaolo Casati (trumpet); and Alessandro Tedesco (trombone). Among the many highlights of this lovely, stunningly played album are the deftly handled four-part counterpoint of the uptempo Staccamoto; the brilliant clarinet on this and the buoyant Mezzo e mezzo; the unity of ensemble writing and solos (from piano and trumpet) on the delightful Festa ionica; the piano intro and solo and nuanced dynamics of Porto Antico; and the rhythmic flexibility evident everywhere. This one's a charmer. www.egeamusic.com Ray Comiskey

CHIE IMAIZUMI Unfailing Kindness Capri ***

Imaizumi is a young, award-winning composer and arranger whose writing for the 11-piece used here is impressive enough to suggest she has a considerable career ahead if the dice fall right for her. Her charts are swinging, exuberant and, though they break no new ground, substantial enough to engage such gifted players as Greg Gisbert (whose urging led to the recording), Ron Miles (trumpet and flugelhorn) and Gary Smulyan (baritone and bass clarinet). There is much to enjoy, including the gradual building of the opening A Change for the Better, with its Cuban feel; the skilful, yet unobtrusively varied handling of the theme of Unfailing Kindness; and the carefully graded moods and development of Adversity. Gisbert, superb on flugelhorn on Lonely, and Smulyan head a roster of excellent soloists. www.caprirecords.com Ray Comiskey

KARIN KROG/STEVE KUHN Together Again Grappa ***

This is Krog's second recorded encounter with Kuhn since the turn of the century, but their first as a duo. The singer's smoky, lived-in delivery has long since acquired a vintage aura and, on an album mostly consisting of ballads, sometimes taken rubato, is intensely conversational. Kuhn is a delightful part of that conversation, his piano responsive to every nuance of the vocal, his solo work pitched to support, but never overshadow, the singing. The repertoire of standards - I Thought About You, Time After Time, We'll Be Together Again, Time On My Hands - is unadventurous but beautifully done, with Alfie and Lazy Afternoon particularly good. A bonus is the recording, in Jan Erik Kongshaug's new Rainbow studio in Oslo, with that marvellous Steinway grand. www.musicconnection.org.uk Ray Comiskey