He's best known for his day job with singer Jamie Cullum. But for the past five years trumpeter and composer Rory Simmons has spent his downtime exploring the frontiers of improvised and composed music with 11-piece ensemble Fringe Magnetic. Now he tacks in the other direction, stripping his new group back to just three, with Troyka guitarist Chris Montague and Kairos 4tet drummer Jon Scott. Monocled Man is downtown New York edginess meets northern European cool, with an adrenalin injection of raw London punk energy. You will hear echoes of Dave Douglas's influential Tiny Bell trio, but Simmons is his own musician with something to say, and he proves here that he's more than capable of filling the spaces in the exposed setting of a trio. rorysimmons.com