LighthouseACT ****

In the ever more crowded field of European saxophone playing, English reed player and composer Tim Garland is oneof the most original voices, channelling Coltrane and Garbarek into his own sound, with tinges of English and Scottish folk music and contemporary classical influences also audible. His Lighthouse project began as a series of bass clarinet solos inspired by the acoustics of

St Mary's Lighthouse near Newcastle, but it has evolved into this excellent trio, featuring the highly regarded young Welsh pianist Gwilym Simcock and innovative Israeli percussionist Asaf Sirkis. There are shades of Chick Corea – Garland's former employer – Lighthouse ACTin the band's taut, precise melodies, as well as echoes of Keith Jarrett's quartets – an impression reinforced by Simcock's virtuoso playing - but the brightness and optimism in the writing and playing is a welcome counterpoint to the darkness that stalks so much of contemporary jazz harmony. triolighthouse.com