To call Ronan Guilfoyle a bassist and composer is not simply to describe him – it also hints at the creative tension between improvisation and writing, the resolution of which is the Dun Laoghaire man's focus.

Joining him on his latest expedition to that frontier are three musicians with whom he shares a particular rapport: saxophonist David Binney, himself a composer of considerable eminence, is a consistently original voice out front, bringing Guilfoyle's gnarly compositions to life; and guitarist Chris Guilfoyle (the leader's son, making his recording debut) is a revelation; but it's the bassist's connection with drummer Tom Rainey that really stands out here as they seamlessly knit together the written and the spontaneous.

Challenging but absorbing music from a maturing master. ronanguilfoyle.com