Kindred Spirits
(Manushi Records MANUCD005)

Having explored some straight-ahead piano trio jazz on her Mercury Prize-nominated album, Melting Pot, and her Bengali heritage for the sublime Where Rivers Meet, Rahman broadens both those strands and expands her influences still further on this new album.

It was recorded last year after a tour of Ireland and that Celtic strain can be heard here, both overtly in the band’s sprightly rejig of the traditional tune Butlers Of Glen Avenue, where they follow a Michael McGoldrick/Lunasa arrangement, and more subtly, in the swirls and melodicism of Conversation With Nellie.

The other big influences remains the songs of Rabindranath Tagore, of which there are three here, and that expansive US jazz piano style that Rahman has inherited from the likes of Herbie Hancock, Chick Corea and others.

All these elements combine in a wonderfully coherent and highly personal style which, again and again, moves in steadily building and then receding movements between the extremes of serene containment (try the melody statements of Forbiddance and My Heart Dances…) and rapturous climax (there’s a sustained one in Fly In The Ointment).

We get semi-free expressionism on Outside In which moves in exactly that pattern, while there is a spooky bowed bass, clarinet and toms intro to Imagination. The closer is a fun-filled take on Stevie Wonder’s Contusion.

Inspired siblings - Zoe and Idris Rahman

The band is her everlasting and ever wonderful trio with Gene Calderazzo on drums and Oli Hayhurst on double bass, with her brother Idris Rahman on clarinets. This sibling collaboration is one of the most joyous in British jazz – each Rahman seems to blossom in the company of the other, and their interactions – at the climax of My Heart Dances…, for example – always guarantee wide grins all round.

Courtney Pine sounds inspired, too, playing alto flute on Conversation with Nellie. Calderazzo punches out a terrific solo between My Heart Dances… and Butlers…, and Hayhurst plucks a fine one on Fly In The Ointment.

The Zoe Rahman band (with Davide Mantovani in for Hayhurst) is playing this music around the land at the moment and comes to the Midlands this evening and later in the tour. Tonight’s gig at The Edge Arts Centre is sold out (alas or hurrah, depending on whether you are a ticketless punter or a wise promoter). Here are the rest of the dates and booking links:

2 Feb: Seven Arts, Leeds www.sevenleeds.co.uk
3 Feb: Sheffield Jazz, Sheffield www.sheffieldjazz.org.uk
4 Feb: The Capstone Theatre, Liverpool www.thecapstonetheatre.com
6/7 Feb: Pizza Express, London pizzaexpresslive.co.uk
3 Mar: Wiltshire Music Centre, Bradford On Avon www.wiltshiremusic.org.uk
6 Mar: St Ives Jazz, St Ives www.stivesjazzclub.com
7 Mar: The Queen’s Theatre, Barnstaple www.northdevontheatres.org.uk
10 Mar: Forest Arts Theatre, Hampshire www3.hants.gov.uk/forest
15 Mar: Warwick Arts Centre, Coventry www.warwickartscentre.co.uk
25 Mar: The Sage, Gateshead thesagegateshead.org